Master Nguyen Tang was born on the 5th December 1967 in the small pleasant village of Vinh Thai located in the outer regions of the beautiful beach city of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa province. Being that his childhood home was no further than 5 minutes away from the villages local Buddhist temple, the sound of the morning and evening temple bells became a natural atmosphere for his family.
In 1970, his parents, Tam Thai Ngo Thi Dac and Tam Thang Vo Thong, took their 6 young children to the villages An Duong temple, to attend the acceptance of the Pancasila and the Triple Jewels ceremony. Most Venerable Thich Nhu Y conducted this ceremony and henceforth his siblings received their Dharma names: Tam Phuong and Tam Van just to name a few. At the same time the young 4-year-old Vo Nhan Van received his first Dharma name, Tam Nguyen.
In 1979, at the tender age of 11, it seemed that fate brought the young Vo Nhan Van to desire the monastic life. His successful ordination as a Novice monk was thanks to The Very Venerable Thich Tam Tri at An Duong Temple, the very same temple where his family accepted the Buddhist precepts. In 1981, His second master Thich Tam Tri provided him with a new Dharma name, for that reason it was changed to Thich Nguyen Tang that it is recognized today.
8 years later, after an unsuccessful attempt to escape Vietnam by boat, Master Nguyen Tang was shot and imprisoned for three months in Long Tuyen penitentiary towards the west of Vietnam before he was released in September 1987.
Since that horrible experience, the Master vowed to remain in Vietnam and return to his studies.
In result, from 1989 to 1992, he studied accordingly with his vow at the Vinh Nghiem Buddhist school, thence after studied at Teachers training college for 3 years and finally, briefly before his migration to Australia , from 1993 to 1997 he studied at Van Hanh Buddhist University.
Being so blessed, Venerable Thich Nguyen Tang was later taught under several distinguished and respected masters of the Mahayana tradition. These Venerable teachers include Venerable Master Thich Chon Kien, Thich Thien Tu, Thich Thien Vinh, Thich Tri Kha, his spiritual master Most Venerable Thich Tri Nghiem, Most Venerable Thich Thien Sieu and finally, Most Venerable Thich Duc Nhuan in Saigon city for ten years prior to his arrival in Australia in 1998.
Venerable Nguyen Tang gained his first Bachelor in Buddhism and Foreign Languages (English) in Ho Chi Minh City, which at the present act as an expedient tool for his career in translation. He now aspires to complete additionally a Bachelor in Social Work at Latrobe University, Melbourne Australia, adding to his many current achievements so early in life.
The Master is at present a large contributor to the advancement of Vietnamese-English Buddhist text translation. Furthermore, he is an outstanding member of the Vietnamese Mahayana tradition for his efforts in the propagation of Buddhism throughout the World Wide Web i.e. the webmaster of the diverse online library, www.quangduc.com since 1999.
Not limiting his contributions there, the Master also devotes much of his time towards community services, such as a volunteer Buddhist chaplain for organisations such as the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Footscray Western Hospital, the Sunshine Hospital and Melbourne Assessment Prison.
Having written extensively on Buddhism, it is not surprising that while in Saigon in 1990; Master Nguyen Tang began his career as a collaborator for a local Buddhist newspapers, Giac Ngo weekly, and Giac Ngo magazine. His articles about "Buddhism around the world" were published in magazines such as Phap Bao in Australia, Phap Am in Norway, and Phat Hoc, Hoa Sen and Giao Diem in the USA. His published books include A Modern Religion (1995), His Holiness Dalai Lama, A Messenger for Peace (2000); and Death and Rebirth (2000, reprinted 2001).
One of the most distinguishable translations of Venerable Nguyen Tang in which he has engaged in was the 1987 work of Venerable Sri Dhamikas Good Question Good Answer from English into Vietnamese. Venerable Nguyen Tang is now occupied with his next translation Buddhism Throughout The World (2001) and writing his latest work: A Simple Buddhism. To view the list of all publications written and translated by Master Thich Nguyen Tang, please click here.
Master Nguyen Tang is not the only one is his family to cultivate Buddhism. His sister also entered the monastic life from a young age. Venerable Bhikshuni Thich Nu Tam Van is currently the abbess of Thien Long Nunnery 68/58 Thich Quang Duc Road, District 5, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City. This particular Nunnery has been described to be a place of warm, intelligent, and friendly young women who are dedicated to Buddhism plus human and non-human service alike (Animals etc).
The dear sisters at Thien Long Nunnery often raise money to do social and other humanistic services, which goes towards the distinctive Buddhist goal of relieving suffering of sentient beings. Many are currently studying in universities on subjects including English and Buddhism.
Currently in partnership with his elder brother Venerable Master Thich Tam Phuong, who is also a revered Bhikshu and currently the Abbot of Quang Duc Monastery, the two Masters both commit tremendous amounts of effort and thought into the development Buddhism in Australia. Their most noticeable achievement so far is the well-known Quang Duc Monastery of 105 Lynch Road, Fawkner, Melbourne Victoria. 3060. Australia. Tel: 61. 03. 9357 3544; Fax : 61.03.9357 3600
The building was a magnificent tribute to the public, by the public. Both near and far individuals from a diverse range of organizations contributed to the construction process of the monastery with their labour, time, finance, their spiritual support, and encouragement. Without such tremendous support from these individuals towards the building project of the Quang Duc Monastery, would not have been possible. Nor would there be such a beautiful shrine and community center.
The intriguing quality that makes this Monastery so special is the significant transformation it has undertaken throughout the past 14 years.
The Quang Duc Buddhist Welfare Association was established in 1990 in a small three-roomed house at 30 Bamburg St, Broadmeadows in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It was used for various Buddhist activities and community services like Sunday school, gathering for young Buddhist Scouts and Vietnamese classes and much more.
After the tremendous united community effort, with a fair share of sacrifices, sweat, tears, long hours and hard work, the once humble Quang Duc Monastery of Broadmeadows moved to the suburb of Fawkner and became established into what it is today.
It has proven to be worthy of all the efforts, for it brought back so much to the community, a priceless gift of harmony and human bonding, whilst offering a path to ultimate liberation and happiness through Dharma propagation. It continues to look very promising for the future of Buddhism in Australia.
May all beings be well and happy.
Written by Tam Lac, 15/09/04. Edited 17/01/05
Source: www.buddhamind.tk
