Renewing Buddhism in Asia

Our practice at Plum Village has contributed a great deal not only to Buddhism in Europe and the United States, but also to Buddhism in Vietnam and other areas of Asia. Without monastic disciples, I would not have been able to write Stepping into Freedom, our hand-book sharing practical guidance and requirements for novices. The book that is currently used by novices in Buddhist countries was written over four hundred years ago. I felt it was outdated and no longer appropriate. I sate with my disciples to compose thirty-nine chapters on mindful manners, instead of the original twenty-four.

This new handbook includes such areas of practice as how to use a computer in mindfulness and how to facilitate discussion about the Dharma. The Ten Mindfulness Training is also presented here in a complete, practical, and beautiful way.

Without the monastic Sangha, we would not have been able to offer to Vietnam the daily chanting book, written in modern Vietnamese, which many temples are now using. (Most traditional chanting books in Vietnam are written in Sino-Vietnamese, which many people do not understand.) We have been able to write and publish many reference books that temples, meditation center, and Buddhist Universities in Vietnam and other countries in Asia find beneficial. For example, the Heart of the Buddha’s teachings, a book on basic Buddhism as taught to monks and nuns, is now used as course material in Buddhist institutes in Vietnam.

We created a four-year training program for monks and nuns, helping monastic become capable of organizing retreats and leading day of mindfulness. After five years, monastic can be considered to receive the transmission of the Dharma Lamp to become Dharma teachers: monastic, lay, and honorary monastic dharma teachers. About eighty monastic and fifty laypeople have received the Dharma Lamp and led retreats all over the world. There are also numerous honorary monastic Dharma teachers who are teaching in Vietnam.