“In February 1967 grenades were thrown into the SYSS (School of Youth for Social Service) dormitories during the night.... Eighteen people were killed or seriously wounded. It was difficult to remain calm with so much hatred and anger directed towards us. We wondered how people could be so cruel. We had no weapons, only love and concern for fellow humans. We cared not only for the poor peasants, but also for many other friends. How could they throw grenades at unarmed young people?
We had to take care of the wounded and also to organize funerals for our friends who had died. [A monk] asked me to write a speech for him to read at the funeral. After a day of mindfulness by myself, I wrote the following:
“We cannot hate you, you who have thrown grenades and killed our friends, because we know that men are not our enemies. Our only enemies are the misunderstanding, hatred, jealousy, and ignorance that lead to such acts of violence. Please allow us to remove all misunderstanding so we can work together for the happiness of the Vietnamese people. Our only aim is to help remove ignorance and illiteracy from the countryside of Vietnam. Social change must start in our hearts with the will to transform our own egotism, greed, and lust into understanding, love, commitment, and sharing responsibility for the poverty and injustice in our country.”
--Sister Chan Khong: from the book "Learning True Love: How I Learned and Practiced Social Change in Vietnam"
