Abstract:
Vietnam is now a predominantly Mahāyāna Buddhist country but with some
influences from Theravāda Buddhism. There are two Theravāda groups
in Vietnam, namely Khmer Theravāda Buddhism (KTB) and Vietnamese
Theravāda Buddhism (VTB). Both of them study and practise the Pāli-Tipitaka.
They are commonly called Theravada Buddhism in Vietnam (TBV)
KTB has been practised since the 3rd BCE during King Asoka’s period. It
has since undergone several changes in the Mekong Delta under the Nguyen
Court. They harshly forced the Khmer population to abandon the Theravada
tradition by forcing the Theravāda monks to become Mahāyāna monks. Yet,
they love Theravāda Buddhism as if it were in their blood and bones. The
Khmer temples secretly organized Dhamma classes for monks, while facing
serious difficulties. As a result, KTB gradually developed in Vietnam, and the
Dhamma classes were allowed by the Vietnamese government many years
ago; even a Khmer Theravāda Academy for Buddhist Studies was established
in 2005.
Ven. Ho Tong (Vamsarakkhita), together with the Cambodian Sangharāja, the
Ven. Chuon Nath (Jotaññāno) and 30 Cambodian Bhikkhus, came to Vietnam to
establish the sīma for the first Vietnamese Theravāda temple in 1939. Since that
time, the Vietnamese people have gradually believed in Theravāda Buddhism.
Besides this, there was a significant contribution by Ven. Narada from Sri
Lanka in 1930. He came to Vietnam and planted Bodhi saplings brought from
Sri Lanka in many places around the country. During his subsequent visits in
the 1950s and 1960s, he attracted large numbers of Buddhists to the Theravāda
tradition.
There are now 529 Theravāda temples and 8,919 Theravāda monks in total
throughout Vietnam. This clearly proves that a large presence of the Theravāda
Buddhist sect has been established in a country, which is predominantly of the
Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition.
