The Compassionate Service Society (CSS) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Southern California that has spread throughout North America, with headquarters built-in Houston, Texas, Orange County, California, and Washington D.C. CSS is founded upon Buddhist principles but emphasizes an application of these principles to beyond the Buddhist community and strives to make these aspects palatable to all. CSS is funded by generous donations from its members. However, these donations are not just monetary, many members also dedicate their time to teaching classes or to maintaining facilities. Their mission, per their website, states: “Our goal is to facilitate the practice of Bodhisattva’s ideals (altruism) and promote holistic living”.
The founder of CSS is the Venerable Hang Truong, a Buddhist monk of the Chinese tradition. Master Hang Truong was born in Vietnam, during the time of the Vietnam War, and received a Bachelor’s of Science in Microbiology while studying in the United States. He studied the Dharma under Master Hsuan Hua, who is regarded as the “World’s enlightened Master of the Chinese Zen lineage”. Master Hang Truong dedicates himself to teaching Buddhism via a multicultural and global-centric approach, helped by the fact he is able to speak 7 different languages fluently. With his skill set, specifically being able to speak English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and French, he is able to spread Buddhist teachings throughout the world.
Founded in 2000, CSS has now grown to encompass thousands of members. They run a plethora of daily/weekly programming of Integral Tai Chi, various spiritual practices, and short-term ordination of lay persons into monks/nuns. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they offer in-person and virtual options for their members. Additionally, the membership demographics of CSS tend to favor individuals of advanced age, so many of their programs cater to cultivating the health of these population. For example, their Integral Tai Chi program involves “gentle movements that build joint health, flexibility, and balance.” CSS also offers prayer requests for wellness, often for people with illness, and prayer requests for the deceased. Furthermore, they have youth programs to teach these concepts to younger generations in all of their locations in North America, as Master Hang Truong expressed a desire to teach the next generation Buddhist principles.
Specifically, within the CSS Youth programs, they emphasize Mahayana Buddhism, including a focus on meditation, tai chi, and learning Dharma. In the weekly meetings, it would start off with a 10-minute group meditation. Then, the program would switch towards teaching Dharma. During meditation, it is encouraged to develop compassion to help other sentient beings through loving-kindness meditation. Supporting the overall mission of the CSS, this practice of cultivating compassion may be paired with community service events with a local organization in some meetings. The Dharma would be taught by an experienced member of the group that studied under the tutelage of Master Hang Truong. After the Dharma lesson, Tai Chi would be taught and practiced for about 30 minutes. Furthermore, at the end of the meeting, there would be an ending meditation that would last between 15-30 minutes, depending on how focused the group is that day. However, in recent years, the teachers have emphasized meditating on one’s own inner Buddha nature, aligning more with the Zen Buddhist tradition. Additionally, for more advanced learners of the Dharma, there are a separate group of students that learn various sutras and mantras that align more with Tantric tradition. This can be seen when they teach mantras for specific Sanskrit characters, associated with a known characteristic such as compassion, and the visualization of these characters during meditation.
Additionally, members of the CSS also have the opportunity to accompany Master Hang Truong to Honolulu, Hawaii for a 4-day pilgrimage to practice the “3 steps, 1 bow” meditation. This retreat is held at Waimanalo, Hawaii where participants ascend a mountain while bowing every 3 steps. The purpose of this practice, as Master Hang Truong tells his participants, is to focus and manifest on world peace while also striving to connect with ourselves and the Bodhisattvas (Kwan Yin and Samantabhadra; bodhisattvas of great compassion and great action/practice, respectively). Starting approximately at 3 AM, ascending the mountain takes approximately 2 hours, and the participants end up at an open field by the time the sun rises, facing a 20ft statue of the bodhisattva of compassion, near the peak of the mountain. The participants then arrange themselves in front of the statue and chant together, led by the master, while offering incense to the statue. Per Master Hang Truong, when offering incense, participants can wish for whatever they desire, however they must be sincere in the wish for it to become true. After chanting for approximately 30 minutes, Master Hang Truong releases the participants for a break and can disperse throughout the open area. Other parts of the area include a tent for Dharma lessons (called “Dharma Talks”), Master Hang Truong’s personal meditation hut, and hygiene facilities. After this short break, the group practices meditation underneath tall, majestic pine trees and through the vocal guidance of Master Hang Truong. He starts by instructing the participants to scan their bodies for any tension, starting from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet. He, then, directs everyone to focus on their buddha nature. There are slight variations to this meditation per day, for example, the last meditation practice focused on developing loving-kindness and compassion for all sentient beings. After approximately an hour and a half of meditation, the group breaks for breakfast provided by other volunteers, who came a week before the retreat to prepare the site and food. All of the food throughout the retreat is vegetarian to respect the sanctity of sentient life. After breakfast, the group gathers under the main tent for a Dharma Talk. Topics included “What is Buddha nature?”, “How is Buddhism applied in daily life”, and reviewing the lotus sutra. Master Hang Truong would either speak to the entire group or encourage group discussion to further develop an understanding of these topics. After the Dharma Talk, which would last around 1-2 hours, the group breaks for lunch and then returns for another Dharma Talk session. After this last Dharma Talk, the official programming would end, usually, around 4-5 PM and the group is released to rest for the next day.
This “3 steps, 1 bow” retreat emphasizes the core Buddhist principles of CSS. These practices are firmly rooted in Mahayana Buddhism with a focus on Zen and slight influences in Tantric practices. Throughout the retreat, Master Hang Truong emphasizes the benevolence of dedicating oneself to the Bodhisattva path. Furthermore, incorporating praying and giving wishes to the giant Bodhisattva statue cements this retreat in Mahayana Buddhism. When guiding participants through meditation that focuses on a participant’s own Buddha nature, Master Hang Truong hones in on Zen Buddhism. Additionally, many of his Dharma Talks include how to cultivate one’s Buddha nature or how to recognize when the Buddha nature is being blocked or obscured. Also, Master Hang Truong leans somewhat into Tantric practices by reciting mantras to the Bodhisattva statue and also one instance where he leads the group in reciting mantras repeatedly while visualizing the associated Sanskrit character to achieve a higher level of consciousness.
Another yearly event put on by CSS is the World Peace Gathering (WPG), held this year at the Anaheim Convention Center, where Master Hang Truong leads participants in meditating and praying for world peace through the Mandala practice. The hope from this practice is that the concentrated power and synergy of many individuals praying for world peace would summon a miraculous emanation of Buddhas. This practice also serves the purpose of elevating participant’s collective consciousness and “transcending superstition and delusion”, per their website. This gathering allows CSS more visible to the non-Buddhist community as thousands of people attend this event and they deliberately cater this practice to make the Mandala gathering more accessible to everyone.
In all of these events, CSS strives to promote the health and well-being of the community through these Buddhist-derived practices. Every event and programming they run is in direct alignment with their mission and it is clear that people involved are passionate in the core beliefs of the organization. Many satellite CSS communities, such as hotspots in Washington D.C., Houston, and Toronto, also work within their community and have many service opportunities for their members to nourish their Buddha nature and further themselves on the Bodhisattva path. With their mission, they made Buddhist principles more palatable to a greater range of individuals and represent Buddhism as a religion that is inclusive and compassionate of all communities and peoples. Solidifying CSS’s influence in the community, Master Hang Truong was awarded the 2008 Community Leader of the Year in Orange County for his work through CSS. His future aspirations include building upon what he built and also developing the Dharma teachings to younger generations and bolstering the CSS youth groups. Master Hang Truong’s work proved himself as one of the leaders of Buddhism in the 21st century, but still remains humble as he admits that he still far away from reaching enlightenment.
Website: https://www.compassheart.com/
Kenneth Tieu