Society

Nghe An Buddhism - forever shining with the homeland - Part 1

Reporter group • December 20, 2024 12:42

With the spirit of "protecting the nation and bringing peace to the people", Buddhism accompanies the nation, throughout history, Nghe An Buddhism has made many contributions to the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, to the homeland and the country. The tradition of "serving religion, loving the country, devoting oneself to practicing religion" has been and is being united by monks, nuns, and Buddhists with other beliefs and religions, spreading good, humane values, for the peace, happiness of the people and the prosperity of Nghe An homeland...

Lesson 1:
Enlightenment in life

ThoseOver the past year, Nghe An Buddhism has developed. strong in many aspectsn. Monks, nuns, and abbots of pagodashas been activecarry out the work of propagating the Dharma, strictly comply with the State's laws and policies, and the Charter of the Buddhist Sangha.Buddhists actively carry out Buddhist activities"beneficial to morality and life"" by specific actions and deeds.

The source flows forever

Like many people in Vietnam, for many people in Nghe An, going to the pagoda has become a traditional cultural feature that has been formed for a long time. The pagoda roof, bell tower, the sound of sutras and chants are familiar and indispensable things in the spiritual life of the people.

Some people come to the temple to immerse themselves in spirituality, find peace of mind in a pure space, and dispel all the hardships and worries of life. Some people come to the temple to enjoy the scenery. Some people voluntarily take refuge in the Triple Gem, wholeheartedly turn to Buddha, and join in praying for blessings and peace for their family, homeland, and country.

Referring to the fate of becoming a Buddhist, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Huong (80 years old), a retired cadre, residing in Hamlet 4, Nghi Phong Commune, Vinh City, shared: Since childhood, I sometimes followed my grandparents and parents to the temple. Every time I went to the temple, I felt peaceful and comfortable. Now that I am old and my children have grown up, I often follow the Buddhist community to practice at Da Pagoda (also known as Au Lac Pagoda) every morning. The space of the temple with the leisurely sound of bells and the rising incense smoke always gives people a feeling of peace, tranquility, and relaxation to turn to their roots, to the truth, goodness, and beauty in life.

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Buddhism in Nghe An has a long history. The most special traces of the development of Buddhism in Nghe An during the Chinese domination period are Nhan Son Pagoda, Nhan Tower (built in 623, now in Hong Long Commune, Nam Dan District) and the worship of Buddha relics here.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Hong - Faculty of History, School of Education (Vinh University)

In particular, during the Ly Dynasty, in Bach Ngoc district, now Do Luong district, Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang had many large-scale pagodas built. With the event in 1299, the Supreme Emperor Tran Nhan Tong returned to Yen Tu mountain to become a Buddhist monk, founded and led the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect, an independent Vietnamese Buddhist Zen sect established by the Vietnamese Emperor with the ideology of "Hoa Quang Dong Tran", "Cu Tran Lac Dao", the spirit of entering the world "Ho Quoc An Dan" became the main ideology of Vietnamese Buddhism. Tinh Quoc Vuong Tran Quoc Khang had pagodas and palaces built in the Dien Yen Quynh area.

Since then, Nghe An land became the land of Buddha, Dong Thanh place name became the Buddhist center of the whole Hoan Chau region of Nghe An.

Through many eras and different stages of development, even though the country has had its ups and downs, Vietnamese Buddhism in general and Nghe An Buddhism in particular have always shown the spirit of accompanying the nation; becoming the spiritual and mental support of the people.

During the struggle for national independence and unification, many pagodas became places to hide cadres and gather the masses. Many places of worship were demolished to concentrate material facilities to support the national resistance movement. Many monks, nuns, and Buddhists directly participated in revolutionary activities; donated land, fields, gardens, and incense from pagodas to concentrate all resources for the common cause of the country.

In the introduction of the book on the history of Buddhism in Nghe An, Most Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu - Permanent Vice President of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Head of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Nghe An province said: Nghe An is a land of spiritual land and talented people and is also the land that received Buddhism the earliest in the flow of Vietnamese Buddhist history and culture.

Throughout the development process, with the spirit of compassion, wisdom, harmony, goodness and engagement in the world, Nghe An Buddhism has always accompanied and actively contributed to the historical flow of Vietnamese Buddhism and the Vietnamese people.

This is the deep origin for many generations of residents from the coastal plains of Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Vinh City, Cua Lo Town, Hoang Mai Town to the mountainous districts in the West to believe in and apply the spirit of compassion, selflessness, altruism, and the theory of cause and effect of Buddhism to form a culture of ethics and conduct in life for Buddhist followers, promote the tradition of patriotism, love for the nation, unite people's hearts to build and develop the homeland of Nghe An as well as the country of Vietnam to become more and more beautiful and civilized.

Harmony and solidarity

Responding to the sentiments and enthusiasm for Buddhism of the majority of people, with the policy of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha on restoring and developing Buddhism in Nghe An, along with the attention of Party committees and authorities at all levels, in 2011 the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Nghe An province was established.

Although the organization was established later than the rest of the country, under the management and direction of the Provincial Buddhist Sangha Executive Committee, Nghe An Buddhism has had steady, strong and comprehensive development.

Through the congresses (2011 - 2017), (2017 - 2022), (2022-2027), with the spirit of harmony and solidarity, Nghe An Buddhism has achieved important milestones, the management apparatus of all levels of the church and monasteries have been improved.

Currently, the province has about 150,000 Buddhist followers; 75 pagodas and 1 Buddhist temple; of which 49 pagodas have abbots in 14 districts, cities and towns (Dien Chau, Vinh City, Nghi Loc, Nam Dan, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu, Thanh Chuong, Hung Nguyen, Cua Lo, Do Luong, Hoang Mai, Quy Hop, Anh Son, Tan Ky); 109 monks, nuns and monks.

In recent times, the Executive Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Buddhist Sangha has focused on calling for social resources to implement many projects to restore, renovate, and plan new constructions at places of worship of Buddhist origin. Typical examples include the completion of the construction of Dai Tue Pagoda - a majestic work at the sacred Dai Hue mountain, a national cultural and spiritual landmark; Restoring and renovating the Gam temple complex (Chi Linh Tu), with ancient architecture in the rice countryside of Yen Thanh; Renovating and constructing a majestic and spacious Co Am Pagoda, meeting the needs of Buddhists in the Dien Chau plain; planning to build Lam Son Pagoda in Quynh Yen Commune (Quynh Luu), Ha Pagoda in Hung Tien Commune (Nam Dan) with wood bearing the appearance of traditional culture; Planning to expand and restore the National Monument of Can Linh Pagoda (also known as Su Nu Pagoda) on the Con Moc River in Cua Nam Ward (Vinh City); Phuc Lac Pagoda in Nghi Thach Commune (Nghi Loc) was revived on a white sand beach, An Thai Pagoda in Quynh Long Commune (Quynh Luu), Song Ngu Pagoda historical relic (Ngu Island) was restored and embellished...

The Nghe An Buddhist Executive Committee also regularly coordinates with local authorities and organizations to organize prayers for peace and gratitude at the Vietnam - Laos International Cemetery, Thai Lao Cemetery, Truong Bon National Monument, Hoa Tien Cave, Vach Bac Canal, and Martyrs' Cemetery in localities...

Coordinate with the Provincial Fatherland Front, the Provincial Religious Committee, the Provincial National Defense and Security Education Council, and the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee to open specialized classes and conferences to disseminate Party policies and State laws; Actively respond to and mobilize Buddhists to participate in patriotic emulation movements launched by authorities at all levels, the Fatherland Front, and mass organizations such as hunger eradication and poverty reduction, building new rural areas, new cultural residential areas, fighting against social evils, participating in environmental protection, responding to climate change, and preventing epidemics; propagating and fighting to protect the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland...

According to Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac - Standing Member of the Executive Council, Head of the Central Cultural Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Deputy Standing Head of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Nghe An province: The Executive Council always encourages monks, nuns, and Buddhists to promote the spirit of compassion and relief of suffering of Buddhism and the tradition of mutual love and affection of the nation, to excellently complete social security and community welfare work.

Since the first Provincial Buddhist Congress (2011), places of worship, monks, nuns, and Buddhists have donated to flood and natural disaster relief, contributed to funds for the poor, education promotion funds, funds to support orphans, disabled children, and Agent Orange victims, built solidarity houses, and supported many other funds in localities inside and outside the province... with a total estimated cost of nearly 216 billion VND. Of which, nearly 200 solidarity houses were built, 3 bridges, 5 schools, 1,278 wells, more than 700,000 scholarships; over 1.3 million charity gifts, over 2.8 million bowls of porridge; nearly 1.1 million meals; donated nearly 1,000 units of blood...

In 2024, when people in the northern provinces suffered heavy losses due to the impact of storm Zagi, the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Nghe An province held a launching ceremony, calling on monks, nuns, and Buddhists to donate about 5 billion VND.

Many pagodas organized gift giving directly to people affected by storms and floods, contributing to joining hands with the whole country, accompanying and sharing with people in natural disasters and calamities, spreading the spirit of compassion, relief from suffering and disaster of Buddhism.

Buddhist dignitaries and officials in the province also actively participated in the election and dozens of them were elected by the people of the province to join the People's Council and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee at all levels.

In its activities, the Provincial Buddhist Executive Committee has oriented monks, nuns, and Buddhists to "separate the turbid and bring out the clear", promote traditional values, reduce cumbersome rituals that are not suitable for modern society, build "cultural landscape pagodas", contributing to promoting Buddhist ethical, cultural values ​​and resources as affirmed by the 13th Party Congress: "Promote good cultural and ethical values ​​and resources of religions for the cause of national development".

In general, Buddhist activities in localities across the province are basically purely religious, complying with local laws and regulations.

Buddhist followers actively participate in gratitude activities, new rural construction movements, homeland construction, humanitarian charity and fulfill civic duties.

Many monks and nuns play an important role in mobilizing the masses to develop the economy, culture and society in residential areas, contributing to social security, properly implementing the motto: "Buddhism - Nation - Socialism" proposed by the Church, recognized by local authorities at all levels. The relationship between authorities at all levels and Buddhist organizations, dignitaries and officials is increasingly open, trusting and close...