The Most Venerable Dr THICH HUYEN VI

At fourteen year of age, Venerable Huyen Vi received his novice education. Even as young novice age of 18, he already took up as a teacher at a Buddhist primary school. Later at 20, he received the higher bhiksu Ordination. After a few year later, he left his home province and joined An-Quang Buddhist Institute in Saigon for deeping understanding in Buddhalogy. At the same time he continue his service to teach at secondnary school run by the the Sangha. Apart from his acedemic pursuit and teaching activities, he never forget to help other suffering beings especially those victim of the the war and do charitable works. Even at the young age he was mouldering himself to be a Buddhist Chinese Scholar by specialising in he particular the chinese versions of the Abhidharma Kosabhasya in Yogacara literature, and in Vietnamese literature.

As he doing remartablely well in academic field, he was appointed lectureship at An-Quang Buddhist Insitute for monks and at Tu Nghiem Buddhist institute for nuns as well as well as orator of the Vietnamese Sangha Congregation. Later he was elected vice president of the General Commission for Propagation of the Dharma in South and Central Vietnam and finally later was Directory of An-Quang Buddhist institute.

Wanted to broaden his horizon and laterly to be involved in the international activities, Ven. Huyen Vi left Vietnam and went to India to learn more both traditional Indian and Western method of the method of scientific work. In the summer term in 1961. He enrolled at the Nalanda institute of the post Graduate Studies and Research in Pali and Buddhist learning. He took on difficult task learning English and Hindu in order to followed University courses and amazing successed by obtaining B.A. in English in 1965. As he was proficient in the Buddhist doctrine as peserved in Chinese Tpipitaka, it easy for him to command the Pali Language quickly.

In 1963, he passed the Pali-Acarya examination conducted by the Mithila Institute of Post Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit learning at Darbhanga. In1967, he did his MA in Pali entitled The four Abhidhamma Reals at the Magadh University, Bodh Gaya. In 1971, he obtained his Ph.D, the dissertation being " A Critical Study of Life and Work Sariputta Thera" under the supervision and guided of Pro.U.Dhammarantana of Sri-Lanka whom he was very high regard for.

Nalanda is the birth place of Sariputta, one the chief disciple of Buddha who was very wise and believed to be ordinator of the Abhidhamma philosophy. Literature since in Vietnam and thus, he embarked upon " A Critical Study of the life and Works of Sariputta Thera ", where a full-scale study in which all relevants source matterials were gathered from Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese cononical, post cononical and commential literature were systematically arranged evaluated. The product of his study showed that Sariputta has chamong personalty of great sage, in contrast to the usual discription to the sterotype ascentic of Asian india.

As a youth, Ven. Huyen Vi had very good teaching skills. He held the post pf a lecture for three years Nalandda institute teaching mordern Chinese and he encourage students to take up in the Chinese diploma courses. As for himself, he took up in a diploma course in Tibetan under guidance of Lama Rigzin Lhundup. In 1973 after stayingin in India for more than 10 years he return to Vietnam to be the Proffessor at Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon. He lectured on Chan Buddhism according to Chinese source. One year laterly, the Saigon State Univeristy appointed him to teach Buddhism and ancient Vietnamese Literature. Unfortunately in 1975, due to political unrest of the country, (Vietnam War) he was not able to continue with the tearching career. Ven. Huyen Vi was one of the Buddhist leaders of South Vietnam. He never loose contact with his motherland no matter he went in 1964, he was elected President of the oversea Vietnamese Buddhist Association and in 1969, he become the Hon President with the headquarter in France. Following in 1972 he was become elected Genrale Commissioner United Buddhist Congregation in Saigon. Only 1975 , he was invited to Paris by Linh Son Association to be the advicer and later the President of Linh Son. Ven. Huyen Vi setup Linh Son Headquarter at Joinvelle-le-Pont, France, together all pther branches all over continent of the world.

In 1977 Linh Son, France was chosen to be the World Fellowship of Buddhist Regional Centre in France and Ven. Huyen Vi was the director. In 1979 he joined the World Buddhist Sangha Council and he contributed much as its Vice-President since.

Buddhist Education has laways been what Ven. Huyen Vi put much importance on with that in mind, he converted the Monastry Buddhist Linh Son into centre for monks and nuns to be trained and later take charge of other branch as institutions. As Linh Son Headquater was becoming too small for all the activities, in 1987 Ven. Huyen Vi to acquired a bigger place – a 30 hectars of groind to the North of Limoges which is known as Linh Son Tung Lam or Linh Son Mahavihara or Dharma ville. Annaully every summer, this cemntre is the venue for intensive monastic training.

In 1979, Institute Research Buddhist Linh Son at joinville-le-point was formed aimed in mind to give monks and nuns higher trainning. In the year itself Ven Huyen Vi and other grauduate Sangha members began to teach meditation. Buddhist doctrine in Vietnamese?French and Pali. Printing facilities were laso installed at headquater to produce brochures and booklet and voluminious book of Ven Superior’s writing in French and English. The Ven. Also saw the importance of reprinting the rare Buhhist books in Vietnamese especially Chinese Tripitaka.. Thus it become one of the main objective of the institute. With the aim of doing Buddhological research. Ven Huyen Vi created Linh Son Publication Union Buddhalogy research of which from 1977 to 1982, twenty copies have been produced. The following year the institute in coooperation with Pali Buddhist Union in London, produce bi-annual journal called Buddhist review with adviceship of Ven. Huyen Vi and edited by Russel Webb. The Chinese version of the Ekottargama which was not known before in the West was translated in part into French and English. He pieces of Sino-Vietnamese calligraphy was also contributed to his journal. Recently, The Buddhist Studies Review has won recognition as the organ of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies.

Ven. Huyen Vi contributions to Buddhist Studies like comprehensive commentaries inter alia on Saddharmapundarika on Parjnaparamita text or the inacessible to those who do not read Vietnamese.

To put all this in a nutshell, one understanding chracteristic of Ven. Superior is that in what ever he does throughout his active life. He always does it with the idea of " bodhisattvacarya sarvasattvahitaya".

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