I have received your letter of invitation to attend the Conference “Buddhism in the New Era: Opportunities and Challenges.”  I sincerely thank you for your kind consideration.

     I am very delighted to read the topics to be addressed in your invitation letter, which are indeed very essential to today’s Buddhism.  Regretfully, due to current personal obligations, I will not be able to attend this very insightful Conference.  I respectfully ask for your kind understanding.

     Although I am not able to attend the Conference; with the profound concerns I have for Buddhism in Viet Nam, I would like to share a few thoughts with you.  Please allow me to express some of my aspirations relating to the core of this Conference.

     1. The Vietnamese society is changing, and it is certain that it will change rapidly.  While, in theory, Buddhism has the flexibility to respond to all situational changes, in practice, this ability has not been skillfully applied to today’s Buddhism in Viet Nam; from organizational structure to personnel proficiency; from viewpoint, tendencies to administrative management, from top to bottom, from the interior to the exterior… there are areas which seem to be stagnant.  From such setting, we look to the future; it seems rather difficult for us to appreciate the energy and the many significant contributions that history has offered.  I, therefore, candidly wish that this Conference would awaken the quality and the flexibility of Vietnamese Buddhism, so that it would meet the needs of the Vietnamese people, of the current era, and of the very nature of Vietnamese Buddhism, in a society that is and will be changing rapidly.

     2. Within the environment of today’s globalization, the overwhelmingly powerful influence of the West, in all aspects, will certainly create a vital issue for underdeveloped countries, including Viet Nam.  How would Viet Nam preserve its own characteristics, its own tradition and culture, its spiritual values and its specific way of life, while embracing this contemporary era of civilization, materiality, science, and technology?  Buddhism – as one of the essential elements that shape the characteristics of a culture,  the values, the spiritual life, and the ethics of Viet Nam -  cannot forego its principal role in this critical dilemma for the Vietnamese people.  I, therefore, sincerely hope that this Conference will institute the theoretical foundation for effective 
actions, with the  specific role of Buddhism in a nation that is facing the compelling force of globalization.

     3. Also, in this contemporary environment of overwhelming influence of civilization, culture, and materialism of the West – specifically the U.S.A., the life of Buddhism is also in a critical dilemma.  There is a challenge between the values, which promote a simple but happy life, as the road to walk the Path, to take Awakening and Enlightment, and the objectives of a civilization and culture that induce desire as the motivation for development, constantly subjecting people to self-gratification, so that at the end, it enslaves mankind.  This challenge is interrelated with the life of those who live and practice the Way, is correlated with the quality of education and development of today’s new generation of Sangha; and if this predicament cannot be overcome, then acute crises may be difficult to avoid.  Naturally, only the personality of each dharma educator can decide the answer to this question; however, I hope that this Conference will address this issue to the awareness and actions of the Buddhist education body, and the current generation of dharma educators. 

     4. Looking at