Lang Mai followers’ pagoda rift explained

Buddhist followers practising teachings of the France-based Lang Mai (Plum Village) had by December 30 voluntarily left the Phuoc Hue Pagoda in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong for home.
The Vice Chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, Nguyen Thanh Xuan, met with reporters yesterday on issues relating to followers of the Lang Mai sect.
According to the committee, before June 2008, a large number of Lang Mai followers arrived at the Bat Nha Monastery with permission of its head, Venerable Thich Duc Nghi, to practise meditation according to teachings of Lang Mai meditation centre, which was established in France by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Lang Mai centre, however, interfered in internal affairs of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) by appointing a deputy head of the Bat Nha Monastery and ordaining a Venerable to Most Venerable without asking for permission from the VBS and the Monastery’s head.
The moves ran counter to the VBS’s Charter and the law of Viet Nam, the official said at the press conference, which was also attended by the Vice Chairman of the Lam Dong People’s Committee, Nguyen Ngoc Dong, representatives from the Foreign Ministry, foreign diplomatic corps in Ha Noi and local and foreign reporters.
Displeased with the acts, Venerable Nghi sent a petition to the VBS to withdraw his guarantee for the Lang Mai followers. The VBS accepted the Venerable’s request and asked the Lang Mai followers to leave the Bat Nha Monastery and return to pagodas in their native land.
However, the Lang Mai followers stayed on despite Venerable Nghi’s repeated demands, which led to a clash between them and followers of the Bat Nha Monastery on June 27, 2009.
On September 28, 2009, all the Lang Mai followers moved out of the Bat Nha Monastery to the Phuoc Hue Pagoda and some of them even returned home. And by December 30, last year, the remainders voluntarily left the Phuoc Hue Pagoda for home.
Religious committee vice chairman Xuan stressed that differences in the way of conducting religious practices between the Lang Mai followers and the Bat Nha Monastery’s monks, nuns and believers led to the clashes.
Lam Dong vice chairman Dong said local authoritiees did not interfere in the incident but only maintained security and public order.
"They were rows between religious sects, not violations of the criminal law, that is why local law enforcement offices did not take any measures to deal with the incident," he added.
Dong also rejected an allegation that the local administration had pressured Lang Mai followers to leave Phuoc Hue Pagoda.