VIETNAMESE BUDDHISM IN AMERICA

01 Tháng Mười Hai 201610:28(Xem: 2140)


VIETNAMESE BUDDHISM IN AMERICA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. THE TRANSMISSION OF BUDDHISM TO VIETNAM.
Brief History of Vienamese Buddhism

The Tradition of Mantrayana of Vietnam
The Pure Land Tradition of Vietnam
The Meditation Tradition of Vietnam
1. The Vintaruci Thiền (Zen) School
2. The Vô Ngôn Thông Zen School
3. The Thao Đuong Zen School
4. The Trúc Lâm Zen School
Theravada Buddhism in Vietnam

2. THE COMMUNIST SUPPRESSION OF BUDDHISM IN VIETNAM

3. VIETNAMESE ZEN IN AMERICA
Thích Nhat Hanh and Engaged Buddhism

Thích Thiên Ân and the Vietnamese Zen tradition

4. REVITALIZATION IN DIASPORA
International Buddhist Monastic Institute, San Fernando Valley

Temple of Perfect Virtue, San Jose
Temple of Pure Heart, Nashville

5. ASSIMILATION, ADAPTATION, PILGRIMAGES AND INTERACTIONS
Adaptation in Religious Symbol

Adaptations in the Major Roles and Activities of the Temple
Interaction between the Vietnamese Buddhist Tradition and Others
Pilgrimages to the Sacred Buddhist Sites in India and Further Interactions

6.  ACHIEVEMENTS AND OBSTACLES
Achievements

Obstacles

CONCLUSION
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: Approval from the Human Subjects Committee at FSU

APPENDIX B: Questionnaire
APPENDIX C: The ūagama Mantra with English translation
APPENDIX D: The Great Compassion Dhra with English translation
APPENDIX E: The Ten Minor Mantras with English translation
APPENDIX F: The Usavijaya Dhra
BIBLIOGRAPHY



ABSTRACT 
 
This dissertation seeks to shed light on the broad range of practices that Vietnamese Buddhism has contributed to the American religious landscape since its arrival due to the impact of the Vietnam War.  Despite the presence of almost one million Buddhist Vietnamese and their Buddhist temples and centers, flourishing in nearly in every state of America, the diversity of this Buddhist tradition, however, has largely been neglected in the current academic study of religion.  The major practices, religious activities, adaptations, as well as obstacles faced by the tradition are still issues to be addressed.  My dissertation, being grounded in an immigrant’s experience and perspective, is intended to fill that gap, adding a more balanced and detailed view to the study of Vietnamese Buddhism.  My historical, ethnographic, and phenmenological methods of study will establish the presence of major Vietnamese Buddhist practices, illuminating their contributions to American life, showing their adaptation and impact, and projecting the future prospect of the tradition.  This dissertation, essentially, is a case study of religious adaptation and assimilation.  I, however, do not limit my analysis to the theory that religious adaptation is promulgated merely by indigenous Buddhist cultural elites who have embraced and advocated the foreign faith in their own terms.  Instead, I will add that religious adaptation is also initiated by the immigrants.  The Vietnamese immigrants themselves, though trying to retain their Vietnamese Buddhist heritage, have initiated adaptation in order to serve the cultural and spiritual needs of their community in America.  Adaptation is a survival mechanism for the immigrant communities. 





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thich minh quangThich Minh Quang, the founder of the Palm Beach Mahabodhi Compassionate Charity, is a Vietnamese-American Buddhist monk in the Mahayana tradition.  He is known as Minh Quang to his Buddhist people and his university students.  However, his title "Thay," which means a teacher or master, is added by his Buddhist people in the normal monastic activities.  As a monk in the Buddhist tradition, Minh Quang follows the Buddha to dedicate his life to provide a calm and peaceful shade to those who seek to take Buddhist refuges.  His mission is to inspire others to realize their potential, including the potential to be enlightened, through Buddhist meditative cultivations, to develop a sense of self-responsibility, and to progress toward mental clarity or wisdom, and to achieve positive visions.

Minh Quang came to the United States of America from the Vietnamese refugee camp in Malaysia under the sponsorship of the State of New York.  In his college years, he joined the International Buddhist Monastic Institute, in San Fernando Valley, California, to become a Buddhist Bhiksu while studying Chemistry at Cornell University.  After relocating to California for monastic training, he attended California State University, Northridge, and earned a B. A. in Philosophy and completed his studies in a Master program in English there. In his monastic training, Minh Quang specialized in Buddhist meditative cultivations built upon the principles of the major Mahayana sutras.  Also, he managed to learn classical Chinese, the scriptural language of the Mahayana Tripitaka.  In addition to his home monastery in California, Minh Quang has traveled extensively on invitation of the Vietnamese Buddhist laity in order to give teachings, to conduct ceremonies, and to help establish Buddhist centers.  His destinations for teachings covered New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and even Ottawa in Canada.  

As a part of his further scholarly education, Minh Quang, attended the graduate program in the Department of Religion at Florida State University where he earned an M. A. in religion in 2001 and a Ph.D. in religion, specialized in Buddhism, in 2007.  In addition to his native Vietnamese, he became proficient in Chinese, French, and Sanskrit in his graduate years.  Also, for both Buddhist and research purposes, he visited the sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India several times.  In addition to the four major pilgrimage sites of Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagara, he visited Katmandu and Dharamsala, Sanchi, Ellora, and Atjanta. In his fourth visit to India in Summer 2007, his destinations also covered the Buddhist sites in Southern India, including Nagarkonda, Hyderabad, and Amaravati.  Visiting other well-known Buddhist sites in Singapore and Malaysia was a part of his experience.  

During his visits to the sacred Buddhist sites, Minh Quang came to learn about the poor living conditions of the people in remote villages in Bodh Gaya.  With sheer compassion, he joined other Vietnamese Buddhist monks and nuns and the local Indian volunteers to help those needy people.  One of his major focuses was to help support the poor schoolchildren in those remote villages to learn how to read and write.  Again, he hoped to develop their potentials.  He envisioned that with their learning, they would be able to improve their lives and the lives of other villagers in the future.  In establishing the Palm Beach Mahabodhi Compassionate Charity, Minh Quang and his team envision that they will be able to help those needy villagers more effectively.

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