BUDDHISM IN KOREA AND VIETNAM 237Buddhism, which-aside from a few Theravadin enclaves along the Cambo-
dian border-came almost entirely under Chinese influence. A few remnants
of the dual sources of Vietnamese Buddhism still survive, however. One of the
tangible remnants is the continued practice of including Theravada images of
Sakyamuni on the same altar with Mahayana bodhisattvas, next to an altar de-
voted to Ch'an (in Vietnamese, Thi~n) patriarchs. More important is the in-
tangible remnant: a strong spirit of toleration among the various Buddhist
schools, based on the principle "the same destination but different directions,"
with each individual free to combine elements from the various traditions as
he/ she sees fit.
Still, in most important respects, the development ofVietnamese Bud-
dhism followed trends in China, such as the Sung tendency to conflate Bud-
dhist doctrines with Confucianism and Taoism, and the Ming tendency to
combine Ch'an with Pure Land practices. On the political level, the fortunes
ofBuddhism in the Vietnamese court followed the same trajectory as in China
(as well as Korea and Japan). Confucianism came to dominate the court dur-
ing the Later Le dynasty (1428-1788), with Buddhism becoming the faith of
the masses.
One important difference between Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhism is
that the Chinese doctrinal schools never took root in Vietnam. Thus Thien
and Pure Land had the field to themselves. Another important difference is
the close connection between Thi~n and the royal court, so close that one
Vietnamese king, Trin-Nhin-Ton (1258-1308), actually became a Thi2n pa-
triarch and founded his own school. Thus Thi~n, though originally a Chinese
import, became associated with Vietnamese nationalism.
9.10 Buddhism in Popular Culture
During the Tran dynasty, the Vietnamese evolved their own Southern Script
(Chu' -Nm), a modification of Chinese characters that made possible a popu-
lar literature aimed at an audience who lacked the time to learn the Chinese
system. In this literature we can see how Buddhist values, together with those
of Confucianism and Taoism, infiltrated the popular consciousness. A prime
example is The Tale ofKi~'u by Nguyen Du' (1765-1820). Nguyen was a
scholar-official born into times of political upheaval when a popular uprising
toppled the reigning Later Le dynasty. In the subsequent political struggles,
the southern-based Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) came to power. As a north-
erner, Nguyen was relegated to minor posts, but this gave him time to record
a story, a work of more than three thousand verses, that has long since been
regarded as a national literary treasure.
The essential theme of the story is romantic love, although the Confucian
concept of filial duty combines with the Buddhist doctrine of karma to pro-
vide the impetus for much of the plot. Briefly, the story revolves around the