Mob, Police Force Nuns to Leave Vietnam Monastery
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Followers of a world-famous Buddhist teacher say police and an angry mob have forced them out of a monastery in central Vietnam, ending a religious experiment in the communist country that turned into a monthslong standoff with authorities.');
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 28, 2009
Filed at 2:45 a.m. ET HANOI,
Vietnam (AP) -- Followers of a world-famous Buddhist teacher say police
and an angry mob have forced them out of a monastery in central
Vietnam, ending a religious experiment in the communist country that
turned into a monthslong standoff with authorities.Followers of
Thich Nhat Hanh, an Vietnam-born monk who has popularized Buddhism in
the West, said about 150 monks were forced from the Bat Nha monastery
in Lam Dong province Sunday, and about 230 nuns left on their own
Monday morning.''The Vietnamese government has won,'' said
Sister Dang Nghiem, speaking by telephone Monday from a monastery in
San Diego, California, where Nhat Hanh is visiting. ''Their 'victory'
is that Bat Nha is completely destroyed. Everything is smashed.''The
dispute is a remarkable turnaround from four years ago, when Nhat Hanh
returned to Vietnam after 39 years of exile. His return made the front
pages of state-owned newspapers, and many saw his return as evidence
the government was easing restrictions on religion.Authorities
originally approved of his group's activities, but the relationship
began to deteriorate about a year ago. The government has been trying
to remove the monks from Bat Nha for several months, describing the
standoff as a conflict between two Buddhist factions.Nhat Hanh's
followers, however, say the government is cracking down because their
teacher has urged it to end its control of religion and disband the
religious police.Authorities say the followers ignored requests
to leave from the monastery's abbot, Duc Nghi, a member of the official
Buddhist Church of Vietnam, who invited the followers to settle there
in 2005 but changed his mind last year. The followers, however, say Duc
Nghi embraced Nhat Hanh as his teacher for life but was pressured by
the government to renounce him.A mob damaged buildings on the
monastery grounds in June, and authorities cut off power to the site.
Authorities then set a Sept. 2 deadline for Nhat Hanh's followers to
leave, which they ignored.The periodic clashes climaxed Sunday.Nhat
Hanh's followers say about 150 local residents and plainclothes police
descended on Bat Nha early Sunday, smashing windows and dragging monks
from their dormitory, where they were chanting and meditating.The followers say the monks were herded onto a truck and taxis and taken to other locations in the province.Nguyen
Phuoc Loc, a follower from Ho Chi Minh City, said he helped relocate
the nuns to a nearby pagoda early Monday, leaving Bat Nha empty.Reached
by phone Monday morning, Huynh Duc Hoa, the head of Lam Dong's
provincial government, denied that anything had happened at the
monastery and hung up without answering further questions.U.S.
Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, who was visiting Vietnam on
Sunday, told a press briefing he had expressed ''concern'' about the
situation to Vietnamese authorities and requested more information.Nhat
Hanh's followers say they will meet with officials from the official
Vietnam Buddhist Church in Lam Dong on Monday afternoon to discuss the
fate of the monks and nuns, who wish to remain together.Nhat Hanh, who has sold millions of books around the world, now lives in southern France.''We
have won by remaining peaceful, by not showing hatred towards
anybody,'' said Sister Dang, who said she has communicated regularly by
e-mail and telephone with his followers in Vietnam. ''We have trained
our young practitioners well. They have very strong ideals.''




![Modérateur d'honneur [RdA] Modérateur d'honneur [RdA]](http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/3113/arbreiu.jpg)







[/i]
» Introduction aux 5 agrégats - "Qui suis-je?" - Lama Sönam Lhundrup
» Dharma et Psychothérapie - Les émotions
» Demandez le programme !
» Matthieu Ricard et son blog
» et moi je surveille le Temple ! ( Authentique )
» QUE LA PAIX VOUS ACCOMPAGNE !
» Jeudi 24 mai 2012, visite de Sa Sainteté le Dalaï Lama à l’Institut Yeunten Ling, Huy, Belgique
» Est-il intéressant de poster ici ''365 jours dans le Temple de Longquan''?
» Bonjour a toute et a tous
» Pratique de Tchenrezi
» Votre attention siouplaît !
» Fête du WESAK à la Pagode !
» Lama Gyurmé
» Les Samayas du Vajrayana
» Le Très Vénérable Chatral Rinpoché
» Les premiers ascètes de la forêt
» Karma
» Salutation à toute et tous, un peu sur moi...
» Bonjour, besoin de votre aide
» Le Très Vénérable Lama Guendune Rimpotché
» Retraite francophone au village des Pruniers mai 2012
» Petite pose bien méritée......
» De l'abandon par matthieu Ricard
» Les Ngagphang
» Le Tcham, Danse sacrée des Tibétains
» Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoché, actuel Chef des Nyingmapa
» Le trésor du cœur des êtres éveillés
» Psycho Actif, le blog de Christophe André
» Les démons
» La chanson du moi.
» Imaginer la vie sans attachements (Dzigar Kongtrul Rimpoche)
» Les 11 évenements mentaux vertueux
» Son Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoché
» Penor Rinpoché
» S’envelopper du vêtement du Bouddha
» Le bon usage des facultés
» Nishijima Kazuo
» PARTAGE POUR TOUS
» Pour venir en aide au docteur Marie-Hélène Groussac
» Kōdō Sawaki
» Zen et Santé
» Visite du Dr Akong Rnpoche
» Personnalité borderline
» Ensemble NATIVITAS
» Le Voici .........
» LE BOUDDHA ENLACE
» The seven water bowl offering / L'offrande des sept bols d'eau
» Visite du Karmapa en France (suite)
» Visite du Karmapa en France