1. Student's full name:Huynh Van Ut
2. Gender:Male
3. Date of birth:10/10/1980
4. Place of birth:Can Tho
5. Decision number for student admission:Decision No. 2279/2022/QD-XHNV dated August 22, 2022, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities
6. Changes in the training process:Are not
7. Thesis title: Vietnamese Buddhist rituals in the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen school.
8. Major:Religious StudiesCode:8229009.01
9. Scientific supervisor:Dr. Tran Thi Hong Yen, Dr. Pham Thi Chuyen
10. Summary of the thesis results:The thesis analyzed and showed that:
Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam very early on, existing and developing in Vietnam for over two thousand years. Through the ups and downs of history, it has maintained its position in the cultural and spiritual life of the Vietnamese people. In the newly settled region (the Southern part of Vietnam), Buddhism became diverse, rich, and clearly reflected the unique characteristics of the inhabitants of the South. Buddhism arrived in this region alongside the process of land reclamation, serving as a spiritual anchor for the people during the arduous and challenging task of clearing land and establishing settlements.
Many renowned Chinese monks came to Southern Vietnam to spread Buddhism, including famous monks of the Linji and Caodong schools. When discussing the development of the Linji Zen school in Southern Vietnam during the 17th century, it's impossible not to mention Zen Master Nguyên Thiều - Siêu Bạch, who played a major role in bringing the Linji Zen school to this region. He and his disciples continued the lineage and traditions of the Linji school, contributing to its flourishing and continued existence to this day. The Linji Zen school in Southern Vietnam branched into various sub-branches during its development, with the Linji Family Genealogy being a lineage following the verses of Zen Master Đạo Mân - Mộc Trần (the 31st generation of the Linji Zen school in China).
Rituals are an important part of religion, fulfilling the needs of believers. Buddhist rituals originated during the time of the Buddha, and in their development, guided by the principle of adapting to circumstances, Buddhist rituals, when transmitted to different regions, underwent transformations that bore the distinct mark of the place of transmission. Vietnamese Buddhist rituals are diverse and rich; alongside the unity in their main features, they clearly reflect regional identities.
Overall, the rituals of the Linji Jiapu Zen sect have both commonalities with Northern Buddhism and unique characteristics. Based on the content of the above-mentioned ritual concepts, Chapter 2 of the thesis presents and analyzes the rituals of the Linji Jiapu Zen sect in two aspects: (1) The structure of the ritual, the general sequence of the ritual, and the characteristics of Buddhist rituals in the Linji Jiapu Zen sect, and (2) The practice of some major Buddhist holidays in temples belonging to the Linji Jiapu Zen sect.
Vietnamese Buddhist rituals within the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen school play a crucial role in the spiritual lives of its disciples, serving as an effective means to practically disseminate the Buddha's teachings into daily life. The forms of Buddhist rituals meet the spiritual needs of the majority of the population, such as offering prayers for blessings, honoring ancestors, grandparents, and parents, providing them with faith and a refreshing breeze in a life full of turmoil, anxiety, and fear. Buddhist rituals are not merely forms of worship and ceremony; they also offer meaningful philosophies of life for people in society. This article focuses on Vietnamese Buddhist rituals in the spiritual lives of the Vietnamese people; rituals that express the philosophy of life of Buddhism.
11. Practical applications:
The research findings of this thesis contribute to preserving the traditional cultural values of Buddhism through the practice of Buddhist rituals. This, in turn, contributes to the preservation and promotion of traditional Vietnamese cultural values in general.
12. Future research directions:
- Religious rituals
- Religious Anthropology
13. Published works related to the thesis:
INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS
1. Full name:Huynh Van Ut
2. Sex:Male
3. Date of birth: 10/10/1980
4. Place of birth:Can Tho
5. Admission decision number:2279/2021/QD-XHNV dated August 22, 2022 of Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Hanoi
6. Changes in academic progress:None
7. Official thesis title:Rituals of Vietnamese Buddhism in the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect
8. Major:Religion studies; Code: 8229009.01
9. Supervisor:Dr. Tran Thi Hong Yen and Dr. Pham Thi Chuyen
10 Summary of the findings of the thesis:The thesis analyzed and shown:
Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam very early, has existed and developed on the land of Vietnam for more than two thousand years, and has gone through many ups and downs of history until now, affirming stilling its position in the cultural and spiritual life of Vietnamese people. In the new land (Dang Trong) of Vietnam, Buddhism became diverse, rich and clearly expressed the characteristics of residents of the Southern region. Buddhism came to this land along with the process of expanding the new land, and was the spiritual fulcrum of the people here in the difficult and strenuous work of reclamation and hamlet establishment.
There were many famous Chinese monks who came to Dang Trong, Vietnam to, including famous Chinese monks of the Lam Te and Cao Dong lineages. Referring to the development steps of the Lam Te Zen sect in Dang Trong, Vietnam in the 17th century, it is impossible not to mention Zen master Nguyen Thieu - Sieu Bach, who had great contributions in bringing the Lam Te Zen sect to this land, the Zen master and his disciples continued the lineage of the Lam Te sect, helping Lam Te in Dang Trong shine, flourish, and continue to this day. During the process of development, the Lam Te Zen sect in Dang Trong Vietnam divided into different branches, of which Lam Te Gia Pho is the lineage branch according to the verse of Zen master Dao Man - Moc Tran (31st generation of the China Lam Te Zen sect).
Rituals are an important part of religion, meeting the needs of believers. Buddhist rituals were formed when the Buddha was still alive, during the development process with the motto depending on conditions and means, Buddhist rituals when transmitted to different lands had changes that bore the imprint of that place. Vietnamese Buddhist rituals are diverse and rich, besides the uniformity in main features, they express regional identities very clearly.
Overall, the rituals of Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect have common features of Northern Buddhism but also have their own unique features. Based on connotation of the above-mentioned ritual concepts, in Chapter 2 of the thesis, the author presents and analyzes the rituals of the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect in two aspects: (1) Structure of the ritual, general order of rituals, characteristics of Buddhist rituals in the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect and (2) Practicing some major Buddhist holidays at temples belonging to the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect.
Vietnamese Buddhist rituals in the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect play an important role in the spiritual life of Zen disciples, and are an effective means, contributing to the process of spreading the Buddha's teachings deeper into life in a practical way. The form of Buddhist rituals meets the spiritual needs of the majority of people such as praying for blessings, worshiping ancestors, grandparents, parents... bringing a belief and a cool breeze in their turmoil, anxiety and fear lives. Buddhist rituals not only take the form of worship and rituals; but it also brings meaningful life philosophies to people in society. The article focuses on Vietnamese Buddhist rituals in spiritual life of Vietnamese people; Rituals express Buddhist philosophy of life.
11. Practical applicability:
The research results of the thesis contribute to preserving traditional Buddhist cultural values by practicing of Buddhist rituals. Thereby contributes to preserving and promoting traditional Vietnamese cultural values in general.
12. Further research directions:
Religious rituals,
Anthropology of religion
13. Thesis-related publications:
Huynh Van Ut (2024), "History of formation and lineage of the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect in Vietnam", Religious Work (10), pp. 48-51.
