TTLA: The current participation of Buddhists in social charity activities in downtown Hanoi.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name of the doctoral candidate:Bui Phuong Thanh.

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: October 18, 1988

4. Place of birth: Hai Phong

5. Decision to recognize doctoral students No. 3216/2014/QD-XHNV-SDH, dated December 31, 2014, by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

6. Changes in the training process: None

7. Thesis title:The current level of Buddhist participation in social charity activities in downtown Hanoi.

8. Major: Sociology Code: 62.31.03.01

9. Scientific supervisor:Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Thu Huong,Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Xuan

10. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- Firstly, conceptually, the thesis contributes to clarifying and refining the concepts of "social charity," "Buddhists," "the participation of Buddhists in social charity activities," and the theory of rational choice in religion, the theory of social action, and the theory of social charity.

- Secondly, the study explores Buddhists' conceptions of charity, not only examining general concepts of charity but also clarifying the understanding of monks and lay Buddhists regarding charity from a Buddhist perspective.

- Thirdly, the motivations of Buddhists participating in social charity, as discussed in the study, are not limited to examining the subjective perspectives of Buddhists (altruistic motives, selfish motives, religious motives) but are also examined and verified in terms of behavioral manifestations.

- Fourth, the assessment of the current state of Buddhists' participation in social charity shows a difference compared to previous studies, regarding the forms of charitable contribution by Buddhists, which are not limited to money, goods, labor, etc., but also include encouraging and comforting others and teaching Buddhist teachings to others.

11. Practical applications of the thesis:

12. Future research directions

- Expand the scope of research on Buddhist charity to other regions across the country to allow for broader interpretation of the results. Additionally, the research could be extended to other religions such as Catholicism and Protestantism to enable comparisons between religions.

- Further research into objective factors, in addition to subjective ones, that influence the participation of Buddhists in social charity activities, such as the socio-economic context, legal policies on religious beliefs, economic factors, culture, etc.

- Research into the role of charitable activities and the needs of those who require assistance through charitable means.

13. Published works related to the dissertation:

1. Bui Phuong Thanh (2015), “Discussion on the secularization perspective and the application of research on the engagement of Buddhism in the world in Vietnam today”, Proceedings of the Conference of Young Scientists and Postgraduate Students, Hanoi National University Publishing House, pp. 279 - 286.

2. Hoang Thu Huong, Bui Phuong Thanh (2016), “The attitude of Buddhists in Vietnam today towards participating in charitable activities”, Culture and Arts Magazine (389), pp. 103-106.

3. Hoang Thu Huong, Bui Phuong Thanh, Pham Huong Giang (2016), “Vietnamese Buddhist Followers: Statistical Status and New Proposals on Measurement”, Journal of Science, Society and Humanities (2/1b), pp. 43-53.

4. Bui Phuong Thanh (2017), “The theory of rational choice in the study of Buddhist charity activities”, Journal of Religious Affairs (7), pp. 13-15.

5. Bui Phuong Thanh (2017), “Buddhist views on social charity”, Journal of Psychology (9), pp. 90-99.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name: Bui Phuong Thanh. 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: October 18, 1988 4. Place of birth: Hai Phong

5. Admissions decision number: 3216/2014/QD-XHNV-SDH. Dated 31^stDecember 2014 by Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

6. Changes in academic process: None

7. Official thesis title: Participation in social charity activities of Buddhists in inner city of Hanoi

8. Major: Sociology Code: 62.31.03.01

9. Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Thu Huong, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Xuan

10. Summary of new findings of the thesis:

- Firstly conceptually, the thesis contributes to the clarification and improvement of the concept “social charity”, “Buddhist”, “participation in Buddhism's social charity” and the theory of the choice religiousism, social action theory, and social philanthropy theory.

- Secondly, the study of the Buddhist concept of charity, research does not stop at the concept of charity in general but also clarifies the Buddhist and monk's understanding of charity from the Buddhist point of view.

-Thirdly, the motivations for Buddhist social charity mentioned in the study are not only limited to understanding the Buddhist viewpoints (selfless motives, selfish motives, religious motives) but also seen in the face of behavioral expression.

- Fourth, the assessment of the status of social charity participation of Buddhists shows that the difference compared to the study ahead of the charitable contribution of Buddhism is not only money, articles, labor, ... but also encourages others and teaches Buddhism to others.

11. Practical applicability if any:

12. Further research directions:

- Expanding the spatial scope of Buddhist charity research in different areas throughout the country leads to the results which can be generalized. In addition, it is possible to expand on different research subjects into other religions such as Christianity, Protestantism, etc., to compare among different religions.

- Profound study on objective factors in addition to subjective factors affecting the participation of Buddhist social charity such as socio-economic context, religious law policy , economic factors, culture, ....

- Research on the role of philanthropic activities and the demands of those who need help with philanthropic activities.

13. Thesis-related publications:

1. Bui Phuong Thanh (2015), “Discussing the secularization and application of the study of the incarnation of Buddhism in Vietnam today”, Proceedings of the Scientific Conference on Young Cadres and Postgraduate Students, Hanoi National University Publishing House, pp. 279 - 286.

2. Hoang Thu Huong, Bui Phuong Thanh (2016), “Spiritual participation in Buddhist charity activities in Vietnam today”, Journal of Arts and Culture (389), pp.103-106.

3. Hoang Thu Huong, Bui Phuong Thanh, Pham Huong Giang (2016), “Vietnamese Buddhist Followers: Statistical Situation and New Proposals on Measurement”, Journal of Science, Society and Humanities (2/ 1b), pp. 43-53.

4. Bui Phuong Thanh (2017), “Rational Choice Theory in Buddhist Charity Activity Research”, Journal of Religious Work (7), pp. 13-15.

5. Bui Phuong Thanh (2017), “The Buddhist concept of social charity”, Journal of Psychology (9), pp. 90 -99.