General introduction about Buddhism in Vietnam
Buddhism was introduced in Vietnam quite early, over 2,000 years ago and played an important role in the cultural life of Vietnamese people.
Buddhism first came into Vietnam by sea during the adventure of Indian entrepreneurs and sanghas. Another fact is that Buddhism had gone in Vietnam before it arrived in China; as a result, Buddhism in Vietnam was more booming than China at that time. In fact, in the second century, Buddhism and Buddhology in Vietnam gained substantial achievements.
Under the dynasty of Ly and Tran, Buddhism was always the leading religion and regarded as the national religion. In particular, under the Tran dynasty, the arrival of Truc Lam Yen Tu laid the foundation of the Buddhism in Vietnam.
Until now, Buddhism still maintains and promotes good values in many aspects of social life.
Buddhism in Vietnam today
During the development process, Buddhism in Vietnam has a considerable contribution to the cultural community, the perception of the world, the society and the people, especially the promotion of the responsibility of every individual and the whole nation as well throughout history.
After 1975, when the two regions of Vietnam was unified, Buddhism in Vietnam has been stably developing. The statistics points out that there are more than 10 million followers not including the number of Buddhist believers; approximately 42,000 dignitaries; 17,000 places of worship, 4 Buddhist academies and 30 secondary schools. Besides, Vietnamese Buddhism has a close relationship with many Buddhist organizations in the countries of the region and around the world.
With the strong connection the religion to the daily life, Buddhism has been involved in a lot of social activities such as saving the poor and homeless people and bringing up orphans. Buddhism in Vietnam has been increasingly thriving. In reality, there is a significant rise in the number and the scales of festivals and the infrastructure. Furthermore, the enhancement of the awareness of Buddhology for monks and nuns is implemented through the organization of workshops on Buddhism.
The strong development of Buddhism in Vietnam is now beyond the national scope, which is shown by the fact that the Vietnamese Buddhism has been widely disseminated in many countries around the world by Buddhist monks. It can be said that the role and the position of Buddhism in the society has been constantly promoted.
With the demand for the integration and the development, it is necessary to create the innovation in Buddhism due to the difference between traditions and modern life. Actually, a challenge is facing Buddhism in Vietnam in these days.
Buddhism is the religion of the dialectical thinking and the internal and external integration. Therefore, it is believed that Buddhism will be the best choice to reconcile these differences so that these factors will be resolved and become more stable and the most important thing is the preservation of the essence of the Buddhism in Vietnam.
