Following is the speech of Venerable Thich Quang Do, Head of the Hoa Dao Office (the executive office of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam), sent to the Church VIII Conference held in the United States on May 9, 1999.

The communist government of Vietnam has declared the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) illegal and non-existent. The Hoa Dao Office was shut down after all of its documents and seals were confiscated by Public Security cadres.

Today, the government allows only its state-controlled Buddhist Church of Vietnam to operate; continues its detainment of Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, the UBCV patriarch; maintains a strict isolation of Venerable Thich Quang Do; holds a large number of the Church's leaders in prison camps; and continues its hostile policy toward all forms of organized religions.

Respected Elders,
All Clergies,
All Buddhist Followers,

On behalf of the Two-Chambers Council and as the Head of the Hoa Dao Office, I respectfully convey to the Conference the congratulation from all clergies and followers inside the country. At the same time, we send you the heartfelt concerns of people who are living in a dark corner of the world. [This is the place] where pure violence has become a philosophical subject challenging other main streams of Western and Eastern philosophies; where human dignity and the conscience of humankind are being tested.

And via the Conference, on behalf of all clergies, followers, and those being oppressed for holding on steadfastly to their belief, I would like to express our deep appreciation to those international human rights organizations, dignitaries, and religious and social activists, who for a quarter of a century have constantly supported the voice of morality and called on the conscience of humankind not to let this poor and backward country severed from the rest of the civilized world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

More than 20 years have passed since the VII Conference. This length of time is enough for an individual to mature and realize what compose a human being's dignity. Unfortunately, that much time is still not enough for a country with a 4000-year history to rise to the level of today's thinking. This period of time is, however, already too long to verify the myth of the always- victorious anti-religion policy. Throughout this period, the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, with its 2000-year heritage, was built and grew on the blood and fire of the non-violent spirit; was constantly the target of oppression for its refusal to give in to violence; refused to become the tools of the dictatorship; refused to distort the noble teachings of Buddha and the Founding Monks to defend the interests of the contemporary ruling class.

The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) still exists despite the Government's frequent announcements that the Church has no legal rights to exist. The UBCV remains because it is not a pre-molded legalized institution but rather a social entity that joins people's wishes and ideals. The UBCV stands as a symbol of human dignity. It represents the spirit of giving up oneself for others and the spirit of Tolerance-Intellect-Courage of Vietnamese Buddhists. That consciousness and reality apply not only to this conference but also to Buddhism throughout the ages, and particularly to Buddhism in Vietnam. No violent forces have the magic power to obliterate that consciousness or to eradicate that reality.

Having said that, today, a section of Vietnamese clergies, however, is serving as useful servants to the government. They follow closely the doctrinal strategy: "The Party must employ religions to gather the masses". A number of those servants are being corrupted systematically so that the Buddhist Trinity is no longer a safe refuge for the living and self-discipline is no longer part of the respectable qualification of the clergies. The danger [of such policy] is not the threat to the organization [of the Church] but rather its ill effect on the faith of so many Buddhists at home.

So despite our gladness to see more massive pagodas and Buddhist schools erected, if these religious institutions exist only to carry out their political missions - meaning the long hands of the Party will go through these institutions to reach the population - then the Buddhist goals of preaching to and saving humanity has been changed toward [the Church's] own extinction.

That is a topic I would like the Conference to discuss - The Separation of Religion and Politics.

Another matter [needs be affirmed]. Throughout its 2000 years of propagation and bearing all the ups and downs with the Vietnamese people, Vietnamese Buddhism has never been the oppressing force or collaborated with any political power to exploit people - unlike what were defined in the doctrine of those materialist historians. On the contrary, even in the periods when the Church possessed widest political influence, Vietnamese Buddhists never used their political power to suppress other schools of thinking. Vietnamese Buddhism has never been a political force to challenge the ruling power, either. However, when the Vietnamese people are oppressed, regardless by domestic or foreign powers, Vietnamese Buddhists do not forget the ideals they worship in Buddha: Great Courage, Great Diligence, Great Tolerance.

Today, near the end of the millennium, humanity is ready to let go of the violent and intolerant past to open its forgiving arms to welcome in the new millennium. This will be the period of democracy, freedom, equality among nations, and tolerance in thinking and belief. Those are the precious qualities of humankind that Buddha held in high regard. Those also are the values Vietnamese Buddhists have lived by. Once the door to the world is open, Vietnamese Buddhists do realize their duty to contribute to the world community. This is another topic I hope the Conference will have the time and condition to discuss.

There are also other important topics, such as the view of Vietnamese Buddhists on the past [history of our nation] and our projection of the world in the future. However, inside the country, Buddhist organizations and voices are permitted [to discuss those topics] only when they prove to be effective tools for the Party to bind all Buddhists to one block and pull that block in any direction it so chooses. Therefore, the Church of all uncorrupted and steadfast clergies and believers place all our hearts and mind and wishes on this Conference. [We] hope that the Conference will positively develop the Vietnamese Buddhist spirit, display the Vietnamese Buddhist capability to contribute to a world of peace, happiness, and tolerance despite our current status - people of a poor and backward nation.

[We] pray that the Conference will speak out the silent thought the Buddhist clergies and followers inside the country cannot bring to words; so that the world community will hear our sincere wishes to join step with humankind civilization.

[We] wish the Conference great success.

On the 2543rd birthday of Buddha, the Church respectfully wish the Elders great religious understanding to become the large shade trees that shelter all Buddhist followers in the hot desert of this century.

We wish all the clergies ever greater ethics, self-discipline, and reaching your religious consciousness.

We wish all Buddhist followers steadfast hearts and peaceful daily living with true faith and true mind to carry out the teachings of Buddha right in the middle of this merciless life.

Written in Saigon, Buddhist year of 2543
Head of the Hoa Dao Office
(Signed)
Venerable Thich Quang Do

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