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| Thiền Buddhism | |
|---|---|
| Name | Thiền Buddhism |
| Area | Vietnam, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Global |
Thiền Buddhism is the Vietnamese form of East Asian meditative Buddhism that emphasizes seated meditation, direct realization, and integration of practice into daily life. It developed through interactions with Chinese Chan, Indian Mahāyāna lineages, and indigenous Vietnamese religious currents, influencing Vietnamese culture, literature, and politics. Thiền produced prominent monastics, royal patrons, and texts that intersect with broader networks including Tang dynasty, Song dynasty, Mạc dynasty, Lý dynasty, and Trần dynasty histories.
The term derives from the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese 臨濟/禪, aligning with Chan Buddhism and Zen. Etymological links tie to Bodhidharma, Huineng, Dōgen Kigen, and Huangbo Xiyun in transregional genealogies. Definitions often reference canonical collections such as the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, the Lankavatara Sutra, and the Diamond Sutra, while also mapping to Vietnamese vernaculars shaped by contacts with Chinese language, Sanskrit, and Pali traditions.
Thiền emerged during interactions between Vietnamese polity and neighboring states across the Tang dynasty and later periods, shaped by figures who migrated from or studied in China and by indigenous monks who traveled to India and Sri Lanka. Key historical phases include early transmission under the Early Lê dynasty milieu, consolidation under the Lý dynasty with royal patronage and state-supported monasteries, institutional maturation through the Trần dynasty with involvement in military and court affairs, and transformations during the Lê–Mạc conflict, Tây Sơn uprising, and colonial encounters with the French Indochina period. Thiền adapted amid reforms influenced by Modernism (19th century) and global Buddhist networks including contacts with Japanese Zen, Korean Seon, and Tibetan Buddhism intermediaries.
Vietnamese Thiền comprises multiple lineages patterned after Chinese antecedents, such as iterations traced to Caodong school, Linji school, Yunmen school, Fayan school, and Guanglu-linked currents. Notable Vietnamese lineages include lines associated with masters analogous to Vinitaruci, Viên Chiếu, Pháp Loa, and others who parallel figures like Xuánzang and Huineng. Transmission networks connected monasteries, imperial courts, and coastal ports intersecting with Maritime Silk Road routes and monasteries that served as centers for textual transmission of works including the Record of Linji and indigenous compilations.
Thiền practice centers on seated meditation (zazen/zuochan), koan-style or huatou inquiry, and “sudden” versus “gradual” approaches debated in lineages linked to Huineng and Shenhui. Teachings draw from Mahāyāna doctrines like Emptiness (śūnyatā), Buddha-nature texts such as the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtras, and śūtra commentaries circulated in East Asia. Practice environments featured study of Chinese commentaries by Zhiyi, engagement with meditation manuals influenced by Bodhidharma, and incorporation of Pure Land recitations in lay-monk syncretic contexts. Ethical and monastic codes referenced Vinaya traditions preserved through regional collections and royal edicts during the Lý dynasty and Trần dynasty.
Monastic routines blended liturgical rituals, chanting of texts like the Lotus Sutra, communal dana ceremonies with patrons from imperial court, and craftsmanship linked to temple architecture resembling patterns from the Tang dynasty and Song dynasty. Artistic expression included calligraphy modeled on masters comparable to Wang Xizhi, stone stele inscriptions, bell casting, and mural painting influenced by iconography from Ajanta Caves–style lineages and continental exchanges via the Maritime Silk Road. Monastic life centered on cloisters, alms-rounds, educational roles at state academies, and interactions with lay confraternities, guilds, and urban communities such as those in Hanoi, Huế, and Hoa Lư.
Thiền diversified across regions—northern centers in the Red River Delta engaged imperial institutions like those in Thăng Long; central Vietnam developed hubs around Huế and coastal ports that mediated with Cham Kingdom and Hội An trade; southern expansions reached areas influenced by Đàng Trong governance and contacts with Khmer Empire. Cultural influence extended into literature, with poets and scholars in the Lý dynasty and Trần dynasty incorporating Thiền themes into vernacular chữ Nôm texts and educated chữ Hán prose. Political roles ranged from royal advisors to participation in anti-colonial mobilizations overlapping with movements in Tonkin and Cochinchina during the colonial era.
20th- and 21st-century revival involved reforms during interactions with French Indochina, nationalist movements tied to figures who engaged with Viet Minh, and modern teachers who established monasteries abroad in cities like Paris, San Francisco, Melbourne, and Toronto. Global Vietnamese diasporic communities maintain Thiền centers connected to networks including international Zen organizations, academic institutions such as Sorbonne University and Harvard University Buddhist studies programs, and interreligious dialogues with Catholic Church leaders and secular NGOs. Contemporary teachers publish translations and commentaries, engage in social welfare projects, and participate in conferences at venues like United Nations forums and regional summits, contributing to a transnational presence spanning Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America.
Category:Vietnamese religion