The Most Venerable Tâm Trí, Minh Châu, Viên Dung,
perfectly talented and virtuous Monk – Teacher
perfectly talented and virtuous Monk – Teacher
Born, grown up, succeeding in this life,
each of us has the same and various surnames and names named by parents and
grandparents of both maternal and paternal sides to inherit and to connect us
to our spiritual and blood lineage. In addition, a lay person, in the first minutes and hours of being registered the
birth of Buddhism – the path of enlightenment, loving-kindness, compassion,
peace, and awakening, and in the moments of understanding and choosing for
himself or herself the path leading to peacefulness and steadiness throughout
life by taking a vow and taking refuge in the Triple Gem: the Buddha, the
Dharma, the Sangha, and the Five Virtuous Trainings[1] with his or her original
Master whether directly or indirectly teaching, granting, and transmitting the
Dharma precepts he or she received, receives one more religious name, that is
to say, Dharma name. A Monastic, apart from surname, name, and
Dharma name, still receives an additional Dharma identity, and Dharma title.
Indeed, when being born, growing up,
leaving home for a monastic life, learning the Dharma, understanding the
Dharma, practicing it, preaching it, protecting it, and applying it in his or
her daily life, each of us bears the same and various names, surnames, Dharma
name, Dharma identity, and Dharma title.
The title of this writing is “The Most Venerable Tâm Trí, Minh Châu, Viên Dung, perfectly talented and virtuous Monk –
Teacher.” To expand upon the above topic, the writer defines, discusses,
and analyzes every word, every phrase, and the above whole title in turn.
First of all, the Most Venerable One (Sanskrit: Upādhāya)
means the person who has talent and virtue has the
ability to contain, uphold, inherit, connect, impart, educate, train, nourish,
and to bring up the Buddha Dharma to Buddhists and non-Buddhists. The Most Venerable One, a common noun
of Sino-Vietnamese word, means the Elder One, Virtuous One, Moral One,
Exemplary One, and Honored One at the Temple, Pagoda, in Delegation, in the Dharma
path, and in the people.
The surname of the Most
Venerable One is Đinh, whose family name is Văn Nam, his Dharma name is Tâm Trí, Dharma identity is Minh Châu, and Dharma title is Viên Dung. All the “Dharma” words here mean a life vein of the Dharma
path and the people, the Dharma, and the Buddha’s teachings. Reading his
biography,[2] we knew that his father
graduated as a second-rank doctor at the age of 21 in the year 1913. Following
his father’s studious example and emulating his father’s educational endeavors,
the Most Venerable was determined to cultivate, to learn, and to afterward
early become the perfectly and brightly talented and virtuous One in all
ages.
Tâm Trí
is a noun of two Sino-Vietnamese words; Tâm means heart, the key, the essence, the heart, etc.
According to the stream of Patriarch Liễu Quán,[3]’s verse, Tâm is the transmission and connection between previous
generations and next generations such as … Trừng, Tâm, Nguyên, (… Purification, Heart,
Origin…), etc.
Trí means wisdom (S. Prajña/ P. Paññā).
Thus, Tâm Trí is
the Dharma name of the Most Venerable One, who has his sincere and authentic
heart has the ability to be far-seeing through many generations and ages,
through specific aspects such as educator, translator of Pali Canon, Buddhist
diplomat of example, suitability, creation of much aspirations to all people in
the present society.
Minh Châu
is a noun of two Sino-Vietnamese words; Minh is an adjective which modifies the noun Châu means bright, clear-sighted, perspicacious, insightful; Châu means precious gem. Thus, Minh Châu means
the precious and clear-sighted gem, the Dharma identity of the Most
Venerable One, who has the gem of the authentic Buddha Dharma to show the peaceful
and happy path to the Dharma and to the people; who has the ability to
transmit, connect, and to light up the torch of the Dharma for many generations
in the present as well as in the future by translating the Pali and Chinese Sutras
into Vietnamese, by opening school to teach and to train talented and virtuous
people to be beneficial to family, to school, and to society.
Viên Dung
is a Sino-Vietnamese word, private noun; Viên
is an adjective which modifies the noun Dung means fully round, perfect; Dung
means collection, harmonization, acceptability, forgiveness,
generosity, capaciousness, etc. Thus, Viên
Dung means collection and perfection for aspects of talent and virtue, the Dharma title of the Most Venerable One, who has the ability to
permeate and to spread harmony among the Sangha, between Southern and Northern
Buddhism, and among Chinese, Sanskrit, and Pali Sutras.
Thật
vậy, Tâm Trí, Minh Châu, Viên Dung, vị Sư – Thầy tài đức vẹn toàn, là chủ đề chính của bài viết này, mang nhiều ý
nghĩa đặc thù và quan trọng, có các mối tương quan và tương duyên với nhau rất
mật thiết, ba là một, một là ba, và là tất cả, cụ thể chỉ cho Trưởng lão Hòa thượng với đạo hiệu
thường dùng hằng ngày là ở phía trước chữ Minh
ở phía sau chữ Châu. (Trong nhà
Thiền, đây là cách gọi trang trọng, dành cho một người được cung kính và quý
trọng).
Indeed,
Tâm Trí, Minh Châu, Viên Dung, the perfectly talented and virtuous Monk –
Teacher, the main title of this writing, which implies many specific and
important meanings. Those names, which has interdependent relationships with
one another very closely, three becomes one, one becomes three, and all, together,
are concretely intended for the Most
Venerably Elder One with daily frequently used the alternative monastic name
being in the front of the word Minh and
at the back of the word Châu. (At the Buddhist Temple, this is how to solemnly call, is intended for a respected
and esteemed person).
We
know that first of all, with his aspiration to strongly leave home for a
monastic life and by cultivating and learning the Buddha Dharma in Vietnam, the
Most Venerable Thích Minh Châu became a monk wearing his brown, pale green, and
yellow robes in accordance with the Northern Buddhist tradition from the year
1946 to the year 1952. Afterward, he had the good opportunity to go abroad to
study at Colombo University in Sri Lanka in 1952 – 1955 and at Bihar University
in India in 1956 – 1963. From those years until passing away in 2012, he wore
saffron yellow robes in accordance with the Southern Buddhist tradition and was
conversant with the Sutras and systems of Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhist
thoughts.
According
to Buddhist philosophy, we have been heard and known that “a robe cannot become a
monastic, but the monastic cannot but have this robe.” In this context, “the
monastic” is indicated for the practitioner, namely the Most Venerable One;
whether Southern Buddhist tradition or Northern Buddhist tradition, the “robe”
of those two traditions is only a means of materials used to cover his or her
body. Its figurative sense means peacefulness and deliverance, a “rice paddy of the best merit” for lay
people and monastics to have a chance to sow, plant, uphold, and to comply with
the Buddha Dharma.
Through
cultivation, practice, and applying the Buddha Dharma into his or her daily
life, the practitioner uses the robe to make means necessary to protect his or
her warm body from the wind, the cold, and from the stings and bites of
insects. Thanks to practicing the Buddha Dharma diligently like this, the
practitioner can gain followers and fruits of peaceful joy and happiness right
here and right now in the present life.
Thus, through the above discussed things, we know the Most Venerable One can be called the Monastic and can also be called the Teacher, generally called the prominent Monastic Teacher. In the title of this writing, we encounter the two words “Monastic and Teacher.” The “Monastic” is the monk or the nun. In Sino-Vietnamese use, the “Monastic” is a common noun referring to the Monastics who wear saffron yellow robes in accordance with the traditions of Southern Buddhist countries such as Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc., and Vietnam; the “Teacher” is also the monk or the nun. In Vietnamese use, the “Teacher” is also a common noun frequently indicated for the teachers who wear brown, pale green, pale gray, saffron yellow robes in accordance with the traditions of Northern Buddhist countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, etc., and Vietnam. The term “Teacher” also may refer to a lay person or lay teacher.
Thus, in Vietnam there are both “the Monastic and the Teacher,” in the Most
Venerable One there are also both the “Monastic
and the Teacher,” in himself there
are also both the proficiency of the Sutras and harmony between Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism, and within him there are also peaceful
joy, happiness, enlightenment, and deliverance. In this writing, “the Monastic and the Teacher” that
go together are used to indicate the Monk, namely the Most Venerable Thích Minh Châu, the estimably Monastic Teacher,
embodying the above integral meanings.
Having read and known the above
discussion, we know the heart manifests the signs. His Dharma name, Dharma
character, and Dharma title reflect his perfect talent and virtue. The
present people seldom have anyone to keep pace with him.
Indeed, the Most Venerable Thích Minh
Châu is the perfectly talented and virtuous Monastic Teacher. With the light of
education and training of talented and virtuous people, he has the ability to
impart and to light up the torches of the Dharma for the many succeeding generations
in the present and in the future. The more the torch of the Dharma is lighted
up, the more his insightful light is brightened in space and time, in oneself,
in others, in the Sangha, family, school, and in society.
To commemorate and to follow his talent
and virtue, the Sutras translated, compiled, and written by him, the education
curricula of Bodhi schools and Vietnam Buddhist Universities, and the education
curricula of youth and teenagers, we can bring them out to teach, to apply, and
to practice in the present schools, especially apply and practice them to
accord with in our daily lives.
Respectfully pay homage to the Most Venerable Thích Minh Châu, the
dear and estimable Monastic Teacher!
Ven. Thích Trừng Sỹ
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[1] The Five Virtuous Trainings
consist of 1. Nourishing the heart of loving-kindness and compassion toward
living beings, 2. Developing the heart of alms-giving, 3. Building happiness of
family, husband, wife, and children, 4. Taking hold of confidence, truth, and
prestige for oneself and for delegation, 5. Nurturing wisdom by knowing how to
love one and how to love others.
