I have shared my aspirations with you.
We are Buddhist followers after Buddhism was introduced into our country almost 20 centuries ago. This means Buddhism has such a great influence on our nation. As aforementioned, the Trần dynasty wanted to have a cultural revolution, so that our country no longer depended on China. Now is our Buddhism still dependent on the Chinese? In our temples we may notice that we usually perform the Pure Land rituals in the evening, and chant the Lankavatara Sutra early in the morning. The question we must now ask ourselves is, “Who introduced this practice to us?” It is a serious mistake if we just continue the old path without knowing whom we follow or imitate.
That was why I felt sad, very sad, when I researched the origin of such practice. I discovered that it originated under Emperor Kangxi of the Qing in China. This Emperor ordered well-known Chinese zen masters and monks to establish the daily two sessions of rituals and chanting. Unfortunately, that was also the period when Buddhism in China was declining. Why do you think this Chinese practice could penetrate into Vietnam?
Do you find this practice in Japan, Sri Lnaka, Mayanma, and Thailand? Only during the Qing in China. But in China Buddhism flourished in the Tang and the Song dynasties, and declined during the Yuan and the Qing dynasties. And it was in this decline that the two sessions of rituals and chanting were introduced into Buddhism, which made it worse. Yet we have followed this practice. How can we be pleased with this status quo? Indeed, do Buddhist lay people understand the words they are chanting in Chinese? In India after the Buddha demised, His followers rewrote His teachings in Pali and Sankrit. When Buddhism was introduced into China, all the parts of the Tripitaka were translated into Chinese. We had had to use Chinese Vietnamese before our current alphabetic script was developed. Why can’t we use our Vietnamese language in our Buddhist rituals and chanting nowadays? The majority of English and French texts have been translated into Vietnamese, why can’t we do that with the Chinese texts? At present, in our temples, monks and nuns learn Chinese, but not well enough to understand all the Chinese texts they chant; let alone lay people. Do we have to follow our predecessors, and be dependent on other countries? If we continue to follow this path, how can we be independent?
It is obvious that we want cultural independence. Yet why must we be so dependent in our religious practice? It is such a painful regret for us. Therefore, I have voiced against this practice, and suggested a change for independence. And we must be courageous in our resolution to transform our practice from the prolonged dependence. It is high time, and we definitely must change our attitude. Only then can we become courageous people who accept our mistakes and want to correct them. Otherwise, we cannot proceed.
(to be continued)
Source:
Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ. All My Life(Tron Mot Doi Toi)
http://www.thientongvietnam.net/kinhsach-thike/dirs/tmdoitoi/index.pdf
