2007年VOA标准英语-Vietnamese Buddhist Leader Seeks to Heal Wounds

By Matt Steinglass
Ho Chi Minh City
23 March 2007

Buddhist2 leader Thich Nhat Hanh sits at the opening of a three-day requiem3 for those killed on both sides of the Vietnam War, 16 Mar1 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070529/0812210.jpg" width="202" vspace="2" border="0" />

Zen Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh sits at the opening of a three-day requiem for those killed on both sides of the Vietnam War, 16 Mar 2007

Eighty-year-old monk⁴ Thich Nhat Hanh has been back in his native Vietnam for a month, holding a series of ceremonies aimed at healing the wounds of the Vietnam War. In the 1960's, Hanh was one of the leaders of South Vietnam's Buddhist "struggle movement," which opposed the war and the South Vietnamese government. He was later exiled, and few of today's Vietnamese remember him from that era, but many are attracted by the modernized⁵ form of Zen Buddhism⁶ he has brought from the West. Matt Steinglass reports from Ho Chi Minh City.

Thich Nhat Hanh leads thousands of Vietnamese in prayer rituals at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda⁷ in Ho Chi Minh City. The prayers are dedicated⁸ to the dead of both sides in the Vietnam War.

Hanh was an important figure during the war, one of the leaders of a Buddhist movement that staged huge anti-war protests in the city then called Saigon.

But almost no one in the crowd on Saturday knew of Hanh's actions in the 1960's. Many, like Trang Tri Son, were born after the war ended in 1975, and were drawn⁹ not by Hanh's history in Vietnam, but by his fame in Europe and America.

Son says he has read that Hanh is among the 60 most important spiritual leaders in the world.

Hanh has lived mainly in France since he was exiled by the South Vietnamese government in 1966 for his anti-war activities.

His Order of Interbeing has thousands of followers¹⁰ in monastic communities there, and in the American states of Vermont and California. His philosophy centers on what he calls "mindfulness:" focusing on what one is doing, not being so distracted by material things that one allows life to pass by.

Brother Phap Lo, a Swede who is one of dozens of Western followers who accompanied Hahn to Vietnam, explains.

"We're trying to find ways of using the teachings of the Buddha¹¹ and our teacher so that we can live more happily and peacefully, whether it's as a therapist or at an office," he said. "We want to live more simply, taking better care of the earth and each other."

It is a philosophy well suited to the spiritual needs of harried¹² Westerners. As Vietnam turns to capitalism¹³ and the pace of life increases, it is a philosophy that also appeals to today's ambitious Vietnamese professionals.

Hanh drew a crowd of several hundred to a lecture for businessmen, held at a country club near Ho Chi Minh City. Chau Zesiger, a Vietnamese fashion entrepreneur married to an American, says she finds Hanh's Zen philosophy more attractive than traditional Vietnamese Buddhism.

"Buddhist philosophy is usually negative, because life is sorrow," said Chau. "But for Thich Nhat Hanh, life is positive. We breathe, and we smile - this is the name of the program. And it's quite interesting to combine into our business life."

This is Hahn's second return visit to Vietnam. The first came in 2005, 39 years after he was exiled for his actions against the war.

In 1965, he founded the Youth School for Social Services in Saigon. At the time, South Vietnam was not only fighting a war against the communists, it was also torn by conflict between the mainly Catholic government and the Buddhist movement to which Hanh belonged.

The movement opposed the war, and some of its monks¹⁴ burned themselves alive in protest. Hanh wanted to form a peaceful "third force," training Buddhists¹⁵ in agriculture and medicine, and sending them out to poor villages to start development projects.

That ultimately proved dangerous. Former monk Tran Dinh Nguyen, now 68, was a student at Hanh's school.

Nguyen says in May of 1967, someone threw a grenade into one of the classrooms, killing¹⁶ two female students. Two weeks later, eight students disappeared from a village and were never seen again. In July, five students were kidnapped and shot.

Nguyen says the students might have been killed by either side. The government thought Thich Nhat Hanh was a communist. The communists thought he was a CIA agent.

By the time of the attacks, Hanh was already in exile. He traveled to the U.S. in 1966 to build links with the American anti-war movement, and convinced Martin Luther King, the American civil rights leader, to speak out publicly against the war.

For his efforts, the Saigon government barred him from returning home, and after North Vietnam defeated the South in 1975, the communist government continued the ban.

Hanh stayed in the West, building up an entourage of Zen monks and devoted¹⁷ lay followers.

Older Vietnamese have been drawn on this visit by Hanh's attempt to heal the lingering trauma¹⁸ of the war. At Vinh Nghiem Pagoda on Saturday, 75-year-old Vu Thi Quy said the bitterness remains¹⁹.

Quy says she gave eight thousand dollars last year to monks at another pagoda to pray for the family she lost in the war. Her father-in-law died in a communist prison, and one of her daughters perished while trying to flee Vietnam by boat in 1978.

Quy says she, like many Vietnamese, remembers nothing of the Buddhist movement of the 1960's. But other shared memories have not disappeared. When Hanh and his followers began chanting last weekend, thousands of Buddhists showed they still know the tunes²⁰.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

3 requiem   

n.安魂曲，安灵曲

参考例句：

• I will sing a requiem for the land walkers.我会给陆地上走的人唱首安魂曲。
• The Requiem is on the list for today's concert.《安魂曲》是这次音乐会的演出曲目之一。

4 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

5 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。

6 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

7 pagoda   

n.宝塔（尤指印度和远东的多层宝塔），（印度教或佛教的）塔式庙宇

参考例句：

• The ancient pagoda is undergoing repairs.那座古塔正在修缮中。
• The pagoda is reflected upside down in the water.宝塔影子倒立在水里。

8 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

9 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

10 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

11 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

12 harried   

v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰

参考例句：

• She has been harried by the press all week. 整个星期她都受到新闻界的不断烦扰。
• The soldiers harried the enemy out of the country. 士兵们不断作骚扰性的攻击直至把敌人赶出国境为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

14 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 Buddhists   

n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Jesuits in a phase of ascendancy, persecuted and insulted the Buddhists with great acrimony. 处于地位上升阶段的耶稣会修士迫害佛教徒，用尖刻的语言辱骂他们。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The return of Saivite rule to central Java had brought no antagonism between Buddhists and Hindus. 湿婆教在中爪哇恢复统治后，并没有导致佛教徒与印度教徒之间的对立。 来自辞典例句

16 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

17 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

18 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》