Following is the full translation of the letter sent by Ven. Thich Quang Do to the leaders of the Vietnamese Communist Party on Jan 15, 2000.
PL. 2543
No: 16 - VHD/VT
Saigon, January 15, 2000
Respectfully sent to:
Mr. Le Kha Phieu, General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party
Mr. Tran Duc Luong, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Mr. Phan Van Khai, Prime Minister of the SRV, and
Mr. Nong Duc Manh, Chairman of the National Assembly of the SRV
Gentlemen,
I still remember vividly when our Buddhists held the ceremony to commemorate the Hung Vuong Ancestry for the first time in early 1946, we unanimously sent a telegram to compatriots who were fighting [the French colonists] in the South: "We encourage and wish all of you, our brothers and sisters, unity, valor, and incisiveness to fight to the end for the independence of Vietnam and show the civilized countries the doctrine of rescuing fellow-men out of love."
I still remember vividly in April 1946 the Vietnamese Buddhist Association was formed to join Buddhist followers with compatriots in the entire country in "the war against the three evils: "Hunger, Illiteracy, and Foreign Invaders."
I also remember on August 30, 1947, the mid-July day in the Lunar calendar, Chairman Ho Chi Minh wrote to the Vietnamese Buddhist Association that: "Only in an independent nation can Buddhism blossom easily. The French colonists want to rob our country. They burn pagodas, destroy statues of Buddha, mistreat clergy, and kill lay people. They aim to exterminate Buddhism. Oh, Buddha, the Most Loving, Most Forgiving, and Always Ready to Rescue the Suffering and Victims. To rescue people from suffering, He had had to fight against the evils."
The above-mentioned stories are historical facts that were printed on various newspapers of the time, particularly on the National Salvation newspaper. In reciting this information, I wish to emphasize three points. First is the determination and sincerity of the Buddhist community toward national independence and the happiness of every citizen. Second is the language (political rhetoric and political view) and unique actions of the Buddhists in their social contribution and defense of the nation against the three evils--Hunger, Illiteracy, and Invaders. Third is the situation of all religious organizations, particularly the Buddhist church, during the time foreign power was ruling our country.
Among the three evils that Buddhist followers along with their fellow Vietnamese have fought against since 1945, only the foreign invaders were eliminated. Hunger and Illiteracy remain unchanged. Don't blame people and Buddhists for these failures. Instead, the national leaders must be held responsible for having prevented people from achieving the goal of ending hunger and illiteracy.
More seriously, the prediction Chairman Ho Chi Minh wrote on the mid-July day in 1947 has not become reality. Even though the country gained its independence, Buddhism has not blossomed. Even earlier in the North, and since 1975 in the South, the Party and the Government have confiscated pagodas; destroyed Buddha statues; mistreated, imprisoned, and exterminated Buddhist clergy and followers. The entire policy, from actual treatment to the laws, aims at a total destruction of Buddhism [in Vietnam]. Therefore, in the last 25 years, all the movements for human rights and religious freedom of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, led by the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, have simply implemented the point Chairman Ho Chi Minh emphasized 53 years ago: "To rescue other people from sufferings, one must join the struggle."
Incidentally, I need to correct an common misunderstanding by the authorities about the name "Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam." The word "Unified" means more than just the coalescence of [Vietnamese Buddhist] associations, sects, and local facilities that were temporarily divided due to the political situation. Vietnamese Buddhism already achieved such a goal 2,000 years ago. The word "Unified" in the name Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam carries a much more important meaning because it represents the unique teaching of Vietnamese Buddhism in the areas of religious knowledge, enlightenment, and serving others, compared to other Buddhist churches around the world. In terms of religious teaching, [Vietnamese Buddhism] unites the two main methods of practicing Buddhism: Northern School and Southern School; also known as Mahayana Buddhism and Original Buddhism. This unification took place for the first time in the 60's in Vietnam thanks to the strong mind of Vietnamese Buddhists. In terms of national and social duties, [Vietnamese Buddhism] eliminated the very un-Buddhist divisions between secular and religious worlds, and between clergy and Buddhist home-monks. Those unifications are new progress in the Vietnamese Buddhists' unique thinking and action. Without such unifications, conflicts, hatred, and polarization would continue to wreak suffering on our people.
From both the misunderstanding of the word and abuse of power, [the Party and the Government] eliminated the word "Unified" and banned the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam from all religious activities. [Such actions] are opposite to the direction of progress in the thinking and contribution of a religion that has existed for 20 centuries in this country. [Such actions] are also against the Vietnamese Buddhists' rights to freedom of religion.
On the occasion of the coming Canh Thin New Year, I would like to present three requests for your consideration:
Tet (New Year) is the season of happiness and national unification. Following the humanistic tradition of Vietnamese culture, many dynasties in the past announced amnesties and reduction of taxes around this time of the year. I, therefore, call on the Party and the Government to release all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, who have been incarcerated for political differences or peaceful expressions of their faith. In particular, release the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, the Executive of the Tang Thong Institute. He is now 83 years old and has been detained without reason for the last 18 years.
Our nation had established national laws and popular respect for the laws very early. When general Ma Vien annexed our country in the first century AD, he reported back to his emperor that: "The laws of Viet people have 10 points better than Han's laws." The "National Court Criminal Codes" of the Le dynasty in the 15th century has been praised by Western legal scholars as an "advanced legal system compared to modern Western legal concepts." Respect for human beings and their talents is the strong point of the National Court Criminal Codes. For example, Article 3 lists 8 items to be used for contemplating commutation. Most significant are past record of virtues and contributions. Article 16 dictates that all people, who are older than 70 or younger than 15 or handicapped bearing exile or lighter sentences, must be commuted or punished with fines only.
Nevertheless, in this modern and civilized era at the start of the 21st Century, in our country there are so many prisoners above 70 and under 15 in the prisons and reeducation camps. Many cases have never been tried. Others were tried unjustly and illegally.
Furthermore, don't forget that 80% of the population are peasants. They are suffering severe hunger due to the weak economy and the heavy layers of taxes. I beg of you to reduce taxes on the occasion of Tet to give them some relief. That is my first request.
For the second request, I would like to ask the Party and the Government to return the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam its right to operate freely in society. Besides the religious goal of this people-built Church to teach Buddhism to its followers, there is also the urgent need to stop the roaming epidemic of superstition, social vices, and moral degradation in our country, particularly among the youth. The capabilities and effectiveness of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam are historical facts, nationally and internationally. [The Church] can contribute effectively to the restoration of the country in the cultural, educational, social, and economic areas.
Religion is a realistic and sacred need of human beings. The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam is a spiritual foundation. It is not an ordinary association that can be formed and disbanded as a temporary political tool.
For the third request, I ask the Party and the Government to set an example for other civilized countries in the world by abolishing capital punishment.
Albeit the legal system needs strong measures to deter [potential violators], capital punishment has never been the best way to cure social crimes. The best solution is prevention with education and rule with mercy. In the last few years, between 60 and 100 death sentences were issued annually. Clearly, these sentences did not discourage corruption, drug trafficking, robbery, and homicide. We must cure the problem at its core and that core is religious teaching and education. Religion should not be pretentious as in colorful ceremonies in recent days to attract tourists and generate masses-stupefying superstition. Religious teaching must be the free development of time-tested beliefs in harmony with modern civilized life. Education policy must rise from the current swamp of materialism and money hunger--the sure signs of the ideology that disregards human dignity.
2,500 years ago, Buddha taught in many sutras that: "poverty is the mother of immorality and crimes, such as murder and theft." Buddha, therefore, also taught his followers how to earn their living, how to spend frugally, and how to become successful in society as a way to spread the faith and help others.
From the 50's to the 80's, the Party and the Government relied on foreign aid from the Socialist bloc to survive. Now that the Socialist bloc has collapsed, the Party and the Government lean on the Western capitalist bloc. That is a normal thing to do. The only concern is that the vast majority of the population continues to drag on their five-decade long hardship without any hope for a better life with adequate necessities and freedom. People had readily sacrificed their lives and properties without complaint during the Ly, Tran, and Le dynasties to defend the country; However, sacrificing oneself for a police-state, which has no respect for human rights and terrorizes the population in the name of "class struggle," does not make any sense to anybody.
The current condition [of the country] is fertile soil for corruption, drug trafficking, theft, and murder. Even hundreds or thousands of death sentences could not solve the problems or discourage the criminals.
Article 6 of the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Vietnam is a signatory, clearly states: "Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life." Regretfully, Vietnam has not signed the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant, taking effect on July 11, 1991. Article 7 of this Protocol states: "No one within the jurisdiction of a State Party to the present Protocol shall be executed. Each State Party shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction."
I, therefore, very much hope that you will soon make the decision to abolish capital punishment. In the current condition of our country, the death sentence bears in itself two harmful and inhuman consequences. Refraining from killing any life forms, particularly human life, is the essence of Eastern philosophy. Maintaining capital punishment is, therefore, against people's wishes and our traditional morality. Moreover, in a country, [whose government] has neither operated under the rule of laws nor established the three independent branches of government, unjust sentences send innocent people and violators of misdemeanors to death. Capital punishment is, therefore, the bad cause that could only increase the evil result.
I hope that you will consider the sincere words for the new year of this humble monk so that Vietnam can catch up with the world in the new 2000 era. The world has just tossed aside the bipolar confrontation, as a result, we can either see enemies everywhere to exterminate; or open our arms to brothers and sisters from all over the world and gladly embrace our fellow citizens.
Respectfully Yours,
Director of the Dharma Propagation Institute
(Signed and Sealed)
Sa Mon Thich Quang Do