Encyclopedia of Buddhism

the Lý and Traˆn, civil service examinations based on the Chinese classics were given to select men who were chosen to serve at court. This created a Confucian in- telligentsia who became extremely influential and ri- valed the influences of Buddhist monks. The Lý kings were ardent supporters of Confucianism and they passed restrictive measures on Buddhism, but they continued to support popular Buddhist activities. The period of the Northern/Southern division (1528– 1802) was one of political turmoil, but Thiên Bud-
dhism was not idle during this period, and there were
efforts to revive Trúc Lâm Thiên. Chinese Linji and Caodong monks also came to Vietnam to teach, and several new Thiên schools were founded. The most in-
fluential were the two Linji sects: the Nguyên Thiê`n
and the Liê ̃u Quán in the south.

Nguyê

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n dynasty (1802–1945). The Nguyê ̃n kings
considered Confucianism to be a useful force in their
efforts to centralize power, and there was an attempt
to depoliticize Buddhism because it was considered
detrimental to the Confucian hierarchy. Although the
majority of court officials were Confucian and were
averse to Buddhism, Buddhism was still appealing to
aristocratic women and did not lose its grip on the
masses. Buddhism also exerted great influence on some
of the most eminent literati of the time, and the
Nguyê ̃n was a period of ardent Buddhist scholarly ac-
tivity. However, the contributions of eminent monks
of this period consisted mostly in compiling, editing,
and publishing texts.

The French period.Vietnam was under French rule
from 1883 to 1945, and French dominion presented
new pressures for the Vietnamese Buddhists. Under
foreign rule, Vietnamese Buddhists felt the need to cre-
ate a more socially and politically engaged Buddhism.
Many eminent monks were ardent patriots and lead-
ers of insurgent movements; intellectual Vietnamese
Buddhists were inspired by reformed movements in
other East Asian countries in the 1920s and, in par-
ticular, by the Chinese monk TAIXU(1890–1947).
Buddhist magazines and periodicals in colloquial Viet-
namese (quô ́c ngu ̃,) began to appear with a view to ad-
dressing political and social issues.

During the 1930s three new associations of Buddhist
studies were established in the three parts of Vietnam.
All were guided and supported by learned clergy and
laypeople with exposure to Western culture. There
were attempts at consolidating the three associations
into a unified SAN ̇GHA, but the efforts were hindered

by the repressive policy of the French and a lack of

communication.

Postcolonial struggle. When Emperor Bao Ðai

(1913–1997) assumed the role of head of state of South

Vietnam he signed Decree No. 10, which followed the

French policy of relegating all religions to the status of

“public associations,” with the exception of Catholic

and Protestant missions. On assuming power in 1955,

Ngô Ðình Diêm (1901–1963) retained Decree No. 10.

In 1957 Diêm also eliminated the Buddha’s birthday

(Vesak) from the list of official holidays.

Diêm’s policy toward Buddhism led to many Bud-

dhist resistance movements during the 1960s, which

ultimately resulted in the overthrow of his government

and inspired a Buddhist revival. The Vietnamese Uni-

fied Buddhist Church was founded in South Vietnam,

Van Hanh University, the first Buddhist university,

was established in Saigon, and eminent monks such as

Thích Trí Quang and Thích Tâm Châu became house-

hold names. A charismatic young monk with an Amer-

ican education, THICH NHATHANH (1926– ), the

founder of School of Youth for Social Service at Van

Hanh University, became an overnight celebrity. How-

ever, due to inexperience on the part of the monks, di-

vision among the leadership, and a lack of a capable

lay elite class, Vietnamese Buddhists failed to seize a

rare opportunity to reform and explore the potential

of Buddhist culture in their country.

From 1975 to the beginning of the twenty-first

century.Vietnamese refugees began migrating to Eu-

rope and North America in 1975 in the aftermath of

the fall of South Vietnam. In a relatively short time

many temples were built as part of the emigrants’ ef-

forts to preserve their Vietnamese way of life. Buddhist

practices at most such temples continued the patterns

the patrons had followed in Vietnam. However, there

has been a renewed interest in Thiê`n in the West, in-

spired by the popularity of Nhat Hanh. Some eminent

Thiê`n teachers such as Thích Thanh Tù,have been in-

vited to the United States to give instructions on Chan

meditation.

Practice

Little change or sectarian development has taken place

in the practice of Vietnamese Buddhists since medieval

times. This is probably due to the limited repertoire of

Buddhist literature to which the tradition has been ex-

posed. In brief, Vietnamese Buddhism is basically non-

sectarian, and most Vietnamese Buddhists—cleric and

VIETNAM