Blood Letter From Monastics of Lam Dong Province
Ven.Thich Quang Duc's immolation during the '63 Uprising
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Independence – Freedom – Happiness
BLOOD LETTER
Namo Sakyamuni Buddhaya
With respect to all our patriarchs and ancestors,
We come before you on behalf of hundreds of young monks and nuns who are studying and practicing Buddhism in the province of Lam Dong. We also represent thousands of lay Buddhist practitioners who are ready to follow our deep call for help. This letter is written with our own blood.
Over many months, the young monks and nuns residing in Bat Nha Monastery have been continually harassed by powerful groups from outside. Meanwhile, inside the temple, the monks and nuns have been forced to live without electricity and without running water. The situation has become even more stressful as they have had to face psychological and physical violence every day. We, from outside, didn’t know the true source of the problem, and that is why we remained silent until now. We are young monks and nuns from Lam Dong Province; we have good education, we have right understanding, and we have solidarity, compassion and love for all of our brothers and sisters in the spirit of our Buddhist monastic code. We are not gullible, impulsive, or easily carried away by any situation. We also do not want to interfere with the politics nor the national security nor matters of sensitivity to the government. However, facing all the incidents that happened at Bat Nha monastery on the 26, 27, and 28 of September 2009, we learned that the young monastics there have been attacked by violent mobs seeking to evict them out of the monastery. These young innocent monastics have been forced out of their home in heavy rain and storms without raincoats, food or shelter. They have been insulted and beaten, and subjected to the most terribly obscene acts. All these things happened right before the very eyes of the policemen and local authorities. Therefore, this is not just the “internal problem” of Bat Nha monastery; these acts clearly have been orchestrated by the government. Having seen our Dharma brothers and sisters violently terrorized, attacked, and brutally dragged out of their temple, we cannot just pretend that nothing is happening. The bond between us as monastic brothers and sisters is sacred and indestructible. We cannot just sit here witnessing our monastic brothers and sisters being oppressed like that, so we write this letter with our own blood to request that all levels of government do the following:
- If this is an internal issue of the Buddhist organization, then please let the Buddhist organization resolve the matter.
- Bring a complete stop to all forms of aggression and hostility against the monks and nuns practicing in the Plum Village tradition (who are now taking refuge in Phuoc Hue temple).
- Let the 400 monks and nuns continue to practice their monastic code of precepts, within the protection of the Venerable monks and nuns in the province.
- Stop all acts of force, threat, obstruction and pressure against the monastics from outside forces.
This letter is written with our own blood, uniquely motivated by the love we share as fellow monastics on the same path. We are nonpartisan; we have absolutely no political agenda. If this request is ignored, it will be a great shame before all our spiritual ancestors. Therefore, if the government continues any of these kinds of pressure as it has been doing, we inform you in advance that we are ready to give our lives for the sake of our monastic brotherhood and sisterhood; and the outcome will be unpredictable.
May all the Great Bodhisattvas be our witness.
Lam Dong, September, 30.2009
In the name of all the young monks and nuns of Lam Dong province,
Together signed,
