Phases of vietnamese buddhism Essay

The history of Buddhistic developmental activity in Vietnam can be studied by dividing it into iv separate phases or gunpoints. The formation of Buddhism in Vietnam. This started from the common era and lasted savings bank the end of Chinese dominion Climax of Buddhism. Buddhism was at its peak during the independency The decadence after the Le Dynasty Revival period. This started in the beginning of the twentieth century and has not ended yet. The period before the Common period lays the foundation for the beginning and development of Buddhist education in Vietnam.It was the metre when Siddhartha Gautama, who will later(prenominal) attain enlightenment and will be called as Buddha was born. As he was born in India, Indians were the outgrowth to learn Buddhism. later(prenominal) when Buddhism came to China, legion(predicate) Chinese monks went to Vietnam in order to spread Buddhism. However, it conceptualised that the Chinese and Indian merchants came to Vietnam for trading. They brought monks with them saying that the monks were the calmer of the sea These monks started preaching their holiness in Vietnam.It was easy for them to train their religion to many lot at a time, as Luy-Lau, later known as Ha-Bac was the centre of all trading activities. All the merchants who came hither to trade, and merchants who were travelling between India and China, stopped here to rest, therefore, monks were able to spread their religion actually easily. Many missionary activities were started as a result. Monasteries were built and Buddhism became important. This was the first time ever in the history of Vietnam, that monasteries were built .The next period or phase proved to be best for Vietnamese Buddhism. In this period Buddhist studies were at their peak and many famous people and rulers converted to this religion. It was when King Dinh Tien Hoang came in to power. Buddhism has its own hierarchy of monks and priests who were accepted by the court. Budd hism was now supported by the purplish court and this tendinged many tyrannical changes to take place. Buddhists were now respected and were considered as learned people. They were asked advice by the royal court and the rulers before taking decisions.This helped them get involved in many political and religious decisions and so providing many decisions to be taken harmonise to them. This era truly proved to be the best for Buddhist studies and it became unity of the most predominant religions. After this, many kings and emperors converted to Buddhism. Many laws came into approach pattern in this era, which were influenced by Buddhism, and hence were in favor of the Buddhists. Van Hanh became a Buddhist in this period. He is known as the meditation cut across and has influenced many people to convert to Buddhism.Any ruler who was not Buddhists was at least the supporter of Buddhism and this was a very positive point for the Buddhists. In 1010 A. D, almost eight monasteries w ere built in Ha Bac. All some other monasteries and Buddhist temples were also repaired. Tripitaka texts, which were in China initially, were brought in Vietnam. Thousands of Buddha statues and paintings were made and erect up. Festivals were set up. Many new monasteries such as Sung Kharh monastery and monastery at Mount Ba were built. In 1086 A. d Dai Lam monastery was built in Ha Bac. Later in 1118 A.D Thien Phat was built which had almost 1,000 Buddha statues . Buddhistic STUDIES The entire Buddhist education comes from the studies of Buddha, who is the supreme teacher. All of the studies root from saddha, which is the creed in triple Gem. Depdnding upon these studies the students are taught according to the five rules. The students should know the rules, their fountain and their appliance in daily lives. Most importantly, they should appreciate all these rules and believe in them. The students should know what is generosity and self sacrifice.These are essential elements t hat help the students overcome their worldly desires, their selfishness and greed. These five moral rules are dependent on each other. A student can gain by suta, which is by extensive reading of Buddhism texts. According to Buddhist studies the knowledge of a soulfulness is dependent on his inside belief of truth i. e. Dhamma. Calm and sixth sense are the two main elements of any Buddhist teaching. In Buddhist education tasks and wisdom are dependent on each other. A student can attain wisdom by deep investigation, handling and intelligence.This wisdom was the basic instruments which lead Buddha to salvation. This wisdom is the crown of all educations of Buddhism. Without wisdom, education is incomplete. Before French, people were chosen based on their education. These were officials known as mandarins. Learning was very important in those times. It was not just education but it lead a person to intellectual understanding, social standing, wealth and power. Buddhism came directl y from India, hence there are many members in Vietnamese Buddhism which are influenced or are taken directly from India. The word Buddha is also taken as it is.However, as the Vietnamese culture is influenced a lot from the Chinese, hence when Chinese monks came to Vietnam, the word Buddha was replaced by the word Phat. In those days, Buddhism in Vietnam was influenced by Theravada Buddhism. It was seen as religion which helped good people and punished the bad. It was very difficult to teach Buddhism at that time as very little literature was available. Vietnamese had no written script hence a few translations were made in Chinese. The era between 544 and 602 was an self-governing era and was helpful in spreading Buddhism.