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Rockport is one of the beautiful tourist towns in Massachusetts, about an hour's drive from Boston. The town has a main road leading to the sea. Along the way, many shops sell souvenirs for tourists. Among them is a shop selling Buddha statues made of cement or bronze. I stopped to take some pictures. Before taking pictures, I stood up straight, looked at the Buddha statues, clasped my hands in a bow as a way of paying respect and asked Buddha's permission to take his picture. There were many tourists and it seemed like someone was looking at me.

Tourists, including Asians, might think I was too superstitious to bow to a decorative item. In America, Buddha statues are displayed in many places, even in restaurants. Buddha statues in shops are not for temples to invite. Pagodas often cast Buddha statues in bronze, cement or carved from stone.

Many people think that only Buddha placed in the main hall with incense smoke or placed solemnly on the altar in the house is Buddha, while Buddha in shops, art galleries, and museums is not. No. No. The statue, no matter where it is placed, is just a reminder. Buddha in the heart, in thoughts with good nature, in perception, and therefore, Buddha is everywhere. The moment we think of Buddha is the moment Buddha appears in us. Anywhere, in any circumstance. Buddhism is a religion of life, not a religion of death.

But if Buddha is everywhere, then why do we need to go to the temple? We should still go to the temple. As I once wrote, going to the temple is not to find Buddha but to find ourselves. We are absorbed in pursuing material values that need to be grasped, common desires that need to be had, or in Buddhist language, the seven emotions and six desires, and so we gradually drift away.

We are weak people who need a quiet space of a temple to sit quietly, listen to a sermon, and recite a sutra. The story of a guy who was stressed all day trading stocks on the New York stock exchange, every afternoon on his way home, often stopped at a Japanese Buddhist Zen monastery to meditate is an example. The story of Buddhist death row inmate Jarvis Jay Masters, author of two works: Finding Freedom and That Bird Has My Wings, is also worth reading. Buddhism did not save his body from San Quentin prison, California, but it helped him find spiritual comfort during the decades on 'death row' (prisoner awaiting execution).

During our days at Van Hanh University, we, Social Science students, studied economics, politics, society, and commerce very enthusiastically. In addition to studying in class, we also read many books. In the second year, the curriculum added a new, non-compulsory subject called Zen Studies, taught by the Abbot Thich Minh Chau himself. Any student who wanted to study would register for the course. It was one hour per week. After finishing the course, if anyone liked it, they could go to the Zen Monastery on the rooftop where Venerable Minh Chau would teach them how to meditate. As the Abbot explained, learning Zen was to balance and calm the soul after studying other subjects that were full of agitation. Also during that time, in the early 1970s, the Abbot wrote many easy-to-understand essays for our generation to read, which were later published as the work The Great Teacher of the Buddha. Going to the temple was the same. We went to the temple to find balance and calm after months of being caught up in the seven emotions and six desires. No one, of course including the writer of this article, can change their mind overnight, but cultivation is to correct and correct is a long process that the practitioner must take step by step.

When I worshiped the Buddha statue in Rockport, I knew exactly that the statue was only for decoration. But that attitude of "knowing but still worshiping Buddha" did not come naturally. It was the result of a long journey of learning, contemplation on my part and the teachings of many venerable people such as the Venerable Abbot of Van Hanh University or reading the Thought Magazine taken care of by Venerable Tue Sy. Thanks to "knowing", I do not see any difference between a Buddha in a shop and a Buddha in a temple. I do not worship the Buddha statue in front of me, but I worship the Buddha in my soul.

Unlike me, millions of Vietnamese in the country do not have those two sources of luck. They cannot self-study and do not have enlightened teachers to guide them. They grope to find a ray of light in a dark tunnel, so they are easily led by evil monks.

Being deceived materially is not as harmful as being deceived spiritually. The wound caused by spiritual deception is more painful and lasts longer, sometimes the victim can no longer stand up. Reading the history of Vietnam and looking at the current situation in Vietnam, we will see that many victims of spiritual deception carry wounds in their hearts until the end of their lives. Wealth can be rebuilt, but trust is very difficult. Victims can speak but must remain silent. Victims are not crazy but must laugh every day at their own misfortune.

The play "Buddha's hair" written and directed by Truc Thai Minh goes beyond all limits of fantasy, funny, ridiculous, absurd, unscientific, cruel, inhumane and evil. However, there are still thousands of people standing before the "hair that can move by itself" with tears streaming down their faces. They turn to Buddha to be saved after many years of being imprisoned in the darkness of atheism. They sincerely believe that "hair" belongs to Buddha, the almighty being who can help their lives from now on be better, healthier, and richer.

Truc Thai Minh considers "law", "church" and public opinion as trash. He does not need to hide behind the curtain to manipulate his disciples, but sits right there, indifferently watching people his parents' age, emotionally watching "Buddha's hair" swinging at a distance of just over a hand span.

The money they "donate" to Truc Thai Minh is not easily earned like the money of Dinh La Thang, Nguyen Duc Chung, etc., but is saved every penny with sweat and tears, staying up late and waking up early.

Taking advantage of trust for personal gain can happen anywhere, but perhaps never before has an insult to a person gone beyond all limits of morality and ethics like Truc Thai Minh's way of taking advantage.

We hear the adjective "moral corruption" many times in Vietnamese society to refer to a situation in which moral foundations have been damaged, losing their inherent noble values. However, this adjective is too general to clearly state how the corruption is, to what extent, and by what standards to measure it. Thanks to the story of the "Buddha's hair" at Ba Vang Pagoda, from now on there will be a standard to specifically demonstrate what "extreme moral corruption" is. The idiom "corruption like Truc Thai Minh" was born from there.

We hear the verb "tang tam tam" to refer to a person who has lost all conscience and humanity, acting like a wild animal that only knows how to eat its own kind without distinguishing between old and young, big and small. However, where can we find a person with enough animalistic qualities that just by mentioning the name, we know he is truly "tang tam tam tam tam" (a person who has lost all conscience and humanity). Thanks to the “Buddha hair” incident at Ba Vang Pagoda, from now on there will be a standard to specifically prove what “ruined conscience” means. The idiom “ruined conscience like Truc Thai Minh” was born from that.

Don’t blame the ignorant people. Everything in life has a cause. People’s perception is historical and contemporary. They are born and raised in a closed environment, knowing nothing else. They are like a herd of thirsty deer looking for a stream in the middle of the jungle, on one side of the bank are hunters and on the other side are ferocious animals lurking. There is no way out, sooner or later they will be eaten, if not falling into the hands of hunters like Dinh La Thang, they will encounter ferocious animals like Truc Thai Minh.

What to do?

Speak up.

Speak up to change people’s perception. The saying of artist Maurizio Nannucci “change perception, change the future” is most true for the situation in Vietnam and the past few weeks have shown that there has been a change. Hundreds of long articles, thousands of short statuses, tens of thousands of comments have been pouring in like a tidal wave to expose the true nature of Truc Thai Minh. The struggle between good and evil, between truth and falsehood is still very long, but it is clear that the right is winning. In today’s “open world”, the factors of space or time, acquaintance or stranger are no longer important. A bridge of perception has been built across the river to reconnect the two separated banks. Whether you are far away like the writer or close like you in the country, if you do your best, change will come.

If it weren't for the voices of thousands of Vietnamese people across cyberspace, Truc Thai Minh would still be shaking his legs today, watching the line of people in front of him, and the organization called "Vietnam Buddhist Sangha" under the Vietnam Fatherland Front would still consider the story of "Buddha's hair relics" as "a daily occurrence in the District".

The Most Venerable Tue Sy passed away on the afternoon of November 24, 2023, but the alarm bell he rang ten years ago still resonates.

That day was September 20, 2013, the Most Venerable Tue Sy wrote a letter to thank the Vietnamese people for actively campaigning for support when he was sentenced to death, and on this occasion, the Most Venerable mentioned the corruption not only in society but also in religion.

The Venerable Tue Sy wrote: “Vietnam is a giant pile of garbage. That is not my personal opinion, but the comment of the highest-ranking figure of the Vietnamese Communist Party. This is not an economic meaning. It covers all aspects of life: culture, politics, and even religion.”

One of the causes of the disaster is corruption. The Venerable continued: “Corruption is the root of other social evils. Because it organizes, covers up, and nurtures in common. It erodes all traditional moral values. Protecting or promoting national culture on that basis is only a shield for rampant evils.”

The Venerable ended the letter with hope: “The situation of Vietnam is such that our people have to suffer too much pain and humiliation. For intellectuals in particular, whom traditional Vietnamese society highly respects, the greatest humiliation is that they cannot speak up for the lowly people honestly about all the grievances and humiliations they have to endure. Because, in Vietnam today, those who can speak have bent pens; those who want to speak have broken pens. But I know one thing clearly, and it has been recorded in history: True intellectuals of Vietnam are never cowardly. (Intellectuals must speak, Venerable Tue Sy, Friday, September 20, 2013, posted on the website TueSy.net)

That's right, Venerable, "True intellectuals of Vietnam are never cowardly."

Thi Nghia Tran Trung Religion