Buddhistedu.org - It's an article was written by Dorothy Edwards from The College of William & Mary in Newsport New. We would like to introduce to all of you who are interested in Dong Hung's Temple history.

The Dong Hung Temple in Virginia Beach is known as the Buddhist Education Center of America, Inc. It is run by three Vietnamese monks who are 44^th generation Zen Masters and 4^th generation monks in their lineage of the newer branch of a Pure Land Zen tradition from Vietnam. The Temple/Center offers a balance of meditation and education to the Virginia Beach community. The Dong Hung congregation includes both Vietnamese and English speaking members. Dong Hung has served the Vietnamese community in their native tongue since 1998, and began offering meditation and dharma talks in the English language in 2009.

The original To Dinh Dong Hung Temple in Saigon City was founded in 1925 by a 41^st generation Vietnamese monk, the Venerable Bhikkhu Thich Buu Chi. He branched off of the broader Vietnamese Zen tradition and started a new lineage in 1925 because he believed his blending of Pure Land and Zen was an adaptation best suited for the time. He viewed adaptation as a helpful way to live in the moment. Buu Chi was succeeded by one of his disciples, the Venerable Bhikku Thich Hanh Tru, from the 42^nd generation. Hahn Tru oversaw the new practice until 1984.Hahn Tru’s picture is currently kept on the alter in the Virginia Beach Temple. The monks at Dong Hung think of him like a grandfather and they think of the current Zen Master, the Venerable Thich Thong Kinh of the 43^rdgeneration, like a father. Thong Kinh’s 43^rd generation refers to his direct lineage to the Buddha. Thong Kinh’s lineage to the Buu Chi branch of Pure Land Zen from Vietnam is as a 3^rd generation monk.

Buu Chi’s branch of Pure Land Zen Buddhism is now practiced in hundreds of Temples throughout the world. The Zen Master Minh Hai -Phap Bao first brought Zen to Vietnam from China as a 34^th generation monk. Therefore, Zen had been in Vietnam for seven generations before this Pure Land Zen tradition branched off.The monks at these globally dispersed Temples each trace their lineage back to the Venerable Thich Buu Chi. Although the scattered monks feel a sense of community in their shared lineage, they are not assembled in a strict hierarchal order like the Roman Catholic Church maintains. Monks in this order are never told where they must go. Masters merely advise their monks as to how their disciple might best be able to engage with the world. The three monks at Dong Hung are the Venerable Thich Chuc Do, the Venerable Thich Chuc Thanh and the Venerable Thich Chuc Hoi. They chose to leave their motherland and come to Virginia Beach in 2005 to help meet the needs of the many Vietnamese refugees in the Hampton Roads area.

The greater culturally Vietnamese Buddhist Community also feels a strong connection to each other. That connection is not just across continental borders but also across the many traditions of Vietnamese Buddhism. The monks with shared lineage to the 34^th generation Minh Hai - Phap Bao gather to celebrate his having brought Buddhism from China to Vietnam. The next worldwide gathering will be in Hawaii.

Each week anywhere from twenty to fifty or more Vietnamese refugees and their descendants typically attend dharma talks, chanting sessions, meditation meetings and other events offered in their Vietnamese language. Thich Chuc Thanh speaks English very well, so he is able to supplement the Vietnamese dharma talks, meditation and other services in the English language for non-Vietnamese residents of Hampton Roads who are interested in Buddhism. About a dozen practitioners and curious learners attend the English speaking services each week. The monks also counsel students from high schools and colleges in the area. The Dong Hung congregation continues to grow as new members take refuge in the Buddha and formally vow to follow the five precepts of avoiding killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and alcohol. Each precept is actually a far deeper concept than one word can give it and each is presented as a paragraph long explanation when these lay householder vows are taken. The third precept concerning sex is worded in a way that is very friendly to the gay community, with “not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long term commitment” (http://www.buddhistedu.org/en/news/local-news/319 ). In my interview with the Venerable Thich Chuc Thanh, he confirmed that a householder’s homosexual relations within a loving long term commitment is appropriate sexual conduct that is in keeping with the third precept.

The Dong Hung Temple was brought to Virginia Beach by the Venerable Thich Thong Kinh in 1998 to serve the many Buddhist refugees who had fled Vietnam in the 1970’s. The original Temple location in Kempsville quickly became too small to meet the needs of their growing congregation. In 2006 they moved to a larger location in the rural Pungo section of Virginia Beach. Unfortunately, the second location in Pungo was ruled to be a zoning violation by the city of Virginia Beach because the monks both lived and worked at there. The monks could not serve the community effectively and still meet the city’s restrictions concerning statues on the property and number of visitors to that location. Dong Hung Temple moved to its current Virginia Beach location on Davis Street near the Norfolk border in 2011, with their first service in October.

The Temple has offered chanting and meditation sessions with different ways of entering into meditation because the same way is not necessarily the best way for everyone. Some members of the community find it easier to meditate when focusing on the Buddha’s name in a mantra, while others find it easier when they focus on their breath.

Dharma discussions are molded to fit the everyday life of the community. When I attended the English speaking Dharma talk in November of 2011, the Venerable Thich Chuc Thanh discussed the importance of mindfulness by using a soda machine as an example. He explained that if a person was being mindful, that person would notice if he or she was buying unneeded soda merely out of habit. Being mindful would give the person the opportunity to stop the action and he or she would not just mindlessly put in money and push the buttons to buy the soda.

At Dong Hung Temple, the monks are very sensitive to the needs of the specific community they serve. Buddhist traditions are not blindly continued out of habit, and neither are they senselessly discarded for freshness without review. Each tradition is continued or discontinued individually based on how well it is able to serve the community at hand. People still remove their shoes before entering the building. That is very reasonable since shoes would make the lotus position very uncomfortable.

I attended a meditation and dharma discussion at the Dong Hung Temple’s 423 Davis St. location on November 7^th, 2011. The monks had only been serving the community from their new location for a few weeks. I returned to Dong Hung Temple on November 18^th to interview the Venerable Thich Chuc Thanh. I had requested only thirty minutes of his time, but he graciously gave me two hours as the interview stretched on. His welcoming nature in addition to the welcoming nature of Buddhism itself left me with an interest in returning for future services at the Temple.

The new location was quiet for being just blocks from busy Virginia Beach Boulevard. The grounds were shielded by a row of trees and bushes There were many large statues on the grounds outside of the Temple, with smaller statues on an alter set up inside the Temple. There were baskets of food offerings on the altar. There was a large container marked “donations” in the Temple area where the congregation sits. There was a wall filled with photographs. There were candles lit during the service, which provided some light when the ceiling lights were turned off during the silent meditation. Chants and other opportunities to participate were easy for new members and visitors to follow.

The Evening I attended the meditation session followed by a dharma talk, about twenty pillows were on the floor for people to sit on in the tradition manner, but about six chairs were also set up in the back. We were each given a booklet with the words to the chants. A wooden book holder was in front of each pillow to hold the booklet hands free while members chanted. One regular member had brought his own wooden kneeler as his personal seating preference over the pillows. I sat in the folding chairs in the back since the lotus position can aggravate my ruptured discs. Although one householder wore a long robe similar to the robes the monks wore, most of the congregation wore clothing similar to what is worn at modern Jewish and Christian Services, such as long pants and button shirts. Wearing nicer clothes indicates one’s respectful reverence to the gathering. However, if a new member dresses less respectfully, such as wearing shorts, the community allows the new member to notice on his or her own. No one will tell the new member he or she “should” wear long pants.

Dong Hung Temple is here to serve in any way it can. Dong Hung’s main purposes revolve around teaching, service, meditation culture and outreach. The monks are here to introduce and improve knowledge of Buddhism. The Temple provides a place for the monks to lead prayer services daily, and weddings and funerals as needed. Weekly they offer chanting and a dharma talk in Vietnamese on Sunday mornings, in which an English translation is given, but a session entirely in English is offered on Monday nights. Recent dharma discussions have been concerning feelings, mindfulness, hate, anger, and God and Buddhism. The congregation gathers on Thursday evenings to recite the Great Compassion Heart Dharani. The monks also offer retreats to help guide people to a peaceful happiness that will improve their quality of life. The monks teach the congregation how to meditate to find inner peace. They keep their culture alive by teaching the community their Vietnamese language. One of Dong Hung’s core principles is to help people in need, both locally and in Viet Nam.

 Works Cited

Thanh, Chuc. Personal interview. 18 Nov. 2011.

. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. <http://www.buddhistedu.org/>.

 http://www.buddhistedu.org/en/news/local-news/319

 By Dorothy Edwards

RELG 214

Buddhism in the West

11/28/2011

Comments  

 

0 #1 Karen Peek 2011-11-28 13:11

Dorothy and I were fortunate to meet and become new friends at the One Love Festival at Virginia Wesleyan College in October. I told her about the temple and invited her to visit; I'm so happy that she did, and that she wrote this wonderful article! I hope she will come back often

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