Buddhism in Vietnam

• 1. Arrival And Early Hubs

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  Buddhism reached Vietnam as early as the 3rd or 2nd century BCE through delegations from India. It also arrived during the 1st or 2nd century CE via China. By the end of the 2nd century CE, Luy Lâu in modern Bắc Ninh Province had become a major regional Mahayana Buddhist hub. This city served as the capital of the Han region of Jiaozhi and was a popular destination for Indian Buddhist missionary monks traveling to China. These monks followed maritime trade routes used by Indian traders. A number of Mahayana sutras and the āgamas were translated into Classical Chinese there. The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters and the Anapanasmrti-sutra were among those texts translated. Jiaozhi was the birthplace of Buddhist missionary Kang Senghui, who was of Sogdian origin. Early missionaries included the Indian monks Mahajivaka and Kalacarya. They arrived together at Luy Lâu towards the end of Emperor Lingdi's reign between 168 and 189 AD. While Kalacarya stayed in Giao Châu, Mahajivaka continued his journey to China. Kalacarya's name suggests he might have been a Dravidian from Southern India. The presence of numerous Indian monks in Giao Chau is noted in a letter from Vien Huy to Tuan Huc in 207 A.D.

• 2. Dynastic Patronage And Zen

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  During the Đinh dynasty from 968 to 980, Mahayana Buddhism was recognized by the state as an official religion around 971. The Early Lê dynasty from 980 to 1009 also afforded recognition to the Buddhist sangha. Vietnamese Buddhism reached its zenith during the Lý dynasty which lasted from 1009 to 1225. This period began with founder Lý Thái Tổ who was raised in a Buddhist temple. All emperors during the Lý dynasty professed and sanctioned Buddhism as the state religion. This endured with the Trần dynasty from 1225 to 1400 though Buddhism had to share the stage with emerging Confucianism. During the Ly dynasty, significant development occurred as Vietnamese society became more stable. The Buddhist belief in benevolence influenced royal policies. Numerous festivals were held for the inauguration of pagodas and towers built by the state. Local pagodas were also constructed throughout this era. A major development under the Trần dynasty was the establishment of the Trúc Lâm school of Zen. Emperor Trần Nhân Tông founded this sect after leaving his family in 1299. He became its first ancestor while monks Phap Loa and Huyen Quang served as the second and third ancestors respectively. Existing historical documents on the origin of the Truc Lam sect are not fully clear.

• 3. The Buddhist Crisis Of 1963

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  In May 1963, Buddhists in the central city of Huế were prohibited from displaying Buddhist flags during Vesak celebrations. Yet only days earlier Catholics were allowed to fly religious flags at a celebration honoring the newly seated archbishop Ngô Đình Thục. This led to widespread protest against the government where troops were sent in and nine civilians were killed in confrontations. Mass rallies erupted against Diệm's government termed as the Buddhist crisis. The conflicts culminated when Thích Quảng Đức lit himself on fire in protest of persecution. President Diệm's younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu favored strong-armed tactics. Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces engaged in the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids killing estimated hundreds. Dismayed by public outrage, the U.S. government withdrew support for the regime. President Diệm was deposed and killed in the 1963 coup. Political strength of the Buddhists grew in the 1960s as different schools convened to form the Unified Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam. Leaders like Thích Trí Quang had considerable sway in national politics challenging the government at times.

• 4. Socialist Era And State Control

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  With the fall of Saigon in 1975, the whole nation came under Communist rule and many religious practices including Buddhism were discouraged. In the North, the government created the United Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam co-opting clergy to function under state auspices. In the South, the Unified Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam still held sway and openly challenged the communist government. The Sangha leadership was arrested and imprisoned while properties were seized and the organization outlawed. A newly created Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam emerged designed as the final union of all organizations now under full state control. Treatment of Buddhists started to ease since the reform era Đổi mới began in 1986. Since those reforms, many changes allowed Buddhists to practice relatively unhindered though no organized sangha functions independent of the state. It was not until 2007 that Pure Land Buddhism received official recognition from the government. Thích Quảng Độ, the Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Sangha, remained under surveillance and restricted in his travels until his death. Today, Buddhists are found throughout Vietnam from North to South with somewhere between 45% and 55% identifying themselves as Buddhist. Though the Communist Party officially promotes atheism it has usually leaned in favor of Buddhism due to its long history.

• 5. Modern Revival And Reform

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  A Buddhist revival movement called Chấn hưng Phật giáo emerged in the 1920s to reform and strengthen institutional Buddhism. This movement continued into the 1950s and the republican era. The movement used vernacular Vietnamese for communication publishing ideas in newspapers rather than relying solely on traditional Chinese texts. Buddhist reformers debated doctrinal questions and the religion's relationship with society. The movement originated in Saigon influenced by exposure to modern currents including Phap Am and Phat Hoa Tan Thanh Nien which were the first Buddhist periodicals in modern Vietnamese. Figures like Thien Chieu agitated for reform publishing Phat Hoc Tong Yeu in 1929. This work introduced novel ideas taking a critical stance against blind adherence to convention. Between 1930 and 1933 four Buddhist research associations were established in the South including Hoi Nam Ky Nghien Cuu Phat Hoc in Saigon led by Khanh Hoa Hue Quang and Tri Thien. These associations published magazines Tu Bi Am and Bat Nha Am collecting texts and opening schools. Laymen such as Nguyen Nang Quoc and Tran Trong Kim played important roles. Although a nationwide association was prevented by French officials regional groups developed cooperation. Some Confucian scholars also supported the Buddhist movement and publication of papers.

• 6. Theravada And Ethnic Diversity

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  In the 1920s and 1930s there were movements for revival and modernization of Buddhist activities alongside growing interest in Theravadin meditation. Among pioneers who brought Theravada Buddhism to ethnic Đại Việt was a young veterinary doctor named Lê Văn Giảng. He received higher education in Hanoi before being sent to Phnom Penh Cambodia to work for the French government. In 1940 he returned to Vietnam to help establish the first Theravadin temple at Gò Dưa Thủ Đức. The temple was named Bửu Quang or Ratana Ramsyarama though it was destroyed by French troops in 1947 and rebuilt in 1951. At Bửu Quang temple, together with Vietnamese bhikkhus trained in Cambodia, Hộ Tông began teaching Buddhism in native Vietnamese. He translated many materials from the Pali Canon making Theravada part of Vietnamese activity. In 1949, 1950, Hộ Tông built a new temple in Saigon named Kỳ Viên Tự which became the center of Theravadin activities. In 1957 the Vietnamese Theravada Buddhist Sangha Congregation was formally established recognizing Venerable Hộ Tông as its first President. From Saigon the movement spread to other provinces establishing temples throughout Southern and Central parts of Vietnam. There are now 529 Theravadin Buddhist temples throughout the country including 19 in Hồ Chí Minh City and vicinity.

• 7. Global Diaspora And Western Influence

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  After the fall of South Vietnam to Communist North in 1975 the first major Buddhist community appeared in North America. Since that time the North American Vietnamese Buddhist community has grown to some 160 temples and centers. Proselytizing is not a priority for these overseas groups. The most famous practitioner of synchronized Vietnamese Thiền in the West is Thích Nhất Hạnh who authored dozens of books. He founded the Plum Village Monastery in France together with his colleague bhikshuni and Zen Master Chân Không. According to Cuong Tu Nguyen and A.W. Barber, Thích Nhất Hạnh's fame in the Western world as proponent of engaged Buddhism has no affinity with traditional Vietnamese practices. Alexander Soucy argues his style of Zen Buddhism is not reflective of actual Vietnamese Buddhism though Elise Anne DeVido examines how his teachings can be understood in terms of Vietnamese origins. Thích Nhất Hạnh often recounts early Thiền practices in Vietnam saying he continued developing this practice in the West which retains a distinctive flavor. His Buddhist teachings have started to return to Vietnam where the landscape is shaped by combined Vietnamese and Westernized Buddhism focused more on meditative practices.