Temporarily suspending retreats for children at Cu Da Pagoda

Hanoi Thanh Oai District authorities have asked Cu Da Pagoda to temporarily suspend summer retreats after a parent complained that her child was beaten by friends and that the living conditions were unsanitary.

On the afternoon of June 17, Mr. Bui Van Sang, Chairman of Thanh Oai District People's Committee, confirmed the above information.

"I have directed the district and commune working groups to inspect the facilities and living conditions of the pagoda, and immediately request that the retreats be stopped," said Mr. Sang. In addition, the government has asked the district Buddhist Sangha Executive Committee to inspect and report.

In the immediate future, Mr. Sang advised parents not to send their children to summer retreats following the trend, and to carefully research information before making a decision to avoid unfortunate consequences.

Yesterday, Ms. Nguyen Giang Nhu, in Yen Xa village, Tan Trieu commune, Thanh Tri district, attracted attention on social media when she posted that her 11-year-old son was beaten by a friend at a retreat at Cu Da pagoda, resulting in an arm injury. By this afternoon, this information had received more than 11,000 comments and nearly 7,000 shares.

Ms. Nhu's child wore the shirt from the time she went to the temple until she returned home. Photo: Family provided

According to her, her son attended a 5-day retreat (June 12-16) at the temple through a Buddhist there. She paid one million VND for food, uniforms and school supplies for her son. After 5 days, when she came to pick him up, she saw him wearing the same shirt he had worn since arriving, his face was dirty, and his arms and legs had many mosquito bites. Her son said he was beaten with a wooden chair by his friends, was not allowed to bathe, the toilet was dirty and he had to sleep on the ground. When he got home, he complained of pain, had difficulty moving his arms, and was in a state of panic.

Her family took her to get an X-ray on June 16 at Thien Duc International General Hospital, and it was concluded that she had no broken bones but soft tissue injuries.

"I don't think my child was beaten that badly, because if something happened, the organizers would have informed me," Ms. Nhu shared. She added that the temple and the organizers had previously taken her child to Ha Dong Hospital for examination and X-rays.

The boy's swollen and painful elbow after a fight with a friend at the temple. Photo: Family provided

The abbot of Cu Da Pagoda confirmed the incident, saying that on June 15, during recess, Ms. Nhu's child and another student got into a fight. The monks took the child to the hospital for examination, and the doctor concluded that the injury did not affect the bones. When asked about his wishes, the boy said he wanted to stay.

"We were careless in not informing the family because we thought the child was fine," he said.

Regarding the complaints about dirty toilets and lack of water for bathing, this person said that recently the locality suffered from rotating power outages. On days when the power went out, the factory did not pump water, so the children bathed late.

This is the second year the temple has organized a summer retreat, allowing children to come to the temple to learn morality, stay away from technology, learn how to practice, love their family and live a more meaningful life. At the temple, children must wake up at 5am, exercise, listen to the monk's sermon and play games.

"There are many children aged 9-16 registering, so we divided it into 9-10 batches, each batch with 350-400 children," said the abbot. The organization has been reported to the local authorities, and received good feedback in previous years.

Cu Da Pagoda was built before the 18th century. In 2000, the pagoda was ranked as a National Historical and Cultural Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information.

Binh Minh - Duong Tam

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/tam-dung-cac-khoa-tu-cho-tre-o-chua-cu-da-4618690.html