THE NATURE OF THE EVENT OF MENDICANT THÍCH MINH TUỆ
- Nguyen Hoang Duc
- Jun 23
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 17
Post on June, 23rd 2025
The event of mendicant Thích Minh Tuệ, despite its recent emergence on social media, has quickly been recognized by various sources as capturing widespread attention and becoming one of the most prominent events in the modern world. From the beginning, I already regarded this event as bizarre and unique but immediately faced several baseless objections saying that; there was nothing special about him walking across the country. However, recently, an American author even asserted that; this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. To refute such an event, one simply needs to provide concrete evidence, like naming someone else who has accomplished and surpassed this feat, rather than engaging in unsubstantiated arguments. Arguing without evidence has always been the inherent ignorance in many of us.
The pilgrimage of mendicant Thích Minh Tuệ has extended beyond a phenomenon and must be regarded as an event. In theology, there is a saying “God speaks through circumstances.” Simply put, God does not speak with words (except in rare cases, such as when Moses asked, and God replied, "I am the Eternal One!"). Instead, God speaks through circumstances like earthquakes, volcanoes, or floods. Similarly, there is a Chinese saying “Each sip and each meal is predestined.” which means every act, from a meal to a dispute, is predestined from previous lives. Thus, the event of mendicant Thích Minh Tuệ, which is a thousand times more significant than eating or trivial arguments, must surely be predestined. And definitely is! It is, in fact, an event that God has planned and ordained!
This event of mendicant Thích Minh Tuệ, which inspired a group of monks to go on alms-receiving pilgrimages barefoot, inevitably brings to mind Jesus Christ. Jesus knew he was the son of God but he was still humbled and trembling when he realized that death was approaching (because at that time, he was in human form like us). Therefore, he looked up to the sky and prayed to God:
- Dear God, please save me from this moment, even though it is because of this moment that I am here!
Jesus told his disciple a truth which was even more painful than death:
- Go to Jerusalem and watch me die!
- Oh Lord, I followed you hoping for glory and wealth, like following a king who is always victorious. But now, you are telling me to go watch you die, to follow a defeated man, which is no different from suffering and death. Oh, how discouraging, Lord!
But no matter how miserable and scared Jesus was, he never forgot his duty:
- But it is your will, not mine, that I live by. But it is for this moment that I came here.
What Jesus came for, like he said from the very beginning, was “to testify to the truth”. Until the moment of his death, which was also the moment he walked straight into the truth, no matter how terrifying it was!
It was also this moment that the disciples of Jesus realized; they followed God not to enjoy worldly glory and wealth, but to bear witness to the truth. And Peter, although he denied Jesus three times for fear of death, still cried when he was left out of God’s journey of testifying to the truth.
Therefore, what about the monks who reverently cleaned the road to welcome and surround mendicant Thích Minh Tuệ? As a saying goes “A person is respected in proportion to what they contribute to others!” The French philosopher J.P. Sartre once said “I love dirty hands because those are the hands that clean up life!” Those who work hard and contribute to life are respected by everyone in proportion to their contributions. The French have terms like ‘engager’ (to commit) and ‘embarquer’ (to begin), demonstrating that only commitment and action are worthy of respect. So what is the highest form of commitment? Of course, it is for the enlightenment of truth, like Jesus and Shakyamuni Buddha.
Why? Because the founding philosopher Aristotle once said “Without the truth, there is no wisdom, and one will perish!” For example, one will die if they pick poisonous mushrooms instead of edible ones when going into the forest. Or when jumping into the water, one will float and survive if they hold a banana tree and will sink and die if they hold a rock.
About mendicant Thích Minh Tuệ, his footsteps have taught many evil monks the truth. If you go to the temple to become a monk, what do you practice? The temple is not the bank so why do you always think of money? The temple is not the food bank where you can carry a big bowl to scoop food. So if you are a true believer, isn’t it your duty to refine and elevate your soul to transcendence? And if you do not live by that duty, aren’t you just a wandering freeloader? Only clear water can evaporate to form clouds, but you are stagnant water, so if your money is not yet cleaned, how can it fly out of your wallet and become something else?
The sun is both life and truth; it is also a furnace of relentless commitment that no one can bribe. Like Jesus and Shakyamuni Buddha, mendicant Thích Minh Tuệ is, in reality, a failure, having no sandals, begging for food and sleeping on the streets. Yet, he is respected by many because he embodies not only the truth but also the commitment to testifying to the truth. In Christianity, there is a saying: “This age needs witnesses more than teachers.” A teacher may teach valuable lessons. But a witness can save an entire trial from injustice!
Respect to you, mendicant Thích Minh Tuệ, for your first-hand experience of and testament to the painful truth of life. You are a pain, a wound still swollen and not yet healed! So, isn’t it clear that you are a destiny chosen and ordained by God?
Paul Nguyen Hoang Duc - 31/05/2024
(translated by Dang Linh Chi)
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