Recreating the picture of Nghe An Buddhism in the flow of national history
(Baonghean.vn) - With the spirit of compassion, wisdom, harmony, goodness and engagement with the world, Nghe An Buddhism in general and Nghe An Buddhism in particular have always accompanied and actively contributed to the historical flow of the nation.
Religion Publishing House has just released the book "History of Buddhism in Nghe An”This is the first research work on the history and culture of Buddhism in Nghe An from its beginning to the first decades of the 21st century.
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| Cover of the book History of Buddhism in Nghe An. Photo: QH |
The book is co-edited by Dr., Venerable Thich Tho Lac, researcher Nguyen Dai Dong; Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Hong, Dr. Dinh Van Vien and Dr. Dang Nhu Thuong.
The book "History of Buddhism in Nghe An" includes 8 chapters and 8 appendices. Chapter 1 introduces the most general features of resources, position, terrain, land, climate, weather, ... to the historical and cultural traditions of successive generations of residents in Nghe An land. The main content in chapter 2 focuses on clarifying the picture of Buddhism in Nghe An from the time Chu Dong Tu was preached by Zen master Phat Quang in Nam Gioi mountain (Thach Ha, Ha Tinh) around the 3rd century BC until the Khuc family established its independence in 905. On the basis of inheriting the achievements of Buddhist research of predecessors, combined with comparing many different sources of documents, the picture of Buddhism in Nghe An land during 13 centuries has been restored in a quite vivid, systematic and comprehensive way.
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| National Treasure: Nhan Tower relic box. Photo: Phuong Chi |
Chapters 3 to 6 are a panoramic picture of Buddhist History and Culture in Nghe An from the 10th to the 15th century until now.: Buddhism in Nghe An in the Modern and Contemporary Period (1945 - 2021)from aspects such as: Historical context and factors influencing Buddhism in Nghe An, influential figures in the prosperity of Buddhism in Nghe An (including kings, princes, nobles, mandarins, Zen masters), famous pagodas built, restored, and repaired in Nghe An from the 10th century to the early 21st century.
In chapter 7, the authors try to present some characteristics of Buddhism in Nghe An such as: Zen sects in Nghe An, architectural art, sculpture of pagodas and towers in Nghe An, Buddhism in the mountainous districts of Nghe An, the accompaniment of monks, nuns and Buddhists in Nghe An in the historical flow of building and defending the country of the Vietnamese people,...
In addition, the appearance of Buddhism in 21 districts, towns and cities in Nghe An province is presented in a general way in chapter 8 of the book,...
In the Introduction, Venerable, Dr. Thich Thanh Nhieu - Permanent Vice President of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Head of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Nghe An province affirmed: "For more than 2,000 years of formation and development, with the spirit of Compassion, Wisdom, Harmony, Goodness and Engagement, Nghe An Buddhism in general and Nghe An Buddhism in particular have 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 plain districts of Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Vinh city, Hoang Mai town, Cua Lo town to the mountainous districts in the West to respect and take Buddhism as a fulcrum for spiritual life, apply the law of cause and effect to build an ethical lifestyle for people and society, apply the spirit of compassion, selflessness, altruism to form the ideology of patriotism, unite people's hearts to build and develop Nghe An homeland as well as Vietnam country is increasingly rich and civilized.
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| View of Dai Tue Pagoda on Dai Hue Mountain in Nam Anh Commune, Nam Dan District. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
Even though the country has had its ups and downs, with changes in power and owners, Vietnamese Buddhism in general and Nghe An Buddhism in particular, since its introduction until now, have never gone against the historical flow of the nation, always demonstrating the spirit of sharing the joys and sorrows with the people and the country...".
This is the cultural beauty that runs through the historical flow of Buddhism in Nghe An for over 2,000 years that generations of monks, nuns, and Buddhists along the Lam River today and forever need to inherit and promote to continue writing golden pages of history with their homeland and country in the context of global integration and the explosion of the 4.0 revolution.
The book is also one of the works to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (1981 - 2021), welcoming the Congress of Buddhist delegates of Nghe An province, term III (2021 - 2026).