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Vietnam Buddhism
Historically, most Vietnamese have identified themselves with
Buddhism, which originated in what is now southern Nepal around
530 B.C. as an offshoot of Hinduism. Its founder was Gautama, a
prince who bridled at the formalism of Hinduism as it was being
interpreted by the priestly caste of Brahmans. Gautama spent
years meditating and wandering as an ascetic until he discovered
the path of enlightenment to nirvana, the world of endless
serenity in which one is freed from the cycle of birth, death,
and rebirth. According to Buddhist thought, human salvation lies
in discovering the "four noble truths"--that man is born to
suffer in successive lives, that the cause of this suffering is
man's craving for earthly pleasures and possessions, that the
suffering ceases upon his deliverance from this craving, and that
he achieves this deliverance by following "the noble eightfold
path." The foundation of the Buddhist concept of morality and
right behavior, the eightfold path, consists of right views, or
sincerity in leading a religious life; right intention, or
honesty in judgment; right speech, or sincerity in speech; right
conduct, or sincerity in work; right livelihood, or sincerity in
making a living; right effort, or sincerity in aspiration; right
mindfulness, or sincerity in memory; and right concentration, or
sincerity in meditation.
Buddhism spread first from China to Vietnam's Red River Delta
region in approximately the second century A.D., and then from
India to the southern Mekong Delta area at some time between the
third and the sixth centuries. The Chinese version, Mahayana
Buddhism, became the faith of most Vietnamese, whereas the Indian
version, Theravada (or Hinayana) Buddhism, was confined mostly to
the southern delta region. The doctrinal distinction between the
two consists of their differing views of Gautama Buddha: the
Mahayana school teaches that Gautama was only one of many
"enlightened ones" manifesting the fundamental divine power of
the universe; the Theravada school teaches that Gautama was the
one-and-only enlightened one and the great teacher, but that he
was not divine. The Mahayana sect holds further that laypersons
can attain nirvana, whereas the Theravada school believes that
only ordained monks and nuns can do so.
Few Vietnamese outside the clergy, however, are acquainted
with Buddhism's elaborate cosmology. What appealed to them at the
time it was introduced was Mahayana ritual and imagery. Mahayana
ceremony easily conformed to indigenous Vietnamese beliefs, which
combined folklore with Confucian and Taoist teachings, and
Mahayana's "enlightened ones" were often venerated alongside
various animist spirits.
Before the country was unified under communism, Buddhism
enjoyed an autonomy from the state that was increasingly
threatened once the communists gained power. For pragmatic
reasons, however, the regime initially avoided overt hostility
toward Buddhism or any other organized religion. Instead, it
sought to separate real and potential collaborators from
opponents by co-optation and control. For example, within months
after winning the South, the communist regime set up a front
called the Patriotic Buddhist Liaison Committee. The committee's
purpose was to promote the idea that all patriotic Buddhists had
a duty to participate in building a new society liberated for the
first time from the shackles of feudal and neo-colonialist
influences. The committee also tried to show that most Buddhists,
leaders and followers alike, were indeed rallying behind the new
regime and the liaison committee. This strategy attempted to
thwart the power of the influential, independent groups of
Buddhist clergy, particularly the Unified Buddhist Church of
Vietnam, which had been a major pre-1975 critic of the Saigon
government and of the roughly twenty Buddhist sects in Vietnam
the most vocal in opposing the war.
Communists also pressured monks and nuns to lead a secular
life, encouraging them to take part in productive agricultural
labor or to become actively involved in the work of the Patriotic
Buddhist Liaison Committee. For their refusal to collaborate,
some prominent clerical leaders in the South were placed under
house arrest or imprisoned, their pagodas were converted to
public use, and their holdings were confiscated. Such activity
closely paralleled communist actions against Buddhists in the
North in the 1950s. In addition, the party prevented Buddhist
organizations from training monks and nuns in schools that
previously had been autonomous. In April 1980, a national
committee of Buddhist groups throughout the country was formed by
the government. The government-controlled Vietnam Buddhist Church
was established in November 1981, and it emerged as the only
officially sanctioned organization authorized to represent all
Buddhist groups both at home and abroad.
As a result of communist policy, the observance of Buddhist
ritual and practice was drastically reduced. A 1979 study of a
Red River Delta commune, reported to be "overwhelmingly
Catholic," disclosed that the commune's two pagodas were
"maintained and frequented regularly by the faithful (the
majority of whom were old women), especially on the Buddhist
feast days." No monks or nuns had been observed, however, and the
study went on to note that pagodas had been eliminated entirely
in nearby Hanoi. In 1987 occasional reports suggested that the
observance of Buddhist ritual continued in some remote areas.
The communist government's attitude toward Buddhism and other
faiths being practiced remained one of tolerance as long as the
clergy and faithful adhered strictly to official guidelines.
These guidelines inhibited the growth of religious institutions,
however, by restricting the number of institutions approved to
train clergy and by preempting the time of potential candidates
among the youth whose daily routine might require study, work,
and participation in the activities of communist youth
organizations. In an apparent effort to train a new generation of
monks and nuns, the Vietnam Buddhist Church reportedly set up one
Buddhist academy in Hanoi in November 1981 and another in Ho Chi
Minh City in December 1984 . These academies, however, served as
an arm of the state.
Data as of December 1987
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