Authorities of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong have confirmed that they did not interfere in a recent dispute at the Bat Nha Monastery between the monastery’s monks and nuns and followers of the Paris-based Plum Village, saying it was their own private affairs.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency about the case on October 6, Lam Dong provincial People’s Committee spokesman Vo Ngoc Hiep said that since May last year a large number of people had gone to Bat Nha Monastery with the permission of the monastery’s head, Venerable Thich Duc Nghi, to practise meditation according to tradition of the Plum Village, which is a meditation centre established in France by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

However, the Buddhist practice at the Bat Nha Monastery by the Plum Village followers was conducted without permission of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha or the relevant Vietnamese agencies. Meanwhile, the Plum Village followers did not register as temporary residents with the local authorities as required by law and this had caused disruption at the monastery. Venerable Thich Duc Nghi then withdrew his permission and requested them to leave the monastery.

The Plum Village followers stayed on despite Venerable Nghi’s repeated demands, which led to a clash between them and followers of the Bat Nha Monastery. The monastery’s followers subsequently gathered at the monastery on September 27 to put pressure on the Plum Village followers to leave.

On the morning of September 28, all the Plum Village monks and nuns moved out of Bat Nha Monastery to Phuoc Hue Temple and some of them even returned home.

The spokesman confirmed that the local authorities had acted responsibly to maintain security and order at the locality and also to ensure safety in terms of both people and assets.

In addition, local officials persuaded the followers of the Bat Nha Monastery not to take any action that could hurt the followers of the Plum Village physically or degrade their dignity in any way.

At the same time, the officials also requested that the Plum Village followers abide by Vietnamese law as well as the Government Committee for Religious Affairs’ document 1329/TGCP-PG dated October 29, 2008 and the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha’s document 37/CV/HDTS dated January 19, 2009 and practise their faith in line with the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Charter.

The authorities also asked these people to return home and reminded them that when going to a new place of worship, they should follow the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s regulations and Vietnamese law, the provincial spokesman said.

Also on October 6, Venerable Thich Thai Thuan, head of Phuoc Hue Temple, where the 194 Plum Village followers are staying after moving out of Bat Nha Monastery, dismissed rumours that the followers were threatened or harassed./.