PV: As you shared on TikTok, many people like it, but many people comment that they don't like monks appearing on social media like that. What is your opinion on this? Venerable Thich Bon Dang: When I first created the channel, I had a signature in my videos that said, "If you don't like it, you can gently scroll past it, or block me, it's okay!". I know for sure that besides those who agree, there will be many opposing opinions. People will find it difficult to accept a monk, and a young one at that, appearing on social media. The community will ask the questions "Who is this?", "Is this really a monk?", "What is the purpose of appearing on the internet?"... because they have been fooled many times by people impersonating monks on social media. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, many places were locked down, even the temple where I was studying was locked down. Many people turned to social media for entertainment. There were a lot of people using social media, especially TikTok which was developing at that time. At that time, I came up with an idea to use this application to convey Buddhism to everyone as quickly as possible. Instead of people watching movies, comedy, music... now I appear as a Vlog channel introducing the life of a monk from the perspective of a young person: sometimes cooking vegetarian food, sometimes sharing flower arrangement, answering questions about Buddhism for everyone to avoid superstition... And fortunately, many people accepted. It must be admitted that the use of smartphones or social networks is now very popular, all ages, young and old, can use social networks. Therefore, I think this is a very good means to spread Buddhism to the community. But of course, "nine people have ten opinions", it is very difficult to please everyone. Until now, I still receive many negative comments on my personal page every day from strangers on the platforms I use, not just TikTok. But I have to accept that, listen and learn to improve my channel day by day. Because truly, whoever gives me feedback to improve is my teacher.
As you said, social media or anything has two sides. How have you used the positive side of social media to share the Buddha's teachings and encourage those with affinity to practice? Most of my channel followers are young people, some of whom have been to the temple a lot and have a good understanding of Buddhism, some of whom understand a lot, some of whom don't understand much, and there are also brand new young people who are like blank sheets of paper. So what should we write on these blank sheets of paper? I have thought a lot about how to approach and sow the Buddha's teachings to people in the most specific and practical way. The TikTok social network requires speed, so each of my videos only lasts about 1 to 2 minutes. And during that time, I try to answer your questions in the shortest, most concise, easy-to-listen, easy-to-understand language, limiting the use of overly specialized Buddhist terminology. Because it's simple, I want everyone who watches the video to be able to fully understand the meaning I want to convey. Occasionally, I also add humorous elements to make it less boring for you. The things I share are simply what happens in daily practice. For example: Is it okay to eat the five pungent spices when being vegetarian? Should we set a release date? How to reduce anger and greed, what should we do when we meet someone we don't like?... I practice from small, simple things in life, but from small things like that, we create big things, and create a more civilized society.
It is known that you used to be an editor for Hau Giang Radio and Television Station, then chose to become a monk. How did the ideal of becoming a monk come to you? The truth is that before becoming a monk, Bon Dang himself did not know much about Buddhism, his family was not religious so I had little chance to go to the temple. When I started working, in 2015, I made a report related to Buddhism. From then on, I had another perspective on the monks. Cultivation does not stop at chanting sutras and knocking wooden fish, but monks also do many good things for society. At that time, I began to admire. I think everything in life needs a destiny. Before becoming a monk, I was sick, and had many close calls with death, so I saw that life is very impermanent, there are people I met today but I don't know if I will meet them tomorrow. Therefore, if I wanted to become a monk, I decided to put everything aside, put aside work to become a monk, because if I waited, I don't know when. Every monk aims for enlightenment and liberation. I think that at least for the remaining time, it is reasonable to learn from the teachers, sacrifice one's life, and use one's knowledge and skills to serve the Dharma and the nation.
Up to now, how many years have you spent studying and practicing and have you found yourself on the path of practice? Nearly 6 years, a period of time that is not too long nor too short, but at least for now I have found my own path, taking advantage of my media advantages to contribute to the journey of propagating the Dharma in the 4.0 era.
According to you, what should a young monk do to protect himself from temptations? What experience have you personally had in this matter? I have an average appearance, so since becoming a monk, I have not had the chance to be tempted by anyone (laughs). Speaking of temptations, I think they exist everywhere, not just for young monks. I have not been a monk for a long time, so I will share from the perspective of someone who has lived there for a long time. Simply put, a young person entering the world always wants to be equal to or better than his friends, wants to have a nice car, a nice phone, a big house... There is nothing wrong with that, but doing things that are wrong and against social ethics to achieve those things is wrong. Monks themselves are different, living a life of few desires and contentment, the poorer the better, that is the beauty of a monk. Now, when you go out on the street and see a beautiful person, are you moved? Probably yes. But monks know how to contemplate, know that this body is temporary, impure, and dust returns to dust. I think on the path of cultivation of anyone, monastic or lay, first of all, one needs to practice diligently, then one really needs teachers to teach, fellow practitioners, to encourage each other to progress, to overcome obstacles, the trivial temptations of the world, like the saying "Eat rice with soup, practice with friends".
Many people commented that it was a pity that a young person became a monk, especially a young person with a professional level in a certain field in the world. What do you think about this feeling? So, does that mean that only old people with low qualifications can become monks? That concept is not correct. I think that not only Buddhism but also any environment or field needs people with knowledge, skills, and professional qualifications. Because this human resource is the factor that promotes the development of an environment or a certain field. That is also the reason why Buddhist monks today have to go to school. Study to first know what they are practicing, then participate in the propagation of the Dharma to help people understand correctly the Tathagata's Dharma. Nowadays, there is a trend of highly qualified people becoming monks, even among Bon Dang's friends. When material needs are met, people want to meet their spiritual needs, strengthen their spiritual life to move towards enlightenment and liberation. To be honest, there are many talented young monks today. Some are good at medicine, some are good at foreign languages, some are good at cooking or flower arranging... Such people contribute to making the Dharma more prosperous and society better, so there is nothing to regret. If we live without knowing how to contribute, without knowing how to be altruistic, living a dissolute and selfish life, then we will truly regret it.
Returning to the use of social networks by monks, in your opinion, should there be any limits to this and how should it be applied flexibly in that space? I think when posting something on social networks, first of all, there needs to be content, and then that content needs to bring a message, a certain value, towards the community. It could be a funny story for everyone to enjoy or a metaphorical story for monks to look back at themselves, or it could be inspirational stories, bringing motivation to those who are lost in life... As long as the content conveyed has real value. In fact, the application of information technology in propagation activities has been deployed by all levels of the Church for many years, but mainly in the fields of television and journalism. Social networks are a new field and there are still many aspects that have not been exploited (mainly exploiting sermons), so there are no specific sanctions. I personally see that nowadays there are many people who are reckless in their pursuit of likes and views to make money, posting completely offensive or nonsense content on social networks, and sadly, sometimes among them there is also the image of a monk. In my opinion, such content should not only be rejected by monks but also by the whole community to move towards a more civilized community.
Vietnamnet.vn
Comment (0)