Dharma Relatives By Ven. Trừng Sỹ
THE LIFE, SPIRITUAL CONDUCT, AND VIRTUOUS CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE MOST VENERABLE THÍCH PHÁP QUANG
Cuộc đời, hành trạng tu tập, và những đóng góp đức hạnh của Hòa thượng Thích Pháp Quang
Namo The Original Master Shakyamuni Budđhaya
Respectfully, to the Most Venerable Elders presiding,
the Venerable Senior Monks and Nuns,
Dear Buddhist devotees,
and all distinguished guests.
With utmost reverence, we pay homage to the Enlightened Spirit of the Most Venerable Thích Pháp Quang,
It is with profound sorrow and deep compassion that we received the news of the sudden passing of the Most Venerable Thích Pháp Quang, our respected senior Dharma brother. This tragic news has brought shock and heartfelt grief to everyone, especially to those who have known and been close to the Most Venerable Master over the past more than thirty years.
The Most Venerable Master was a gentle, calm, and reserved person, speaking little and rarely revealing his inner thoughts to others. Yet, through close association, I have come to know a little about his conduct and virtuous actions over the past more than thirty years. Today, I would like to briefly recount these, so that we may gain some sense of the Most Venerable Master’s contributions to Buddhism and the depth of his care and kindness toward those around him.
According to the Venerable Master, he was a native of Long Xuyên, born into a wealthy landowning family. However, by the age of fourteen, due to certain circumstances, his family’s situation declined. After passing the first level of the Tú Tài examination, he moved to Saigon to study at Chu Văn An School, a well-known public high school at the time. After passing the second level of the Tú Tài examination, he was admitted to the University of Architecture, from which he graduated as an architect in 1976.
After arriving in the United States around 1979, he settled in the state of California, working while continuing his studies. He later earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Long Beach. After working for some time, he entered the monastic life as a novice, receiving the ordination name Quảng Thuần under the guidance of the late Most Venerable Elder Thích Đức Niệm, founder and abbot of the International Buddhist Institute in Sepulveda, California.
Upon hearing that the Most Venerable Elder Thích Tịnh Hạnh was establishing a Buddhist university in Taiwan, with a sincere aspiration to study the Dharma, the Venerable Thích Pháp Quang sought him out to request instruction in the Buddha’s teachings. However, due to insufficient conditions, the university could not be established as planned. The following year, through a fortunate connection, he met the Theravāda monks who were propagating the Dharma in Taiwan, and the Venerable Thích Pháp Quang received the Bhikkhu ordination in the Sri Lankan tradition, taking the Dharma name Pháp Quang (Dhamma Joti), in which I also had the honor of receiving ordination together with him. Our guiding spiritual preceptor at that time was Venerable Pháp Hỷ (Dhamma Nanda), who currently serves as the Secretary-General of the Sri Lanka Buddhist Federation.
After receiving ordination, the Venerable Thích Pháp Quang went into seclusion at a secluded hermitage near Taipei. During that time, he assisted Venerable Thích Tịnh Trí in facilitating the distribution of the Tripiṭaka to support Buddhist temples in Vietnam. Around 1994, the Venerable Master returned to the United States and continued his secluded practice at a hermitage located in a forest near the border between the states of Texas and Louisiana.
Around 1996, the Venerable Thích Tịnh Trí established Tịnh Luật Temple in Waller, Texas, and invited him to serve as the Dharma Teacher. He resided there, contributing to teaching and propagating the Dharma. The Venerable Thích Pháp Quang also served as the abbot of Tịnh Luật Temple for three years, from 2001 to 2004, until the Venerable Thích Tịnh Trí entered retreat.
In 2006, when Tịnh Luật Temple moved to a new location in Houston, the Venerable Thích Pháp Quang continued to remain at the old temple in Waller until around 2013. At that time, his devoted lay followers established the Bodhi Am Hermitage near Austin, Texas, so that the Venerable Master could continue his seclusion and meditation there, until his passing on January 21, 2026.
During those years, I had the honor of assisting the Venerable Thích Pháp Quang in propagating the Dharma and publishing Buddhist texts. At the same time, through his guidance, I came to gain a deeper understanding of the diversity of the Buddha’s teachings, particularly Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Although the Venerable Thích Pháp Quang primarily practiced within the Red Hat (Nyingma) lineage of Vajrayāna Buddhism, he was also well-versed in certain teachings of the Yellow Hat (Gelug) tradition. Under his guidance, I had the opportunity to translate and publish several of his works by Tsong Khapa, as well as other translations related to Vajrayāna Buddhism.
Today, the Late Most Venerable Master has suddenly passed away, without a word of farewell. Upon hearing this tragic news, we were struck with sorrow and compassion, while at the same time gaining a clear understanding of the Buddha’s teachings on impermanence.
We have nothing to offer in service to him except our heartfelt respect and sincere gratitude toward a venerable elder who encouraged and guided us in our early years, and who served as a shining example of virtue for future generations.
What the Most Venerable Master left behind was not material wealth, but an invaluable legacy of the True Dharma through his personal bright example and teachings, as a genuine practitioner who spent his life propagating the Dharma for the benefit of all beings. Moreover, the most precious and invaluable gift that those close to him and I received from the Most Venerable Master were the two words: ‘DHARMA BOND.’
