Hung Thai Tu - Pure Land lay Buddhist assembly hall in Tay Ninh

Tay Ninh is located in the Southwest of the country, a convergence of many ethnic groups that have contributed to diversifying and enriching the cultural and social life of residents, along with major religions such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism, etc.

Since the 1950s, the Venerable Master Minh Tri came to Tay Ninh to open a medical clinic and propagate the sacred religion, laying the foundation for the presence of the Pure Land Buddhist Lay Association, along with Cao Dai, two indigenous religions with a lifestyle close to the people. The Hung Thai Assembly Hall (Assembly Hall) was established to become a place for religious activities of believers with the motto of using traditional medicine to help people and propagate Buddhism.

Buddha Temple at Hung Thai Assembly Hall.

In the early 1950s, especially in the year of the Dragon and flood (1952), the Grand Master Minh Tri came to Tay Ninh to propagate Buddhism and provide medicine to cure the people. At first, the Grand Master borrowed the Thich Quang Duc Buddhist lecture hall (now the headquarters of the People's Committee and Police of Ward 2, Tay Ninh City) to open a charitable traditional medicine clinic to take people's pulses and prescribe medicine to treat them for free.

Inspired by the virtue of Master Minh Tri, many followers took refuge in the Pure Land Buddhist Association, which operates with the motto of “studying, doing good deeds, benefiting the country and the people” and using traditional medicine to help people and propagate Buddhism. The Master also received support from the government at that time in Tay Ninh, so the development of followers and the establishment of a meeting place of the Pure Land Buddhist Association was favorable.

There was a woman at that time, often called Mrs. Ba, who saw the meaningful work of religion and bought a plot of land to donate to the Pure Land Buddhist Association to build a meeting hall in Tay Ninh, which still exists today (located at 046 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Quarter 3, Ward 2, Tay Ninh City). It is known that this land was previously an American garbage dump, but was no longer used.

Hung Thai Assembly Hall was started to be built on this land and completed in 1956. It has simple architecture, a Buddha shrine and a charitable medicine room to treat people inside and outside the locality.

The assembly hall is also known by Tay Ninh people as Hung Thai Pagoda, Bong Sen Pagoda because in front of the pagoda is a wall embossed with lotus patterns - a typical feature in the architecture of the assembly halls of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association; or also known as Ba Tu Pagoda (Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hue) - who has many contributions and has been attached to the assembly hall for a long time.

Hung Thai Assembly Hall (Tay Ninh city).

Through many generations of dignitaries and doctors of the Pure Land Buddhist Lay Association, they served the religion and helped people at the Hung Thai Assembly Hall. Typical examples include Mr. Chau Van Chau, a native of Tay Ninh, formerly known as Mr. Huyen Chau, who was the President of the Pure Land Buddhist Lay Association of Tay Ninh Province; Mr. Tran Sinh, a Chinese native from Vung Tau, came to the assembly hall to be the temple manager... contributing greatly to the restoration of the assembly hall, spreading Buddhism, developing followers, treating and saving people... leaving many beautiful impressions in the hearts of Tay Ninh residents.

After 1975, the State borrowed the Assembly Hall to serve as the Health Department of Tay Ninh province.

Since 1953, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue - affectionately called Mrs. Tu, from Mo Cay district, Ben Tre province, has been a physician of the Pure Land Buddhist Lay Association. In 1980, the Central Committee of the Pure Land Buddhist Lay Association of Vietnam sent her to the Assembly Hall to be the Head of the Executive Committee of the Hung Thai Tu Branch. During this time, she renovated the Assembly Hall to have the present spacious architecture and continued to dispense medicine for charity and teach medicine.

In 2023, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue passed away, following in her mother's footsteps to serve the religion and help others. Currently, the Association has Mr. Chau Tri as the Head of the Executive Committee of Hung Thai Tu Association, head of the medical team of the charity pharmacy at the Association.

With the motto of "studying - doing good - benefiting the country - benefiting the people" and practicing "cultivating both virtue and wisdom", over the past time, the Association has constantly strived to improve, gradually consolidate, develop and grow in all aspects of activities, demonstrating the will of harmony, solidarity and unity within the organization and continuing to promote the spirit of attachment to the nation, living "a good life, a beautiful religion".

The association holds activities and ceremonies according to the schedule of the Pure Land Lay Buddhist Association. Every year, the association organizes large offerings on the occasions of the upper full moon (January 15), the middle full moon (July 15), the lower full moon (October 15), the Buddha's birthday (April 8) and the death anniversary of Master Minh Tri (August 23) according to the lunar calendar. On the death anniversary of Master Minh Tri, the association organizes for followers to return to Hung Minh pagoda to attend the death anniversary ceremony organized by the Central Executive Committee of the Pure Land Lay Buddhist Association of Vietnam.

Currently, the Association has more than 20 followers with ancient roots. In addition to lay followers of Pure Land Buddhism, every year many people come to visit, participate in practice activities and do good deeds and charity work at the medicine room.

There are not many followers in Tay Ninh who have taken refuge in the Pure Land Buddhist Lay Association, but they maintain their religious lifestyle of cultivating blessings and wisdom according to the principles of the religion and doing good deeds, practicing medicine to help people and help life. In particular, many people from everywhere come to do good deeds, support the making of medicine, cutting medicine, drying medicine... and give medicine.

Doctor Chau Tri examines people.

The charity pharmacy has more than ten people, led by physician Chau Tri as the head of the diagnostic team. The members work from Monday to Sunday. The source of traditional medicine is mainly exploited locally and people from Vinh Long, Dong Thap, and Bac Lieu bring up tons of medicinal plants each time. The association has to hire daily workers or volunteers to help cut and dry the herbs to serve the many patients who come for examination and treatment every day. Poor patients are given medicine completely free of charge.

In recent years, Hung Thai Association has examined and treated more than 16,000 patients, and given more than 83,000 traditional medicines with a total value of over 2.8 billion VND to patients and people in difficult circumstances. The Pure Land Buddhist Association in Tay Ninh also has close and intimate ties with other local religions and often supports each other in charity work.

Up to now, Hung Thai Pagoda is the only assembly hall of the Vietnam Pure Land Buddhist Lay Association in Tay Ninh, where the mark of Master Minh Tri - who laid the foundation for the presence of the Pure Land Buddhist Lay Association in the southwestern land of the Fatherland, leading followers to practice according to the principles of "studying - doing good - benefiting the country - benefiting the people" and practicing "cultivation of both virtue and wisdom".

Thanh Phat Fee

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/hung-thai-tu-hoi-quan-tinh-do-cu-si-tai-tay-ninh-a178007.html