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 to recognize student number:2279/2022/QD-XHNV dated August 22, 2022 of the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities
6. Changes in the training process:Are not
7. Thesis topic name: Rituals of Vietnamese Buddhism in the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect
8. Major:Religious studiesCode:8229009.01
9. Scientific instructor:Dr. Tran Thi Hong Yen, Dr. Pham Thi Chuyen
10. Summary of thesis results:The thesis analyzed and showed:
Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam very early, has existed and developed on Vietnamese land for more than two thousand years, through many ups and downs of history, and has still affirmed its position in the cultural and spiritual life of the Vietnamese people. For the new land (Dang Trong) of Vietnam, Buddhism has become diverse, rich and clearly shows the characteristics of the residents of the Southern region. Buddhism came to this land along with the process of expanding the new land, being the spiritual support of the people here in the difficult and arduous process of reclaiming and establishing settlements.
There were many famous Chinese monks who came to Dang Trong, Vietnam to spread Buddhism, including famous Chinese monks of the Lam Te and Cao Dong sects. When mentioning the development of the Lam Te Zen sect in Dang Trong, Vietnam in the 17th century, we cannot help but mention Zen master Nguyen Thieu - Sieu Bach, who had great merit in bringing the Lam Te Zen sect to this land. The Zen master and his disciples continued the tradition of the Lam Te sect, helping Lam Te in Dang Trong to shine, flourish and still exist today. The Lam Te Zen sect in Dang Trong, Vietnam, during the development process was divided into different branches, of which Lam Te Gia Pho is the branch that was passed down according to the verse of Zen master Dao Man - Moc Tran (the 31st generation of the Lam Te Zen sect in China).
Rituals are an important part of religion, meeting the needs of believers. Buddhist rituals were formed during the time of Buddha, in the process of development with the motto of adapting to the means, Buddhist rituals when transmitted to different lands have changed, bearing the strong mark of the place they were transmitted to. Vietnamese Buddhist rituals are diverse and rich, besides the unity in the main features, they also clearly show regional identity.
In general, the rituals of the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect have both common points with Northern Buddhism and also have their own characteristics. Based on the connotation of the ritual concepts mentioned above, in Chapter 2 of the thesis, the author presents and analyzes the rituals of the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect from two aspects: (1) The structure of the ritual, the general order of the ritual, the characteristics of Buddhist rituals in the Lam Te Gia Pho Zen sect and (2) The practice of some major Buddhist holidays in the temples of 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, are an effective means, contributing to the process of spreading the Buddha's teachings deeply into life in a practical way. The form of Buddhist rituals meets the spiritual needs of the majority of the masses such as praying for blessings, worshiping ancestors, grandparents, parents... bringing them faith, a cool breeze in a life full of fluctuations, anxiety and fear. Buddhist rituals are not only in the form of worship and rituals; but they also bring meaningful philosophies of life to people in society. The article focuses on Buddhist rituals of Vien Nam in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people; rituals express the philosophy of life of Buddhism.
11. Practical application:
The research results of the thesis contribute to preserving the traditional cultural values of Buddhism through the practice of Buddhist rituals. Thereby contributing to preserving and promoting traditional Vietnamese cultural values in general.
12. Further research directions:
- Religious ceremonies
- 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.
