Vietnamese Zen in the Late Twentieth Century
Author: Thanh Từ (Thích.)
Publisher:
Published: 2002
Total Pages: 275
ISBN-13:
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Trúc Lâm Buddhism in Vietnam
Author: Laura Thuy-Loan Nguyen
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Published: 2021-01-13
Total Pages: 181
ISBN-13: 1527564460
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn the thirteenth century, King-Monk Trần Nhân Tông founded the Trúc Lâm Thiền (Chan/Zen) sect. During the Golden Age in Vietnamese Buddhist history, the sect flourished under three patriarchs with renowned Thiền masters. Unfortunately, the Trúc Lâm sect faded over the following centuries, and Thiền Buddhism in Vietnam, for the most part, disappeared. In the late twentieth century, a growing new religious movement led by Thích Thanh Từ, a Pure Land monk, called for a restoration of Trúc Lâm Thiền Buddhism. Who is Thích Thanh Từ? How and why did he choose to revive this particular sect and its emancipation practices? Trúc Lâm currently boasts hundreds of monasteries and thousands of monks and nuns in Vietnam and beyond, but how have the forces of modernity influenced its original traditions? Through existing literature and extensive onsite fieldwork, this book analyzes the history and revival of a forgotten Buddhist sect and examines the movement’s reform.
Zen Conquests
Author: Alexander Soucy
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2022-07-31
Total Pages: 256
ISBN-13: 0824892194
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAt the tail end of the twentieth century, a monk transformed a small village temple on the outskirts of Hanoi into a monastery and meditation center called Thiền Viện Sùng Phúc—a place where monastics and lay Buddhists could learn and practice Zen meditation. In time the original temple was replaced by numerous large buildings to accommodate meditation sessions, youth events, weddings, classes, and a variety of other activities designed to keep practitioners engaged. Thiền Viện Sùng Phúc’s approach to Buddhism as a life commitment for all ages and genders has been very successful, attracting more than a thousand Buddhists to its weekly services. It joined Thiền phái Trúc Lâm, a much larger organization started by Thích Thanh Từ in southern Vietnam that has expanded to northern Vietnam and internationally. In Zen Conquests, Alexander Soucy presents not only the first ethnography of Thiền Viện Sùng Phúc and its followers, but also a compelling look at how the discourses of Buddhist Modernism were incorporated at a local level into this new space on the outskirts of Hanoi and how and why new constituencies of followers are drawn to Zen Buddhism in contemporary Vietnam. Thiền Viện Sùng Phúc’s Zen tradition purports to be a continuation of the only Zen Buddhist sect founded in Vietnam: the fourteenth-century Trúc Lâm Zen School. However, the movement can also be seen as the product of Buddhism’s globalization, born from the D. T. Suzuki-inspired interest in Zen in South Vietnam during the American War. Despite its claims to be authentically Vietnamese Zen, it more closely resembles Modernist versions of Buddhism practiced by Western converts in North America than anything Vietnamese. Soucy maintains that it is only by looking at the processes of globalization that Vietnamese Buddhism (both in the context of Vietnam but also in the Vietnamese diaspora) can be properly understood. He argues convincingly for acknowledging the continued influence of transnational, pan-Asian, and global flows of migration and communication on the development of multiple forms of Buddhism worldwide.
Modernity and Re-enchantment
Author: Philip Taylor
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 510
ISBN-13: 9780739127391
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRepresentative of a new wave of anthropological research on religion in Vietnam, Modernity and Re-enchantment brings together in a single book the latest and best research available on this topic. Its lively and original descriptions deftly evoke the burgeoning field of religiosity in contemporary Vietnam. With case studies into a great variety of religious practices, it covers more ground than the small handful of single-authored books currently available on religion in Vietnam.
The Third Force in the Vietnam War
Author: Sophie Quinn-Judge
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017-01-30
Total Pages: 242
ISBN-13: 1786730669
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIt was the conflict that shocked America and the world, but the struggle for peace is central to the history of the Vietnam War. Rejecting the idea that war between Hanoi and the US was inevitable, the author traces North Vietnam's programs for a peaceful reunification of their nation from the 1954 Geneva negotiations up to the final collapse of the Saigon government in 1975. She also examines the ways that groups and personalities in South Vietnam responded by crafting their own peace proposals, in the hope that the Vietnamese people could solve their disagreements by engaging in talks without outside interference. While most of the writing on peacemaking during the Vietnam War concerns high-level international diplomacy, Sophie Quinn-Judge reminds us of the courageous efforts of southern Vietnamese, including Buddhists, Catholics, students and citizens, to escape the unprecedented destruction that the US war brought to their people. The author contends that US policymakers showed little regard for the attitudes of the South Vietnamese population when they took over the war effort in 1964 and sent in their own troops to fight it in 1965.A unique contribution of this study is the interweaving of developments in South Vietnamese politics with changes in the balance of power in Hanoi; both of the Vietnamese combatants are shown to evolve towards greater rigidity as the war progresses, while the US grows increasingly committed to President Thieu in Saigon, after the election of Richard Nixon. Not even the signing of the 1973 Paris Peace Agreement could blunt US support for Thieu and his obstruction of the peace process. The result was a difficult peace in 1975, achieved by military might rather than reconciliation, and a new realization of the limits of American foreign policy.
The Way of Zen in Vietnam
Author: Ananda Viet Foundation
Publisher:
Published: 2020-05-23
Total Pages: 320
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhat is the way of Zen in Vietnam? Is there only one answer, or many? Should the answer be a wordless gesture? Who has the authority to answer those questions? This book is written to give a glimpse of the way of Zen in Vietnam. Personally, I am nobody. Though I have studied and practiced Zen for nearly half a century, I feel I will always remain a student of Zen. Readers can find many of the sentences here in some books of Buddhism in Vietnam; some are my memories of the things I've read or heard. The comments and the English translation in this book are mine; otherwise will be indicated. Three of those I am indebted to are Zen Master Thích Thanh Từ, Prof. Lê Mạnh Thát, and researcher Trần Đình Sơn. In this book, I use many poems that were translated into modern Vietnamese language by the three scholars above. The ancient Zen masters in Vietnam wrote poems in the Chinese and Nôm languages. At times, I paraphrase poems into simple prose to make them easier to understand. This book is not for profit. You are free to copy or reproduce noncommercially. May all beings be healthy and happy; may all beings be free. Đường lối Thiền Tông tại Việt Nam là gì? Có một câu trả lời, hay nhiều hơn? Hay là, câu trả lời nên là một cử chỉ không lời? Ai có thẩm quyền trả lời những câu hỏi đó? Sách này được viết để cho một cái nhìn về Thiền Tông tại Việt Nam. Bản thân tôi không là gì cả. Dù tôi học và thực tập Thiền trong gần nửa thế kỷ, tôi cảm thấy mình vẫn là một Thiền sinh vĩnh viễn. Độc giả có thể thấy nhiều câu nơi đây trong các sách về Phật Giáo Việt Nam; một số là ký ức tôi nhớ về những gì tôi đã đọc hay nghe. Các ghi nhận và phần Anh dịch trong sách là của tác giả, trường hợp khác sẽ kể rõ tên người ghi nhận. Ba tác giả tôi mang ơn là Thiền sư Thích Thanh Từ, Giáo sư Lê Mạnh Thát và nhà nghiên cứu Trần Đình Sơn; trong sách này, tôi sử dụng nhiều bài thơ được ba học giả này dịch sang tiếng Việt hiện nay. Các Thiền sư tại Việt Nam nhiều thế kỷ trước đã làm thơ bằng tiếng Hán và tiếng Nôm. Có những lúc, tôi chuyển các bài thơ sang văn xuôi đơn giản để dễ hiểu hơn. Sách này viết không vì lợi nhuận. Ai cũng có quyền tự do sao chép hay phổ biến lại, một cách phi thương mại. Xin nguyện cho tất cả chúng sinh được sức khỏe và hạnh phúc; xin nguyện cho tất cả chúng sinh được giải thoát.
Hermitage Among the Clouds
Author: Thich Nhat Hanh
Publisher: Parallax Press
Published: 2001-08-09
Total Pages: 161
ISBN-13: 1935209604
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHermitage Among the Clouds tells the story of the fourteenth century Princess Amazing Jewel, the daughter of one of Vietnam's greatest historical Zen master kings. This beautifully written story expreses the suffering caused by war and conflict, the transformative potential of a commitment to practicing peace and building reconciliation, and the simple beauty of a spiritual life. Thich Nhat Hanh gives us a window into Vietnam's past and at the same time, offers compelling insights about contemporary Southeast Asia and the world.
Alan Watts in Late-Twentieth-Century Discourse
Author: Peter J. Columbus
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2023-11-17
Total Pages: 255
ISBN-13: 1003802443
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book is an anthology of commentary and criticism written within the transitional period between Alan Watts’ 1973 death and the twenty-first century intellectual horizon. Comprised of 16 chapters written and published between 1974 and 1994, with up-to-date introductions from the essayists and other contemporary thinkers, this volume opens a window onto unexplored grounds of Alan Watts’ impact within late-twentieth-century discourse – an intermediate space where scholars reoriented their bearings through changing times and emerging academic trends. Offering varied explanations and assessments of Alan Watts, including his influence on the Beat and Hippie generations, and his popularization of Zen Buddhism in America, it tackles unaddressed questions within the milieu of late-twentieth-century America from the Reagan Revolution and religious conservatism, to paradigm shifts in Buddhist studies and the rise of post-colonial theory. Contributors’ post-mortem analyses and critiques of Watts allow for a thematic rendering of their consonance or dissonance with noted Beat, Hippie, and Zen Buddhism themes of his lifetime. This volume will appeal to scholars and students of humanistic psychology, transpersonal psychology, the psychology of religion, comparative religion, and American studies.
Westward Dharma
Author: Charles S. Prebish
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Published: 2002-12-04
Total Pages: 439
ISBN-13: 0520936582
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe first authoritative volume on the totality of Buddhism in the West, Westward Dharma establishes a comparative and theoretical perspective for considering the amazing variety of Buddhist traditions, schools, centers, and teachers that have developed outside of Asia. Leading scholars from North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia explore the plurality and heterogeneity of traditions and practices that are characteristic of Buddhism in the West. This recent, dramatic growth in Western Buddhism is accompanied by an expansion of topics and issues of Buddhist concern. The contributors to this volume treat such topics as the broadening spirit of egalitarianism; the increasing emphasis on the psychological, as opposed to the purely religious, nature of practice; scandals within Buddhist movements; the erosion of the distinction between professional and lay Buddhists; Buddhist settlement in Israel; the history of Buddhism in internment camps; repackaging Zen for the West; and women's dharma in the West. The interconnections of historical and theoretical approaches in the volume make it a rich, multi-layered resource.
Zen Keys
Author: Thich Nhat Hanh
Publisher: Harmony
Published: 1994-12-01
Total Pages: 210
ISBN-13: 0385475616
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThich Nhat Hanh brings his warmth and clarity to this unique explication of Zen Buddhism. Beginning with a discussion of daily life in a Zen monastery, Nhat Hanh illustrates the character of Zen as practiced in Vietnam, and gives the reader clear explanations of the central elements of Zen practice and philosophy. Thorough attention is given to concepts such as Awareness and Impermanence, and to contemporary issues such as the conflicts between modern technology and spirituality. The final section includes a set of 43 koans from the 13th century Vietnamese master, Tran Thai Tong, which are translated here for the first time into English. Originally published in 1974, Zen Keys has been unavailable for several years but is now reissued by popular demand. Readers will find it as fresh today as when it was first written, and will be struck by the timelessness of its insights. What makes this work particularly compelling is that Nhat Hanh is able to invigorate what in other presentations may seem like empty abstract principles. The example he has set in his own life as a relentless advocate for peace brings strength and a realistic understanding to idealistic Buddhist goals. In Zen Keys, Thich Nhat Hanh presents the philosophy which has enabled him to be mindful of peace in every moment. An excellent introduction from Philip Kapleau (author of the classic Three Pillars Of Zen ) provides background on the emerging American Zen tradition.
