1. Full name of doctoral candidate: Tran Thi Hang 2. Gender: Female
3. Date of birth: November 20, 1989 4. Place of birth: Vinh Phuc
5. Decision No. 4618/2016/QD-XHNV dated December 29, 2016, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi, recognizing the doctoral candidate.
6. Changes in the training process:
7. Thesis title: The Organization and Activities of the Vietnamese Buddhist Church Today
8. Major: Religious Studies 9. Code: 62 22 90 01
10. Scientific supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Kim Oanh
11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:
This thesis presents, analyzes, and clarifies the formation, development, and organizational status of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. Since its establishment, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has rapidly matured and affirmed its role not only within Vietnamese Buddhism but also in society and internationally. This role is demonstrated in many aspects, such as: unified management; organization at all administrative levels; religious and Buddhist representation; and internal and external relations of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.
Through research on the formation of Buddhist organizations and the core role of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the study has affirmed three very basic characteristics unique to the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, or in other words, the distinctive features of the current Vietnam Buddhist Sangha: 1. The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha is organized according to an administrative system and operates according to its Charter; 2. Unity within the organization of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; 3. The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha is a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels.
The thesis points out that: Over the past 40 years, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has continuously developed in all aspects, while always accompanying the nation. This companionship is demonstrated in the specific activities of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha such as: Dharma propagation; ritual activities; educational activities; guidance of Buddhists; social charity activities; and international activities. It is these practical activities of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha that have made Vietnamese Buddhism a social force, contributing significantly to the building and protection of the nation both in the past and present. Furthermore, these activities have also served as a bridge to expand the position of Vietnamese Buddhism domestically and internationally. Furthermore, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha is a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, so many monks, nuns, and Buddhist followers within the Sangha have had the opportunity to participate as representatives in People's Councils at all levels, contributing their efforts to social security and preserving national cultural identity in the era of Industry 4.0.
- Based on research into the organization and activities of the current Vietnamese Buddhist Church, this dissertation points out that the Vietnamese Buddhist Church still needs further adjustments to improve in all aspects: organization and operation. From this, the dissertation offers several recommendations to improve the organization and enhance the effectiveness of the Vietnamese Buddhist Church in the current period.
This dissertation contributes to further clarifying the study of religion from the perspective of religious organizations as entities.
This dissertation contributes to clarifying and highlighting the social impacts of the activities of the Vietnamese Buddhist Church, thereby better demonstrating the perspective that religion can be considered a social resource.
12. Practical applications
The recommendations presented in this thesis can contribute to further enhancing the role of the Vietnam Buddhist Church in the current period.
This dissertation can be used as a reference for research and teaching on religion in general, and Buddhism in particular.
13. Future research directions
- Buddhism and modern social issues
Buddhist culture
- The role of religion in contemporary society
14. Published works related to the dissertation
- Tran Thi Hang, Nguyen Thi Thuy Chinh (2017), “The current social welfare work of Vietnamese Buddhism – reality and solutions”, Proceedings of the Scientific Conference on Promoting the role of Buddhism in socializing social work and charity, Religious Publishing House, pp. 317-325.
- Tran Thi Hang (2019), “Characteristics of the Vietnamese Buddhist Church”, Journal of Religious Affairs (159), pp. 44-47.
- Tran Thi Hang (2019), “Relationship between the Vietnamese State and the Vietnamese Buddhist Church”, Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 5, No. 2b (12/2019), pp. 212–221.
- Tran Thi Hang (2020), “The current foreign affairs work of the Vietnam Buddhist Church”, Journal of Religious Affairs (170), pp. 56-58.
- Чан Тхи Ким Оань, Ле Ба Чинь, Чан Тхи Ханг (2021), “Вклад и влияние As for the words: актуальные проблемы теории и практики. №7 за 2021. ISSN 2220-2404 (печать) ISSN 2221-1373 (On-line)
INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS
1. Full name: Tran Thi Hang 2. Sex: Female
3. Date of birth: November 20, 1989 4. Place of birth: Vinh Phuc
5. Decision on Recognition of the PhD student No: 4618/2016/QD – XHNV, dated December 29, 2016 by Rector of USSH. VNU
6. Changes in academic process:
7. Official thesis title: Organization and activities of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha today.
8. Major: Religious Studies 9. Code: 62 22 90 01
10. Supervisors: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tran Thi Kim Oanh
11. Summary of new findings of the thesis:
The thesis has presented, analyzed, and clarified the process of formation, development and organizational reality of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. After the establishment of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, it has rapidly grown up step by step and affirmed its role not only with Vietnamese Buddhism but also with society and the world. That role is reflected in many aspects such as: unified management; organization for administrative levels; representatives of religion, Buddhism; the internal and external relations of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha.
By studying the process of forming Buddhist organizations, the core role of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the research has come to affirm three basic characteristics that only the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has, or in other words, the specificity of the organization of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha today: 1. The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha is organized according to the model of the administrative system and operates according to the Charter; 2. Organizational unity of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; 3. The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha is a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels.
The thesis shows that: During the past 40 years, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has been constantly developing in all aspects, and always accompanies the nation and this companionship is reflected in the specific activities of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha such as: Activities of propagation of faith; Ceremonial activities; Educational activities; Activities to guide Buddhists; Social charity activities; International activities. It is these practical activities of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha that Vietnam Buddhism as a social resource has made significant contributions to the cause of national construction and defense in the past as well as in the present. On the other hand, these same activities have served as a bridge to expand the position of Vietnamese Buddhism domestically and internationally. Moreover, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha is a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, so many monks and nuns and Buddhists in the Sangha have had the opportunity to participate in the work of People's Council representatives at all levels to contribute strength in social security and preserve national cultural identity in the 4.0 integration period.
- On the basis of research on the organization and operation of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha today, the thesis shows that the current Vietnam Buddhist Sangha still needs to continue to adjust to further improve in all aspects: organization and operation. Since then, the thesis makes a number of recommendations to improve the organization and performance of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in the current period.
The thesis contributes to clarifying more about the study of religion from the perspective of religious organization.
The thesis contributes to clarifying and pointing out the social impacts from the activities of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, thereby showing more clearly the view that religion can be considered as a resource of society.
12. Practical applicability, if any:
The recommendations made in the thesis can contribute to further promoting the role of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in the current period.
The thesis can be used as a reference for research and teaching on religion in general and Buddhism in particular.
13. Further research directions, if any
- Buddhism and modern social issues
- Buddhist Culture
- The role of religion in today's society
14. Thesis - related publications:
- Tran Thi Hang, Nguyen Thi Thuy Chinh (2017), “The current social protection work of Vietnamese Buddhism – current situation and solutions”, Summary records of the Scientific Conference of Promoting the role of Buddhism in socializing social work and charity, Religion Publishing House, pp. 317 – 325.
- Tran Thi Hang (2019), “Features of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha”, Journal of Religious Work (159), pp. 44 – 47.
- Tran Thi Hang (2019), “Relations between the Vietnamese state and the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha”, Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Volume 5, No. 2b (December 2019), pp. 212 – 221.
- Tran Thi Hang (2020), “Foreign affairs of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha today”, Journal of Religious Work (170), pp. 56 – 58.
- Tran Thi Kim Oanh, Le Ba Trinh, Tran Thi Hang (2021), Contribution of Buddhism to Vietnamese society today, Humanities, Social-economic and Social Sciences, (7), ISSN 2220-2404 (print version) ISSN 2221-1373 (On-line).
