A seminar on the life, Buddhist practices and achievements of Monk Tính Định was held on March 20 at Vu Lang pagoda located in Dan Hoa commune of Hanoi City’s Thanh Oai district on occasion of the 180th birthday of the late monk.
The event was co-organized by the Vietnam Buddist Sangha (VBS)’s Central Committee for Culture Affairs, Xien Phap Buddhist sect and the Religious Research Institute under the Vietnam Academy for Social Sciences.
The event saw the presence of Most Venerable Thích Thanh Nhiễu, Standing Vice President of the VBS’s Executive Council; Most Venerable Thích Gia Quang and Most Venerable Thích Bảo Nghiêm, Vice Presidents of the VBS’s Executive Council; Most Venerable Thích Thanh Đạt, President of the Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Hanoi; Most Venerable Thích Thanh Minh, Chairman of the VBS chapter in Thanh Oai district cum Head of Xien Phap Buddhist sect; and Most Venerable Thích Thọ Lạc, Chairman of the VBS’s Central Committee for Culture Affairs; Assoc. Prof., Dr. Chu Văn Tuấn, Director of the Religious Research Institute; Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi municipal Committee for Religious Affairs Phạm Bảo Khánh, and several experts and researchers on Buddhism.
According to Most Venerable Thích Thanh Nhiễu, the seminar aimed to clarify the life, Buddhist practices and Buddhist contributions of the late Monk Tính Định in the historical context of Northern Buddhism in the late 19th century and early 20th century, with references for Buddhist development at presence, especially about the national intergration, the protection and preservation of the Vietnamese culture, and the tradition of accompanying with the nation of Vietnamese Buddism.
Most Venerable Thích Thanh Nhiễu speaks at the event
Monk Tính Định was born in Hanoi City’s Ha Dong district and used to be an mandarin at the Governor's office in Hanoi.
He started his Buddhist practices at the age of 27. He was accepted as a disciple by the 11th Patriarch Chính Bỉnh of the Tao Dong Zen Buddhist sect and given the dharma name Tâm Châu. Then he followed Patriarch Quang Lư Đường Đường to practice Pure-Land Buddhism and was given the name Tính Định.
In 1872, he bought land and started the construction of Xien Phap (Promoting Buddhist Dharma) pagoda, had great merits in promoting Xien Phap Buddhist sect, with Xien Phap pagoda becoming a center of Buddhism in the North cum a place for engraving and printing famous Buddhist scriptures in Hanoi.
NL (phatsuonline.com)
