Historical Backgrounds
Buddhism came to Vietnam in the 1st or 2nd century AD through the North from central Asia and China, and via the South from India trade routes. By the end of the 2nd century, in Vietnam there was a major Buddhist centre (probably in the Mahayana school)which was commonly known as the Luy Lâu centre, now in the Bắc Ninh province, north of Hanoi . Luy Lâu was the capital of Giao Chỉ(the former name of Vietnam), and was a popular place visited by many Indian Buddhist missionary monks on their way to China. The monks followed the sea route from the Indian sub-continent to China used by Indian traders. A number of Mahayana sutras and the Agamas were translated into Chinese script at that centre, including the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters and the Anapanasati.
Over the next eighteen centuries Vietnam and China shared many common features of cultural, philosophical and religious heritage. This was due to geographical proximity of the two countries, and due to the Chinese occupation. Vietnamese Buddhism is closely related to Chinese Buddhism in general, and to some extent reflects the formation of Chinese Buddhism after the Song Dynasty. However, different from Chinese Buddhism, Vietnamese Buddhism incorporated the practices of Vietnamese culture and traditions, and Theravada Buddhism thanks to the annexation of the land of Cham in the South, and the cultural exchanges with other Southeast Asian countries.
During the Đinh Dynasty (968-980) Buddhism was recognized by the state as an official religion ( around 971). The kings at the time highly valued Buddhism, and respected Buddhist monks and masters. The Early Lê Dynasty (980-1009) would follow a similar path. One reason for the growth of Buddhism during this time could be the presence of educated monks, a newly independent state needing an ideological basis on which to build a country.
Buddhism became more prominent during the Lý Dynasty (1009–1225) beginning with the founder Lý Thái Tổ who was raised in a pagoda (Buddhist temple). All of the kings during the Ly Dynasty supported Buddhism as a state religion and this continued into the Trần Dynasty (1225–1400) where Buddhism later developed in combination with Confucianism. Buddhism fell out of favor during the Later Lê Dynasty, but would thrive again under the Nguyễn Dynasty.
The central and southern part of present day Vietnam were originally inhabited by the Cham people and the Khmer people respectively who followed both a syncretic Saiva-Mahayana (see History of Buddhism in Cambodia) Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism. The Đại Việt (Vietnamese) annexed the land occupied by the Cham during conquests in the 15th century, and by the 18th century had also annexed the southern portion of the Khmer Empire, resulting in the current borders of Vietnam. From that time onward, the dominant Đại Việt (Vietnamese) followed the Mahayana tradition while the Khmer continued to practice Theravada.
In the 1920s and 1930s, there were a number of movements in Vietnam for the revival and modernization of Buddhist activities. Together with the re-organization of Mahayana establishments, there developed a growing interest in Theravada meditation as well as the Pali Canon. These were then available in French. Among the pioneers who brought Theravada Buddhism to the ethnic Đại Việt was a young veterinary doctor named Lê Văn Giảng. He was born in the South, received higher education in Hanoi, and after graduation, was sent to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to work for the French government.
During that time he became especially interested in Theravada Buddhist practice. Subsequently, he decided to ordain and took the Dhamma name of Hộ-Tông (Vansarakkhita). In 1940, upon an invitation from a group of lay Buddhists led by Mr. Nguyễn Văn Hiểu, he went back to Vietnam in order to help establish the first Theravada temple for Vietnamese Buddhists, at Gò Dưa, Thủ Đức (now a district of Hồ Chí Minh City). The temple was named Bửu Quang (Ratana Ramsyarama). The temple was destroyed by French troops in 1947, and was later rebuilt in 1951. At Bửu Quang temple, together with a group of Vietnamese bhikkhus (monks), who had received training in Cambodia, such as Venerables Thiện Luật, Bửu Chơn, Kim Quang and Giới Nghiêm, Venerable Hộ Tông began teaching the Dhamma in their native Vietnamese. He also translated many Buddhist materials from the Pali Canon, and Theravada became part of Vietnamese Buddhist activity in the country.
In 1949–1950 , Venerable Hộ Tông together with Mr Nguyễn Văn Hiểu and supporters built a new temple in Saigon (now Hồ Chí Minh City), named Kỳ Viên Tự (Jetavana Vihara). This temple became the centre of Theravada activities in Vietnam, which continued to attract increasing interest among the Vietnamese Buddhists. In 1957, the Vietnamese Theravada Buddhist Sangha Congregation (Giáo Hội Tăng Già Nguyên Thủy Việt Nam) was formally established and recognised by the government, and the Theravada Sangha elected Venerable Hộ Tông as its first President, or Sangharaja.
From Saigon, the Theravada movement spread to other provinces, and soon, a number of Theravada temples for ethnic Viet Buddhists were established in many areas in the South and Central parts of Vietnam.
From 1954 to 1975, Vietnam was split into North and South Vietnam. President Ngo Dinh Diem's policies generated claims of religious bias. As a member of the Catholic Vietnamese minority, he pursued pro-Catholic policies that antagonized many Buddhists.
In May 1963, in the central city of Huế, where Diem's elder brother Ngo Dinh Thuc was the archbishop, Buddhists were prohibited from displaying Buddhist flags during Vesak celebrations. A few days earlier, Catholics were allowed to fly religious flags at a celebration in honour of Thuc. This led to a protest against the government, which was suppressed by Diem's forces, killing nine civilians. This led to a mass campaign against Diem's government during the Buddhist crisis. Notably, Thich Quang Duc self-immolated and later Diem's younger brother Ngo Dinh Nhu ordered the special forces to raid pagodas across the country, killing an estimated hundreds. After this, the US government withdrew support and Diem and his family were deposed and killed.
After the fall of South Vietnam to communism in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War, the first major Buddhist community appeared in North America. Since this time the North American Vietnamese Buddhist community has grown to over 160 temples and centers. Proselytizing is not a priority.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Vietnam
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phật_giáo_Việt_Nam
Thích Mật Thể. Lich su Phat giao Viet nam
http://www.quangduc.com/lichsu/index.html
