The Journey of Letting Go

This afternoon, Venerable Phúc Giác made a resolute decision to renounce all attachments. He forgave the debts of six people who owed him and then smashed his phone as a symbolic gesture of his commitment to letting go.

I want to write a few lines about Venerable Phúc Giác’s story. Perhaps, like many others, I have always envisioned a monastic community that is utterly solemn and pure. However, when the Master welcomed Venerable Phúc Giác into the sangha, I realized it was a deeply humane act.

Compassion is not about maintaining a flawless image but about embracing others as long as they have the intention to walk the path of righteousness. Clinging to an ideal of absolute purity is much like being overly concerned with outward appearances. But for the Master, true wisdom lies in seeing beyond external form and focusing on inner transformation.

Accepting differences—whether good or bad, virtuous or flawed—while trusting that the seed of goodness will one day bloom, is the boundless compassion that the Master embodies.