Linh Ung Temple (Thinh Long town, Hai Hau, Nam Dinh) is full of laughter, the voice, the cry of the children without parents because this temple is their home and nun Thich Dam Bich is their mother
Nun Thich Dam Bich thinks that “Human beings always follow to the law of causality, when they die they will return to dust, only charitable heart is forever”. So, many children without parents live in temple
Nun Thich Dam Bich was born in 1955. She lost her parents when she was young. She came to this temple and became a Buddhist nun when she was 13 years old.
25 years ago she found a boy who wrapped in a thin blanket. She hold the baby and she found the words “depending on your help”
She spent many months to look for his parents, but she did not find them. This boy has lived in temple. He was named Pham Van Tien. He has grown up in nun’s care. More than 20 years later, Pham Van Tien graduated from University, he often visits the temple and helps nuns to care for children.
In summer afternoon in 2010, when the temple was quiet in sleep, suddenly the phone rang and called her. She and everyone ran to gate of temple and saw a weak boy. She took a boy to the district hospital. A baby was sick so nuns had to take him to Hanoi hospital. Now, this boy is one year old and named Le Cong Thanh. He can toddle in courtyard.
During 20 years, many children have lived and grown up in this temple. They are in care of nun Thich Dam Bich.
Although the lives of nuns are very hard, they have still taken care children. Every day nuns in the temple still encourage each other to care for children. They try their best to supply children with enough meals
Every day nuns make incense, rice, peanuts, tree ... for living expenses.
Nun Thich Dam Bich and Le Cong Thanh in the house of gratitude for the elderly and children
Nun Thich Dam Bich finds the usefulness of study, she proposed to open the classroom of children in the temple and the local government adopted her proposal in 2006. English teachers were also invited to teach the children.
Children at the age of four year old can go to the kindergarten. In the next years they can go to the primary, secondary school and university. Although the lives of Nun Thich Dam Bich and children are very difficult, some of children graduated from college with good degrees such as Pham Van Tien graduated university of Tourism, Tran Thi Huong is studying at Natural Resources and Environment University. and some of them are studying at universities and colleges.
Children know how hard life of nun Bich is , so they learn very hard
Linh Ung temple is a place of the unlucky elderly. During 25 years, nun Thich Dam Bich has helped more than 120 old people.
"I have been living in the temple more than 20 years now, but I have not met anyone as good as nun Bich. Every day she is very busy, but she often visits us. she never loudly shouts anyone, perhaps all my life owes her dept of gratitude because she is my 2nd mother" Mr. Tran Thi Dung (70 years old) said.
In the afternoon, Linh Ung temple is full of the children’s laughter. This temple is unlikely other temples. This temple seems to be a loving home rather than a temple.
