Thich Quang Thuan, Fremont, California
“When I turned 2 years old, my father left Vietnam. He was a boat person. So I grew up without a father, and the traditional thinking is that children growing up without their father will get into trouble. When I was 13, my mother worried about me and sent me to the temple for a guest study program. The monks became my tutors. They helped me study, and taught me how to become a good person. I was there in the afternoon after school, and in the evening my mother picked me up. I did this until I was 18 years old. After about two years, I knew I wanted to become a monk, but my mother didn’t let me. She just wanted me to become a good person, and she thought if I became a monk, she’d lose me. My mother said that I need to see my father in the United States, and after that I could do whatever I wanted. When I was 18 years old, my father was able to bring us to the US. After one year in the United States, I followed my dream and became I monk. I had to wait many years, but I had a plan.”
“Buddhism is not a religion, it is an education and practice. If you want to succeed in creating a happy life, you will need to study the lessons and understand how to apply them in your life.”
“I don’t compete. That’s why I have no enemies, there is nothing to get. If you want to get something from other people, if you want to become a winner, it is very easy to get angry. I don’t have to get anything from other people, I can just talk normally with others, and there is no reason for me to be angry with them. I don’t run the race. When you want to catch up or get something, you have to try to be a winner, and if you are not, you get angry.”
“As a monk, I look like a doctor who is a general practitioner. I have to study all the schools, Meditation, Pure Land, Tibetan, and so on. I love all of them, but I chose to practice the Zen school. The people have many choices. It’s like seeing yourself in front of many foods, you just have to try and see what is good for you. The most important thing is that you do not discriminate. Just because one school works for you, don’t call it the most perfect and say the other schools are wrong. All of them come from the Buddha.”