Ha Noi (VNA) - It is that time of year again in Viet Nam where the country’s Buddhists flock to pagodas to celebrate the Buddhist traditional Vu Lan festival which commemorates the deceased. It is also the time of year when pagodas, often decorated beautifully for the occasion, embark upon a host of charitable activities for the benefit of the poorest of the poor.
Taking advantage of the festival, several people cloaked as religious zealots have staged a handful of "aid" activities for people living in the most din of circumstances. However, in reality, these activities were intent on inciting the public, mostly petitioners, to take to the streets, block roads and cause social disorder.
The undisputed leader of these wicked programmes is Thich Quang Do, who was born in 1927 under the name of Dang Phuc Tue. Do has registered his residency at the Thanh Minh Pagoda-Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City.
A religious practitioner since an early age, Thich Quang Do has not followed the Buddhist path but reverted to a life of conflict and mistrust. His course has resulted in a stream of activities against the nation and the fruits of unification that were built on the sacrifices of millions of his countrymen.
Thich Quang Do was once imprisoned for "undermining the nation's policy of unity and infringing upon the State interests by circumventing the right to democracy". However, in a state of leniency, the government pardoned him, effectively giving him his freedom.
Nevertheless, Do, supported by a number of political opportunists, including exiled opponents such as Vo Van Ai in France and Ho Giac and Vien Ly in the US, continued his activities against the administration and demanded the reformation of the outlawed organisation "Unified Viet Nam Buddhist Association".
A few individuals and organisations abroad, who obviously have little idea of what the situation on the ground is like in Viet Nam, have labelled Thich Quang Do a leading democrat. For what?
When the Vietnamese people, who had undergone terrible hardships to win freedom and peace, are rallying to build a democratic and civilised society and integrate into the world community, Thich Quang Do and his henchmen have used every opportunity to foment social disorder by spreading distorted and exaggerated information against the country and blocking city roads to cause panic within the public.
The truth of the matter is that Thich Quang Do's activities are similar to those of Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy and Nguyen Khac Toan and serve no purpose but to reap personal financial gain from exiled reactionary organisations.
Security forces have shown with evidence that the group had received funding from exiled organisations such as the US-based "Hoa Mai Club" and the "Petitioners Support Committee"; the Australia-based "People's Democracy Party", and the "Viet Nam Inter-Association for Human Rights" in Switzerland.
More disturbing is his lack of hesitation in accepting money contributed by Buddhist followers for religious reasons that he then turned around to use by duping the petitioners to take part in his attempted social disorder.
The two demonstrations were scheduled for August 22 and 23. Thich Khong Tanh, an accomplice of Thich Quang Do, was arrested while preparing to give millions of VND to petitioners in Ha Noi is an effort to call upon petitioners from other localities to gather and create bedlam in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.
The Most Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem, Head of the Ly Trieu Quoc Su Pagoda in Ha Noi, said that at the Vu Lan festival, Buddhist followers are concentrating on their ancestors, many of whom devoted their lives to build and protect the country we enjoy today, and emphasised "What Thich Quang Do did runs counter to what the religious practitioners pursue."
The Vu Lan festival is an extremely important event of the nation’s monks, nuns and Buddhist followers. It is also a custom, a highly revived tradition and a cultural cornerstone of the country. It offers us a chance to express our gratitude to our ancestors and also allows us to review what we have done for those who are still with us. Having contributed absolutely nothing to national development, why Thich Quang Do and his accomplices would have attempted to besmear this peaceful Vu Lan festival.-Enditem
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