Most Venerable Thich Giac Khang, A Man Devoted to Vietnamese Buddhism

Brief biography of Venerable Thich Giac Khang

Venerable Thich Giac Khang, whose real name is To Van Vinh, was born in 1941 in Bac Lieu province. He was the 8th child in the family. His father was To Khanh and his mother was Tran Thi Ven. He graduated from high school and studied at the Pedagogical College. After graduating, he taught in Cai Con – Can Tho.

During his teaching time, he studied religions, including Buddhism. Feeling the Buddha’s teachings through the phrase “I am the Buddha who has become, all living beings are Buddhas who will become”, the Venerable realized the principle of Equality of Buddhism. From there, the Venerable continued to deeply study Buddhist teachings and consulted many monks about renunciation as well as Buddha’s teachings. The Venerable felt the compassion of the Buddhas through the vegetarian teachings and then he decided to become a vegetarian.

Imbued with the Buddha’s teachings and the benefits of renunciation for liberation, in early 1966, Venerable Thich Giac Khang vowed to leave home to study and practice under his Master, the Venerable Tri Su Giac Nhu, at Ngoc Van Monastery in Tra Vinh Province. In the same year, the Venerable Thich Giac Khang received the novice precepts at Ngoc Van Monastery – Tra Vinh.

In July 1971, Venerable Thich Giac Khang received the full Bhikkhu precepts at Ngoc Vien Monastery – Vinh Long Province, then rotated to the first Sangha monasteries to study and practice to contribute to the monks in propagating the Dharma and saving sentient beings at the residences.

In early 1975, the Venerable Thich Giac Khang followed the group of wandering monks of the Second Patriarch and the monks in the group to practice in Ca Mau Province and Bac Lieu Province. In 1980, he followed the group to Vinh Chau District, Soc Trang Province. In 1982, the Venerable returned to Ngoc Van Monastery – Tra Vinh to study and practice to continue with the Venerable Tri Su.

Not only in the locality but also in the monasteries that needed to request the Dharma, Venerable Thich Giac Khang went to preach the Dharma such as: Ngoc Truong Monastery, Phuoc An Pagoda, Phuoc Thanh Pagoda, Thanh Quang Pagoda. Monasteries outside the province such as: Ngoc Loi Monastery – Bac Lieu, Ngoc Vien Monastery – Vinh Long… After that, the pilgrimage group went to Thailand to visit the pagodas. The group stopped for about a week and intended to go to Myanmar to pay homage to the Holy Relics. However, after a while, Venerable Thich Giac Khang’s health gradually weakened, and the monks and Buddhists took good care of him. The Venerable felt that he would not be in this world for long, so he presented his wish to Venerable Giac Gioi – Tri Su Truong GĐ1 to understand so that the Venerable could create opportunities for monks and Buddhists to practice and study at Ngoc Van Monastery. At 3:00 p.m. on March 30, Quy Ty year, the Venerable passed away, leaving behind countless regrets from the monks, nuns and all Buddhists near and far.

The periods of study and teaching of Venerable Thich Giac Khang

Early study period

In 1966, he became a monk in the mendicant order at Ngoc Van Monastery in Tra Vinh province. He had two masters, the Second Patriarch Giac Chanh and the Administrator Giac Nhu. From 1968 to 1983, he followed the Second Patriarch Giac Chanh to practice everywhere in the Southwest region. Master Thich Giac Khang studied the “Truth” and practiced “Six-time night stay” according to the mendicant teachings of the Patriarch Minh Dang Quang. During this time, the Venerable often entered the third meditation and found a quiet place to meditate for 7-9 hours to thoroughly contemplate the “Truth”. But during his practice, he felt stuck in Prajna, in the path to liberation, and felt extremely disappointed. In a moment of discouragement, he suddenly looked at the sutra shelf and saw the book “The Way into Existence” by Kisnamurti translated by Truc Thien. The Venerable read it and realized the Prajna Truth. Since then, Master Thich Giac Khang has been reading books translated by Truc Thien, or Mr. Mai Tho Truyen, Duy Thuc Hoc by Professor Thac Duc, the book “The Essence of Buddhism” by Nguyen Duy Can…

In 1983, due to the change in the situation, he returned to Ngoc Van Monastery. In 1985, the Executive Director Giac Nhu passed away, handing over the responsibility of abbot to him. Here, during the worshiping ceremonies, the Master lectured on the Truth and taught meditation, attracting a large number of Buddhists.

Second period

After a period of teaching, Venerable Thich Giac Khang fell seriously ill. After days of being unconscious, when he woke up, he thought that in this day and age, practicing the Zen method would be difficult to attain sainthood. Therefore, the Venerable thought that if practicing the Pure Land method correctly, he would be reborn in the Pure Land and become a Buddha in one lifetime. At that time, he asked a Buddhist to request a copy of the Amitabha Sutra by Master Tri Huc. He read the verse “having Zen and Pure Land is like a tiger growing horns” by Master Vinh Minh and from then on decided to “practice both Zen and Pure Land”.

Venerable Thich Giac Khang began to study the scriptures of the Pure Land sect such as the Pure Land sect of Venerable Thich Tri Thu, the Essentials of Buddha Recitation by Venerable Thien Tam, the Pure Land Letter by Venerable Quang Dai Su… After that, the Venerable Master taught Zen Buddhism in combination with Pure Land sect to Buddhists. In his lectures, he posed 6 questions about the Pure Land sect, and Buddhists gradually answered those questions. But later, when many pagodas invited him to give lectures during the Buddha’s seven-day retreat, he added another question, and now there are 7 questions about the Pure Land sect.

Third period

Through the Middle Length Discourses, Venerable Thich Giac Khang read the Six-Six Sutra, saw that the Buddha’s teachings were practical and applicable to life. After the Buddha finished teaching, 60 monks attained Arahantship. From then on, every day the monk coordinated with Duy Thuc to teach the Six-Six Sutra. However, he found that this teaching method was not clear enough, so he continued to seek a place to practice in seclusion to contemplate deeply. He went to see Master Thuc who was practicing in Sa Dec province. This was the monk that the Second Patriarch cared about, and was also the monk that he often mentioned during his teachings.

During his time of meditation, the Venerable asked 4 more questions, making a total of 10 questions from the Six-Six Sutra. He was very impressed with the passage in which the Buddha taught Ananda to receive Prajna through the six senses while ringing the bell. In addition, he studied the Shurangama Sutra translated by Dr. Tam Minh Le Dinh Tham.

After finishing the second lecture, he felt unsatisfied, so he went to Da Lat to meditate, with the Buddhist Tinh Gioi building a hut in a valley far from the city for him. During this time, Hoa often went into the deep forest, streams, and waterfalls to rely on the scenery to create his mind.

In 2007, Buddhists invited him to lecture on the Six-Six Sutra for the third time. He lectured on the Six-Six Sutra, combining the original sutras, Mahayana, and Hinayana. He chose the Shurangama Sutra, the Vijñāptimātra, the book by Nghiem Xuan Hong, and the Pure Land Dharma, and incorporated it into the lecture on the Six-Six Sutra. This time, he lectured on the depth of Prajna and applied it directly to real life.

Fourth period

During this period, the health of Venerable Thich Giac Khang declined. He intended to settle down and often told a few devout Buddhists that he had chosen Master Minh Hiep to succeed him. After his death, Master Minh Hiep would guide the Sangha.

Next, he called on a few Buddhists to compile his sermons on five topics: How many conditions are there to be reborn in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha? Perception of Rebirth – Enlightenment – Rebirth? The Noble Truth of Human Life? The Noble Truth of the Universe? Cause and Effect and Karma. These topics were closely monitored by him to see whether the writing style clearly expressed the relationship between thoughts and Prajna or not, and whether they fell into the five aggregates of demons or not.

In addition, he took care of the body so that Buddhists could practice meditation easily, and at the same time helped the poor, he established a brown rice charity restaurant. In addition, taking care of the mind, he established a Hospice Committee to help people who were about to die to be reborn in the Pure Land. As a result, many people who passed away left behind relics.

In 2012, Buddhists invited him to give the Six Six Sutras four times. This lecture was very crowded with new Buddhists. In the first lectures, he presented three stories: Patriarch Bodhidharma and Emperor Liang Wu Di, Master Xuan Jue and the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng, and Seven Stations to test the Buddhists’ level of Buddhist teachings. He often advised Buddhists to organize trips to the great rivers and the Ba Dong sea to meditate, to see the vast, vague scene and to illuminate their minds. After the test, he felt the need to return to teach the “First Lesson” which was the four evil paths and the world of desire until he went to India.

Venerable Giac Khang is a venerable and virtuous master in the Mendicant Order. He devoted his whole life to serving and dedicating himself to the Dharma. His life is a shining example, a model of chastity, renunciation, non-attachment, and a path to a virtuous life.