Monk received his doctorate at the age of 41, built hundreds of bridges for the Khmer people

Born into a family with a rich revolutionary tradition, and studying in a pagoda since childhood, Dr. Danh Ut has made many contributions to social security work, becoming the pride of the Khmer community.

Venerable Danh Ut (43 years old) - abbot of Thon Don pagoda (Rach Gia ward, An Giang province), and Chief Secretary of the Provincial Association of Patriotic Buddhist Monks. He is the first Khmer doctor of the former Kien Giang province, now An Giang province.

Venerable Danh Ut. Photo: Tran Tuyen

The boy Danh Ut was born and raised in a family with a rich revolutionary tradition. His father was a guerrilla in Thanh Loc commune (Chau Thanh district, former Kien Giang province), and his mother was a commune liaison. Both of them were later awarded and posthumously awarded the Second Class Resistance Medal by the President for their achievements in the resistance war against the US to save the country.

“My family of 8 siblings, my father was arrested, imprisoned and then sacrificed when I was not even 1 month old. My mother took care of everything alone, so at the age of 12, I asked to enter Thon Don pagoda to study and show filial piety,” monk Danh Ut recalled.

When he entered the temple, he realized that only the path of learning could help both religion and life, so he always strived to improve. Seeing his rapid growth and progress, in 2008, the Association of Patriotic Buddhist Monks and Nuns of Kien Giang Province (old) appointed monk Danh Ut as abbot of the temple.

Thon Don Pagoda, where monk Danh Ut studied since he was 12 years old. Photo: Tran Tuyen

After completing his master's degree in Southern Khmer Culture, he decided to pursue a doctorate in Cultural Studies at the School of Southern Khmer Language - Culture - Arts and Humanities ( Tra Vinh University).

The time for him to complete his doctoral program as well as write his thesis "Changes in the cultural life of Khmer Theravada Buddhist monks in the Southwest today" was full of hardship when the whole country faced the Covid-19 pandemic.

For reference, he conducted field surveys at 37 pagodas in 7 (old) provinces and cities such as: Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Vinh Long, Bac Lieu, An Giang, Kien Giang and Can Tho City.

“The Khmer people in the Southwest are an ethnic group in the community of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam (about 1.3 million people), ranking third in the country’s population and second in the Southern region. I made this project with the hope that the Khmer people will have materials to better understand their culture, thereby continuing to preserve and promote it,” said the abbot of Thon Don Pagoda.

When asked what made him determined to pursue this thesis to the end, he just smiled and said, "The path of learning is a path without a stopping point."

Master Danh Ut received his doctorate at the age of 41. Photo: NVCC

According to Associate Professor Dr. Pham Tiet Khanh - Chairman of the Council of Tra Vinh University, the doctoral thesis of monk Danh Ut has proposed specific solutions, contributing to the general development of cultural life for Khmer Theravada Buddhist monks and social life in the Khmer Buddhist community in the Southwest.

In addition to being a role model for monks and Buddhists, Mr. Danh Ut also actively participates in social welfare activities in the locality. Over the years, he has campaigned to build more than 100 bridges, roads, and charity houses, contributing to changing the face of the countryside.

The special thing is that the designed bridges all bear the mark and convey the Khmer culture through symbols such as the Naga snake god, the gods...

Bridges imbued with Khmer culture. Photo: Tran Tuyen

Besides his time as an advisor in the fields of language and culture at Tra Vinh University, Dr. Danh Ut also spends time opening free Vietnamese-Khmer bilingual classes for children in the area.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/su-thay-nhan-bang-tien-si-o-tuoi-41-xay-hang-tram-cay-cau-cho-dong-bao-khmer-2440976.html