vietnamese buddhism in intercultural communication byhoang

8/14/2019 Vietnamese Buddhism in Intercultural Communication byHoang

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Vietnamese Buddhism

in Intercultural Communication:

the Aspect of Buddhist Philosophy

Hoang Thi Tho

Institute of Philosophy

Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences

Introduction

Vietnam is a small country with the population of

about 80.000.000 (eight million), and the size of 329.565

square kilometers. At present, Buddhist population in the

world is about 300 million and in Vietnam is about more

than 7 million1. That is why Buddhism is considered as

Vietnamese traditional religion which has great affect on

Vietnam culture now, but Buddhism is not the same as an

original religion in Vietnam, it is a mixed product of

intercultural communications through a long history.

Vietnam is located in South-East-Asia, with the

South China Sea on the East, Laos and Cambodia on the

West and Thailand on the South-West. According to the
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map drew by French historians in the beginning of 19

century, Vietnam is named Indochinese Peninsula, here

Indochinese means between India and China. It was also

named as Tonkin or Giao Chau, now Red River Delta.

In Jataka Buddhist collections the name golden land

(Suvannabhumi) is also including Vietnam in the region.

In this geographical position, early before Christian Era

Vietnam had been a bridge between India and China, the

two most ancient civilizations of Asia, and probably, the

most of the world as well.

By the sea routes Hinduism and Buddhism from

India were imported into Vietnam and became parts of

Vietnamese culture before CE. Now we can see

communities ofChampa a community with their Hindis

customs, art and religion (Brahmanism) living in the

Middle, and Theravada Buddhists in the South of Vietnam.

By both land and sea routes Mahayana Buddhism,

together with Confucianism and Taoism were also

imported into Vietnam form India and China. We should

say that right at the beginning Buddhism in Vietnam was

a mixed product of intercultural communication, including

Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism coexisting with the

native belief. All these together constitute Vietnamese

traditional culture. In its structure, Buddhism,


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Confucianism and Taoism are altogether the basic

ground. This structure are similar in China, Japan and

Korea, but in Vietnam according to the particular

conditions of cultural communication, Vietnamese

Buddhism is quite not as the same as other ones.

Through the long history Vietnamese Buddhism

already contributed its brilliant marks in building and

defending the nation. Now, at the beginning of the 21st

century, Vietnam is much influenced by the global

tendency of modernization, industrialization. To develop

the nation and country sustainable Vietnam has been

accepting humans progressive achievements of culture

and civilization, and at the same time tries to preserve

and develop its own preeminent characters and dignity.

How will Buddhism contribute or develop its advantages

from the well-known tradition in the modern time? This

article wishes to contribute one opinion from aspect of

Buddhist philosophy to discuss about our capacity of

intercultural communication in a Time of Global

Interaction.

1. Buddhist Philosophy a General Background for

Intercultural Communication


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1.1. Buddhist Teaching of Human Suffering and Liberation

From the point of history of thoughts, it is important

to mind that at the beginning Buddhism was a

revolutionary movement against theistic authority of

Brahmanism in ancient time in India. So that Buddhist

teaching is a religious one but it already contains

progressive spirit about equality and non-theisticauthority which are sustainable factors even in modern

time. According to the Buddhas teaching every one is

equal in suffering. Suffering is neither special for any

caste nor except any one. This idea was inherited from

ancient Indian religions by Buddha but the revolutionary

point in his teaching is to affirm that every one are equal

in ability of achieving enlightenment and on the way to

liberation; especially, the way to emancipation is not

paved by any god or supernatural one, but every one

must decide by himself, step up by himself and realize by

himself... and only by passing over just the human life of

oneself with his entire believe and morals.

To avoid the two extremes of lust and mortification

which were non-stop argued by the ancient Indian, the

Buddhas teaching paved the Middle way (Madhyamika)


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which proves that the true nature of human is not-self

(anatman) but because of the leading of ignorance and

craving sentient being misunderstands that there is a real

self(atman) and then tries to possess it (by both ways of

lust or mortification). It is the cause of pain and evil that

can begin and grow uncontrolled from then. This is the

basic point investigated by Buddha to build up the

Buddhist theory of human suffering and emancipation.

In Buddhist teaching the theory of emancipation

and ethics are not separated each other. It is taught that

good or evil and right or wrong are attributives which are

neither originally decided by birth nor created or

determined by any god, but deeply rooted just in the

realization of self or no-self. Because of ignorance

(avidya) sentient being attaches his mind to the self(atman), then arising his craving (kama) and forming his

deeds through body action, speech and thought which

would be stored and accumulated to be karma that

consists of good, evil, right and wrong... and the more

karma is accumulated the longer people is floating in the

circle of birth and death with suffering(duhkka). The Buddhist way for emancipation is closely

combined with the way of moral. On this way, firstly,

sentient being has to avoid the ignorance to be conscious


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of not-self by regular introspection. So that he should

avoid the attachment of the self; latter, he consciously

practices self-discipline of concentration to control his

deed (body, speech and thought). So that he should

change himself from wrong (even from evil) to right and

good; finally, by regular meditation (zen) he should

automatically avoid kama and reach the ultimate

enlightenment and turn himself to be his own nature of

no-self. It is the ultimate emancipation where there is no

more good or bad, right or wrong, good or evil... and

perfection becomes humans no self-character (the

natural character). This way to liberation is at the same

time the one to moral goal.

The core of Buddhist teaching is the Four Noble

Truths that leads sentient being from suffering toemancipation, at the same time from wrong or evil to

right and good. First, The Noble Truth of Suffering

teaches about all kinds of suffering, as mentioned above.

Second, The Noble Truth of Cause of Suffering explains

that the initial cause of pain of sentient being is the

ignorance which is always in chase of pleasure and lust,namely the craving for passion, for existence or non-

existence... Third, The Noble Truth of Cessation of

Suffering teaches about realization of the cessation of


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pain by non-attachment, abandonment, forsaking for that

craving. Fourth, The Noble Truth of the Way that Leads to

the Cessation of Suffering teaches about The Noble

Eightfold Path (Ashtangika-Marga), namely, right view,

right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood,

right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

It is obvious that Buddhist teaching focuses in the

Fourth Noble Truth and the Noble Eightfold Path. They are

eight methods of right cultivation for every one to

consciously develop oneself on the way to final

emancipation, also called Nirvana. In fact, in Indian

tradition, Buddhism inherited the moral tradition of

Hinduism in general, and techniques ofintrospection from

Yoga in concrete. Then it was developed to be realizable

model of self-cultivation and called Noble Eightfold Path.To practice the Eightfold Path man has to concentrate on

the moral value of right when controlling himself in

every conduct such as right view, right intention, right

speech, right action, and right livelihood through right

mindfulness and rightconcentration without cessation of

righteffort for the ultimate liberation (Nirvana) with rightwisdom (prajna). The construction of Buddhist teaching is

the combination of three parts comprehensively:

Commandment (Sila) - Meditation (Samadhy) - Wisdom


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(Prajna), or in other word, they can be called three

sections of self-cultivation: Self-cultivation ofconduct(by

sila), Self-cultivation ofconsciousness (by samadhy) and

Self-cultivation ofwisdom (prajna).

In Buddhist teaching, the final judgment of mans

deeds is the law of causes (karma) which acts secretly

through lives not by any gods decision. Happiness or

unhappiness is the fruit caused by oneself good or bad

conduct done in the past. The judgment as the law of

causes admonishes people of being serious with every

action (body, speech, thought) of oneself. Buddhist ideal

examples are Buddha and Bodhisattvas who already

enlightened the essence of the no-self and not be led by

any craving or passion... They are omniscient and free

from mundane attachment that means the perfectemancipation from the circle of lives, namely Nirvana.

1.2. Buddhist Teaching on Meditation

Ch'an/Zen of Buddhism is an Indian-Chinese

product. It is a typical product of the intercultural

communication of two cultures right from the beginning

of the first millennium, and now it has become a long

lasting Oriental value of culture. Literally, "Dhyana" is

possibly formed by the Sanskrit verb root "dhyai", and it


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means "meditation" in English, "Ch'an" in Chinese, and

Zen" in Japanese.

Yoga of Indian was the very origin of Buddhist

meditation practice. In the oldest ancient Indian

literature, Veda sutra (about 2000 BC) had mentioned the

method of liberating spiritual power from body through

regulating breath, breaking off all barriers of the sensual

world so that Atman (individual spirit) should dissolve in

the Brahman (the Universal spirit). It is called Yoga; a

technique of training mans transcending ability of insight

throughcontrolling breath and postures. In ancient time,

for every Indian religion while mentioning the method of

training inner mind Yoga is used to be considered as the

common way of practices. Meditation (Dhyana) is the

basic technique of Yoga which was then selected

inherited by Buddha.

Buddhism was founded in 6th century BC in Indian.

According to Lalitavistara sutra, numberless forms of

ascetic austerities were in vogue in Buddha's time. Some

of the Buddhas teacher, Alara is an adept in Yoga. The

Buddhist teachings on meditation are familiar with the

Yoga methods of concentration. Four states of Dhyana of

Buddhism correspond roughly to the four stages of


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philosophy. First, emptiness means that all things are

without any substance and any attribute of their own

because of the general principle of interdependent

causation. Second, on the spiritual level, it means that

the spiritual achievement of a sage consists in total

freedom, attaching neither him to being nor to none

being, neither to dualism nor to non dualism, even to any

form of spiritual achievement, no matter how high and

deep it is. Finally, on the linguistic level, emptiness

means that all words are nothing than but artificially

constructed, without any fixed correspondence to the

Ultimate Reality.

With this theory of Ultimate Reality, Buddhists

philosophy was enabled to make itself understandable to

other indigenous philosophies of China such as

Confucianism and Daoism. Buddhist experience of

(emptiness), Taoist experience of dao and wu (avoid

ness), and Confucian experience of ren (humanness,

humanity and cosmic interconnectedness) and cheng

(sincerity and true reality), all these, though quite

different in terms themselves, still enjoy some sort of

similarity and complementarities as experiences of

Ultimate Reality. Therefore much effort has been made to

meet one with another, through which a Confucian or a


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Taoist might be able to understand Buddhist discourse of

emptiness as Ultimate Reality. This is the basic

philosophical background for the construction of the

Common Origin of Three Teachings in Vietnam, China,

and Japan and Korea cultures as well.

1.5. Buddhist Theory on Epistemology: Praj

and Alaya-vijna

Wisdom (praj) is the Buddhist concept

of epistemology founded by Ngrjuna (100-200 CE.) in

his Madhyamika-sastra (Treatise on the Middle Doctrine).

This is the theory of converting consciousness into

wisdom or to get wisdom. In fact, wisdom was thecommon concern ofMadhyamika (Middle Doctrine) school

and Yogacara (Consciousness Only) school, the two

Indian Mahayana Buddhist schools. For Madhyamika,

wisdom means emptiness, whereas for Yogacara, wisdom

is based on the marvelous being ofAlaya-vijnana (the

eighth conscious). For the Madhyamika, the other(objective) is that which lies always beyond in denying or

making void that which one arrives at in negative

dialects. To render the void in order to show the non-

substantial character of the Ultimate Reality is the Middle


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Path, which is wisdom, consists in understanding the

interdependent causation in the sense of non-

substantiality. After destroying any dualistic situation in

the process of negative dialectics, even the reality of

interdependent causation should be denied. This is

considered as spiritual achievement of a sage, who has

no attachment to the realm of either being or non-being,

and no attachment to his own spiritual achievement

whatsoever, belongs to the marvelous function of his

mind/heart, which on the one hand is non-substantial and

empty, but on the other hand, is marvelous in its function

and self-transcending.

The theory ofDouble Truth develops further the

Buddhist theory of epistemology on wisdom. However,

the real point of this theory is to overcome any dualismrather than merely one-sidedness of the worldly view and

the common view. The negative dialectics consists in first

denying the dualism between you (being) and wu (non-

being), then the second denying is of between two one-

sided-views, and finally that between the one-sided-view

and the middle (central) view. The true wisdom issomewhere in the middle path. It is thus interpreted as

neither one-sided-nor-middle, realized in the process of

negative dialectics as emptiness.


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In the case of Yogacara (Consciousness Only)

school the term Alaja (the eight consciousnesses) is the

main theory of epistemology. This school is named

Yogacara because it attains wisdom not by the method of

negative dialectics, but by its yoga praxis that purifies

consciousness and finally transforms consciousness into

wisdom. Although the idealist doctrine of this school is

quite often exaggerated, that there is no self, no

dharmas, but Consciousness Only and everything else is

merely a definite form of manifestation of the

Consciousness.

The purification of consciousness takes the form of

consciousness analysis. We find there is an analytic

progression from the five consciousnesses to the

empirical self-consciousness to the transcendental self-

consciousness then finally to the ontological origin of all

consciousness, the Alaya-vijna. Five sensible

perceptions consist of: seeing, listening, touching,

smelling, and tasting, as the five common

consciousnesses. Then center of five sensations or in

other word, the sense-centered consciousness, which

could be called the sixth consciousness, as the empirical

one. The seventh consciousness as the thought-centered

consciousness (manas-vijna) is the store of all thinking


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and it often attaches itself to its own imagined center

ness as its own true self. It is quite similar transcendental

Ego in Western philosophy but for Yogacara School, it is

not the ultimate self but only a derivative transformation

of the Alaja (eighth consciousness). Finally, the eighth

consciousness (alaya-vijna) contains all seeds or

potentialities of right/wrong thoughts and good/evil deeds

to be manifested and thereby affected in the former

seven forms of consciousness and receives also their

influences. Alaya-vijna exercises double processes: on

the one hand, it realizes the seeds into deeds and

thoughts in the process of manifestation and on the other

hand, it receives the influence or is fumigated by the

former seven consciousnesses in its actual operation. The

process of Yoga praxis is the way to get convertingconsciousness into wisdom.

For Zen Buddhism finally integrated both theories

of epistemology of Madhyamika and Yogachara schools

with Chinese Taoist philosophy of Avoid ness. Zen

Buddhism used Dhyna to attain ones own Buddha

nature and considered it as the praj of Madhyamika

and as well as theAlaja (Purification of consciousness) of

Yogacara.

The common characters of these methodologies are


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to lead to a direct insight into the unfathomable

emptiness. This direction of Buddhist epistemology tends

to deny the function of language, texts and forms but

unfortunately the sacred scriptures and rituals are

thereby abandoned without being carefully read and

serious practice as it was considered. This is a direction of

Zen Buddhism which is considered as modernization of

Buddhism from inside the system.

2.Vietnamese Buddhism

Vietnamese Buddhism is a first and a mixed

product of cultural interactions. In this part I would like to

concern the history of intercultural communications that

influenced by Buddhism and in vice versa affected

Buddhism in Vietnam.

2.1. Buddhism Introduced into Vietnam

Following the voyages of sailors and traders,

probably Buddhist monks companied together to

propagate Buddhism into Vietnam. According to Chinese

and French historical records, by sea routes Buddhism


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was introduced directly into Vietnam by Indian monks a

very long time before it entered Southern China. Buddhist

monks at that time were often intellectuals who had a

broad knowledge of Buddha and Buddhist teaching. In

Tonkin (Giao Chau), Luy Lau was a Buddhist center, and

from here Buddhism spreaded to Pengcheng and then to

Luoyang in China. Some one even suggested that by this

way Theravada Buddhism was first introduced into

Vietnam, before Mahayana Buddhism.

Vietnam is of the water-agriculture civilization that

is why water is the most natural power which effects

peoples life here. When Buddhism introduced into

Vietnam it also accommodates the local water-agriculture

civilization. At the beginning Indian Buddhism was to be

accepted and introduced through local belief. The

narrative Chu Dong Tu is an obvious example of this

case. In this story, Chu Dong Tu and his wife were given a

hat and a stick by an Indian priest and they also taught

magic to control the power of water. Then in a huge flood

disaster they used the hat and stick to save the whole

village survive and good rice seed and necessary things

for water-rice cultivation were preserved. Another

Buddhist narrative describes Arahants and Bodhidsattvas

as the Four Dharmas: Dharma Rain, Dharma Thunder,


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Dharma Cloudand Dharma Lightning which were

introduced by an Indian monk (Mahakyvuc) and they has

been considered as the symbols of Buddhism. Now these

symbols the four Dharmas are worshiped in many

Buddhist pagodas together with Buddha statutes.

Working people hope that they will control the power of

water and give good crops. This ritual expresses the belief

of people of water-rice culture, and the symbol is that

mixed of the native with the Buddhist belief in meaning.

In some narratives and fairy-tale Buddha as Indian

name was changed to be a Vietnamese name But and

became the symbol of a Deity or God who always

supports and encourages the good and the poor man with

his magic power. Dharma here is understood by

common people as a superpower who shares thepeasants happiness or unhappiness on their farms. At

that time, religious theory on rebirth, suffering(dukha),

circle of lives, liberation, seed of action (karma), passion,

altruism, generosity, charity, tolerance, avoidance, bad

and evil... was only explained simply as a belief of good

way of life that common people could easily understandand accept it.

In the first intercultural communication Buddhism

was peacefully introduced into and accepted and then it


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was indigenized in Vietnam earlier than Confucianism and

Taoism. From that time on, Buddhism was always

considered as traditional religion, either when as

orthodox or as heterodox one with the special advantage

of Vietnamese Buddhism in the relation with

Confucianism and Taoism.

2.2. Buddhism in Establishing System of Religion and

Thought

Around the first ten centuries, another movement

of Mahayana Buddhism was by land route introduced

indirect from China, spreading from India to China and

then from China to Vietnam. I think it is necessary to

clear out the difference between the first time and the

second time that Buddhism introduced into Vietnam. First

time Buddhism was introduced through common peoples

belief, but in the second time, when Vietnam was under

Sino-domination (about one thousand years); it was

introduced through royal classes belief. Most of Buddhist

monks had good knowledge of either Buddhism or

Confucianism and Taoism. Taoism and Confucianism were

two main traditional religions in China and Buddhism was

introduced there through these two systems. Here, I want


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to mention again that Chinese Buddhism was a mixed

Indian-Chinese product and in early period somehow it

was not really a system of Chinese Buddhism and it also

should had not been a particular system of thought and

religion as it was if China and India had had no more

intercultural communication with each others.

During the first millennium, the Vietnamese-Indian

Buddhism had another chance to mix with Chinese-Indian

Buddhism. This is the reason why Vietnam is the only one

country in Asia which has both Theravada and Mahayana

Buddhism together. In this period Buddhism developed in

the direction of more ideological about religion and

philosophy as well. The Vietnamese Buddhist book Thien

Uyen Tap Anh Ngu Luc (compiled from the late 11th

century to the early 13th century) refers in some detail to

the Buddhist situation at Luy Lau at that time: Giao Chau

has routes leading to India. By the time that Buddhism

was introduced into China, twenty Buddhist towers had

already been built, more than 500 monks trained and 15

books of Buddhist sutras translated in Luy Lau. Then

monks like Mahakyvuc, Khuong Tang Hoi, Chi Cuong

Luong, and Mau Bac went to China to spread Buddhism.

This quotation is direct evidence that Buddhism

flourished in Luy Lau a long time prior to its introduction


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to Southern China.

In this time, many books were written by monks to

introduce Buddhist theory. The book Ly Hoac Luan (On

the Correction of Doubt) written by Mau Tu (160-198 CE.)

especially explained Buddhist teaching about suffering

and liberation, no-self and karma (deed) but through

Taoist and Confucian terms. The An Ban Thu Y Sutras

(Anapanasty Sutra) was translated by Khuong Tang Hoi

(200-247 CE.), one of the first monks who spreading

Buddhism into Vietnam and only after becoming a

famous monk in the North of Vietnam he went to China to

spread Buddhism. TheAnBanThuYSutras is a book of

Buddhist Theravada meditation and until now in Buddhist

community it is considered as the basic technique and

theory of Buddhist meditation for every, even sub-sects

of Buddhism nowadays.

It is possible to say that with the appearance of the

Mahayana ideological movement, Buddhism flourished

and reached beyond India's borders to far away countries

including Vietnam. In this time Vietnam had chance to

establish an integrated theoretical system of religion and

philosophy, with Confucianism as theory ofsocio-politics,

Taoism as theory of No-action ( Avoid ness), and


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Buddhism as theory of Liberation from suffering. This

system of knowledge was so effectively in resolving the

contemporary problems. But during the period of Sino-

domination Giao Chau still remained its function as the

national Buddhist center to receive Buddhist thoughts

from both India and China, for example: Khuong Tang Hoi

from China (3rd century), Dharmdeva from India (5th

century), Vinitaruci from China (6th century) and Wu Yan

Tong from China (9th century)... That is the reason why

Vietnamese Buddhism had opportunities to accept two

greatest streams of Buddhist thoughts, and in that

condition Vietnamese Buddhism is more flexible and less

rigid.

Under the Ly and Tran dynasties (from 12th to 14th

centuries) high educated Buddhist Masters were spiritual

force who took part in political affairs in leading the

nation to win the powerful Sino and Yan imperialists. As

an orthodox religion, Buddhist monks contributed their

high virtue and intelligence as adviser (Royal Court

Adviser). They are profound of not only three religions,

but also of politics, military and diplomacy while they

never mind reputation and wealth for themselves. For

example famous Zen masters as: Ngo Chan Luu (933-

1011), Phap Loa (1284-1330) and Tue Trung Thuong Sy


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(1229-1291) etc... In this time Buddhism was at the

height, and it was the leading spiritual tendency of the

nation. In that period Buddhist teaching was one part of

the content of the national examination (Confucianism,

Buddhism and Taoism). History of Ly-Tran period still

records many Buddhist kings such as Ly Nhan Tong

(1072-1128), Ly Anh Tong (1138-1175), Tran Thai Tong

(1218-1277), Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308) and famous

bonzes combined the Buddhist idea of no violence,

benevolence together with Confucian thoughts of socio-

politics to govern the country in peace. Some famous

kings transferred the throne to younger generation and

converted to Buddhism and dwelled at Buddhist temples

as ordained monks to cultivate their mind and virtue by

practicing meditation, studying and explaining themeaning of Buddhist teachings. It is possible to say that

in this period Buddhism has successfully fulfiled its

function of an ideology in the second millennium in

building and defending the nation.

2.3. Vietnamese Buddhism in war time and in peace time

The Buddhist non-violence and no-killing idea is a

particular one but it was applied actively in the war time


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through patriotism without rigidity. For the Vietnamese

Buddhism, the nations existence is at the same time the

Buddhisms existence. For the sake of the nations

existence as well as the Buddhisms Vietnamese monks

should take off their robes, took weapons and go to the

front to struggle against violence and evil power to save

the country. In the emergency of the nation and religion

Vietnamese monks took swear an oath of burning his

temporary body to make a patriotic torch as a demand

for freedom of belief of Vietnamese Buddhism. We can

not forget the Buddhist patriotic-body-torches such as

Quang Duc (self-immolation on June 11th, 1963), Nguyen

Huong (August 4th,1963), Thanh Tue (August 13th ,1963),

Dieu Quang (August 15th ,1963), and Tieu Dieu (August

16th

,1963). The way that Vietnamese Buddhistsdeveloped non-violence and no-killing idea through

patriotism and without rigidity is the unique one in the

world.

In peace time, pagoda is a complex functional

space not only for Buddhist cults but also traditional

customs and folk ceremonies. Pagoda is often called Zengate where every one can go to introspect oneself to

cultivate ones mind and moral in free time or even in

emergency. At home, people often practice meditation


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and worship Buddha and Avalokitesvara or Maitreya

together with their ancestors on the same altar, or follow

Buddhist fast, pray and keep five radical Buddhist moral

rules.

In general speaking, the Vietnamese have actively

and lively combined three religions and most effectively

used Buddhist ethical value at those important historical

moments so that Buddhism already got brilliant

achievements. Through the long history Buddhism has

firmly rooted in all aspects of culture and spirit even in

war time and in peace time. Now Buddhism is the main

inner feeling-religious life of the Vietnamese.

3. The Value of Buddhism

For my opinion, Buddhist values become morehumanist and sustainable in comparison with other

theistic religions, because its religious ethical advantage

depends on individual internal mind of self-

consciousness, self-confidence and self-liberation, while,

in modern societies, the value of personal peace, freedom

and confidence obviously becomes an urgent internalrequirement. More than ever, the conflicts of modern

societies are not only caused by economics and politics

but also by religious and ethnic group conflicts which are


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rushing people in a blind alley of inner feeling and belief...

The internal mind is still a vacant room in which theistic

religions have to resolve by Gods and modern societies

try to resolve its bad results by national court and law.

Buddhist method of meditation (or Zen) can add people

an active ability and realizable method to introspect

oneself, reflect oneselfin order topeace oneself.

Since middle of the 20th century, Buddhist method

of training mind and inner feeling (meditation or

Chan/Zen) has been really attracting modern (Western)

scientists. They have been interested in Buddhist method

of introspective self-cultivation and they also done

various scientific investigations and analyzations by

modern technique and modern psycho-physiology which

produced marvelous results about realizable abilities ofcontrolling and mastering humans mind and inner

feeling. It becomes more interesting, even urgently when

people in the modern societies is more pressed in inner,

mental life which could not be solved by the high

standard of material life (high civilization). Now, modern

scientific and technical achievements are making multipleabilities for killing on larger level of extermination with

more indirect and more clean criminal way as its

negative side. So that it is more difficult to reflect on


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oneself. Causes of the moral spoilage are not only by

economic or politics but also by race and religious

conflicts, so that modern society needs a more perfect

and more progressive humanist ethics. Buddhist ethics

about introspection and internal self-consciousness will

be a necessary aid to improve the modern ethics.

However, Buddhism also appears its limits by its

religious standpoint. Buddhism does not pay attention to

politics, socio-economics and does not encourage any

way of developing and satisfying human material need

for individual and society. So that Buddhist social

programs, in major, do not reform or create material

condition of life, but only try to build up spiritual condition

by ethics and religious believe in which every one is

compassion, generous, perseverant, benevolent...altogether. This is the limit that Buddhism had been

adjusting continuously in process of expanding and

indigenizing in other cultures, especially when applying in

various communities and nations in order to fulfill its

religious mission in the modern age.

Radically Buddhist thought and market economyare opposites, because Buddhism resists hedonistism and

never encourages achievement of wealth, and even

considers enjoyment and desire of wealth as the cause of


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evil and pain. The basic economic thought in Buddhist

teaching is the ethical-economic one with idea that by

"less desire" or by "avoid craving, reduce need" to have

feeling of plenty, but not by more production or by higher

productivity to have real plenty. Buddhist paragon of

virtue is Sakyamuni who left the royal luxury life full of

pleasure to live as an ascetic and try to find the way to

Liberation, as the same as Arahants and Bodhisattvas

who live a plain ordinary life and pass over all difficult

situation...

Today the in Vietnam, China, Korea, and Japan Zen

Buddhism still sounds in various style of art such as:

Method of Nutrition, Art of Martial, Zen Poetry, Zen

Painting, Tea Ceremony, Calligraphy, Flower

Arrangement,

As Buddhist way of life, Zen Buddhism is a typical

product of intercultural communications; it highly praises

capacity of body life to achieve human happiness. Zen

Buddhism had contributed the term of theory and

practice on resolving the problem of human being's

suffering. However, in general, it is impossible to check

Nirvana, Enlightenment, and Liberation on the side of

individual. On the other hand it is also a cause of

superstition or misleading because it turns back the


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responsibility of checking the truth to non-conception-

experience.

Zen Buddhism successfully formed examples of life

transcending material and spiritual suffering as salivated

ones. For example, transcendental life of Zen Masters

and the name " Zen Master" is often connected to the

name of famous monks. Their lives are praised as a

manner of compassion, altruism, modesty, wisdom, and

transcendence over life and death. Zen Master is

generally considered as a mirror of controlled mind,

desire and the stream of thought, as well as internal

universe and he could decide the life and death of

himself. His life is described as typical religious exams of

being super to life and death, being calm and wise at

every event or dilemma. He should understand the

natural reasonableness of all irrationalities, and realizing

good side in bad one, beautiful aspect in ugly thing,

goodness in evil, happiness in suffering etc,

Buddhist method of nutrition pays attention for

training inner potentialityand teaching the nutriment of

mental and body. Body nutrition is about training body

through breathing practice, body postures and diet in

order to strengthen body and nerves capacity to face all


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external challenges. Buddhist body nutrition inherited

ancient Indian Yoga practice and combined with Chinese

traditional breath practice and diet of Lao Tzu cult.1

Spiritual nutrition is about training mind, controlling

sense organs and feelings of self in order to purify the

instinct. The pure nature will automatically reach the

good, creation will appear. Zen Buddhism insists that

man could combine well both body and mental nutrition

in meditation practice in order to transcend all worldly

sufferings. It should be a reason to explain why Ch'an

school has been lasting long through historical events

and should propagate largely. Today Zen Buddhism is

practiced and studied by Western people and they

specially praise its value of avoiding stress which is a bad

side of high civilization.

Buddhist Art of Martial is a special principle of

martial which was discovered by Zen Master through

process of training mind. From time to time Buddhist

monks in training mind teacher this principle as the art of

using weapons and martial gestures. Buddhist art of

martial requires one to do well by forgetting oneself in

state of unconsciousness, without the leading or checking

of feeling or even rational consciousness. The self is

completely forgotten. So that the power itself is well done
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by relaxing all power, all endeavor. Here, strong power,

accuracy, and quickness should transcend consciousness,

or distinction between subject and object. There is no win

or lost in Buddhist art of martial. The beauty of this art

depends not on the danger of martial level, but on the

harmony of power with non-violence. The Art of Martial

develops the perfect power of non-violence.

Zen poetrymeans verses praising the pure mind of

human in accordance with the beauty of nature in order

to express the noble teaching of Buddhism which is about

the Ultimate Reality. Basically, Zen poetry develops the

Buddhist idea of Enlightenment. They are often written by

Zen Master who is both poet and philosopher at the same

time. Principle of this style is the compact and modest

words but with penetrating philosophy about life and

human manner to nature. So that verses bear attributes

of super salvation in which word is only a hint.

Zen painting is considered as one quintessence of

the Zen Buddhist idea. The painting takes use of nature

as an object to describe inner mind according to the idea

of sudden enlightenment in which the basic of painting

action should return to the original emptiness of no-mind.

In a masterpiece mountain, river, lake, stream, and forest


32/42

became the creation of the impermanent. Zen painter

considers that Buddha nature or spiritual nature should

be found in every thing and in every one. The aim of art

is to grasp the essence of nature which is hidden under

external forms of things. The painter should be quickly,

accurately, without any hesitation to draw naturally. The

strokes move freely with out the controlling of the Self.

The painter should draw the spiritof object, not only the

external forms of it. This style can show the moving

space from limited to unlimited, from visible to invisible...

Ch'an painting should express the feeling about origin of

all forms-formless. Especially, while drawing, the painter

integrates oneself with the object in a strong effort of

concentration while only intuition works. Zen painting is

respected and accepted as a holy product of Buddhistculture.

Calligraphymeans the art of writing letters

developed to be the term of Zen thought. Each letter as a

masterpiece reflects the writer's mind and heart. Zen

Master use Calligraphy to express completely his mind

and soul, that's why each letter is a unique picture. The

letter is active as lifelike strokes full of vitality. With

Calligraphy, only light and dark strokes, black and white

colors are used but they should manifest space abstractly


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as well as concretely. Calligraphy was used as a way to

train mind by Zen Master, but latter it is accepted as a

lofty art of Chinese intellectual, and then broadened to

other countries in East Asia.

Tea Ceremonyis the basic idea about inner spirit

manifested creatively by Zen Master and improved to be

the art of drinking tea. Tea Ceremony is arranged as a

meticulous ritual of making tea with long series of actions

that form a whole moment of simple harmony over every

thing. The endless ritual seems the endeavor to help

every participator should clearly feel how the atmosphere

changing, and so that they can enjoy and experience

those things not be able expressed by words. The aim of

Tea Ceremony is to calm one's mind, to integrate oneself

with nature, and to less action as possible. Tea Ceremony

radiates aesthetic sense of simple, elegant, freedom. May

be, at the beginning Tea Ceremony was the way to get

perfect relaxation of Zen Master during training process,

at the end, it was enjoyed by lay men of different classes.

Gradually it became a unique art of drinking tea in China,

Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Whatever a bit different it is

in every local, but its basic spirit remains as excellent and

lofty art.


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Flower Arrangementis an art of planting tree or

arranging flower developed to be the philosophical term

ofinnerlife. FlowerArrangementis an artificial mode of

the reduced nature. Flower and tree are just nature, but

through art they suddenly show out their deep splendor.

FlowerArrangementis not just collecting the external and

visible beauty of nature, but it requires the artist to have

mind and heart of nature, which should integrate with

nature and know how to perceive and praise artificially

the potential beauty hidden under simple form of nature.

Artificiality of FlowerArrangementis an art of

transcending subjective idea of the Self. It is the basic

idea of this lofty art, and the basic trend of training inner

mind of Zen Master. Latter, it is introduced as a style of

art which makes the life beautiful. FlowerArrangementhad a long tradition in China, and then it came into vogue

in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Before a masterpiece of

FlowerArrangementone should feel the sudden open of

the mystic beauty as a perfect one of nature. And at the

moment one should perceive that the Beauty itself is

unlimited.

Conclusion


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In Vietnam Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism are

the three basic systems of Oriental thought which are

accepted and applied altogether creatively in process of

establishing and affirming the nations dignity. We can

say that as the result of interaction with India and China,

the Vietnamese radical theories about cultivation of self-

improvement, controlling family and governing country

were established in the tendency of integration of the

three religions altogether, and among them Buddhism

occupies an active and distinguish place in forming

internal (introspecting) values.

After a period of trying to give off religions by

Materialist ideology of Marxism, Socialist countries come

to realize the spiritual values of religions, on a certain

extent. For them, spiritual values of religions mean notonly negative aspect such as superstition, but also of

positive one as philosophy, moral, culture... And they are

considered as tradition for the development in the

meaning of civilization and globalization as well.

Civilization is a globalization trend in the new

millennium, and the standard of life will be quite better

thanks to progressive of scientific, engineering, technical

achievements. These fruits are quickly popularized,

globalize and become common property of human in the


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world. However, the trend of civilization, modernization

and globalization is a reason to speed up the appearance

of a philosophical problem: High quality of life is just not

happiness. Man in modern society is facing modern

dilemma such as AIDS, drug, corruption, pollution, nations

and races-war etc. in the term of "worldly suffering" of

Buddhism. The whole picture of modernization and

civilization, some how, shows out the question that if high

standard of life is an effective and all-round solution for

human being's happiness or not.

The desire of understanding the Self once became

a philosophical question. In the Western, Existentialism,

Technoctativism, Psychnanalysm ... are sounds of

requirements for real happiness when high quality of life

was not the answer for "suffering". In general, Buddhism

was a selected system inherited from Indian and Asian

traditions which has been tested and improved through

long history. So that its preeminent factors have become

common precious values of mankind, not only belongs to

Buddhism in the religious meaning. Buddhism which

already has its advantage of an internal-equal-anti

theistically authority-religious ethics and with its rich and

experience in intercultural communication would be a

candidate with potential capacity to integrate into the


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modern age and face with the challenges of globalization

as well.

In future, individual will have much more and

multifold chance to choose, but it is more difficult to

decide and to realize the Self in that condition. In other

word, it is easier to lose than to express the self. Anyhow,

it should be the reason that forces man to directlychallenge the internal suffering. The internal-atheistic-

religious-philosophical approach of Buddhism, in this

aspect, should be considered as an emerged character of

Oriental thought which can make up for the shortage of

the man's knowledge about the Self. But, Buddhism is a

religion, so we should remind that it would certainly take

advantage of modern scientific achievements to protect

and improve its traditional theory of humanity towards

the trend of a religious system. In the fact, Buddhism has

to step back to (inner) psychology in which many

questions about the Self remained.

However, Zen Buddhism has contributed a general

value of humanity by the internal-atheistic-religious-

philosophyapproach. To day, in the trend of

globalization, civilization, door will open for the meeting


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of Eastern and Western values onwards to the better life

in common respective. In this condition, positive values of

Buddhists thought and practice will be continuously

preserved and promoted in the common perspective of

the new millennium.

[

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[1]Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, vol. 2. Edited byH.D.Lewis. A George Allen and Unwin, Bombay- Calcutta-Madras- New Delhi, 1977, p. 338-340
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1 Lu K'uan Yu (Charles Luk). The Secrets of ChineseMeditation . Samuel Weiser, Inc. York Beach, Maine USA,

1969, pp. 167-175.
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