Traditional culture, religion, ethics, lifestyle, art... These fields interact and are closely intertwined, the boundaries dividing the fields are only relative.
2.2.2. Some basic features of the spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta today
The Red River Delta was formed by the alluvial deposits of the Red River and the Thai Binh River. This region has a favorable location, considered the center of trade between the Northwest and Northeast regions, between the Northern mountainous region and the North Central region and the Central Coast region. This is also a trade bridge with China, bordering Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian countries. According to the 2013 statistical yearbook, the Red River Delta includes 11 provinces and cities: Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Thai Binh, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh.
The Red River Delta is a land typical of wet rice civilization. The spiritual and cultural life of the people in the Red River Delta is quite rich and diverse, formed and nurtured through many generations, creating sustainable and unique values of the region. The spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta has both the common nature of social spiritual life and its own unique features. Researching the spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta is an approach to history, culture, and social life, aiming to ensure the correspondence of scientific concepts of a specific area with a specific subject. In that sense, the spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta is a synthesis of values, activities, and spiritual relationships, reflecting the material life of the people in the Red River Delta in certain historical and social periods. Maybe you are interested!
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Since 1986, due to the remarkable development of material life, the spiritual life of the people here has been constantly improved. In the context of globalization, integration and international exchange, due to the absorption of progressive ideas, in addition to traditional factors, the spiritual life of the residents of the Red River Delta also bears the mark of the times. There are
We can summarize some basic features of the spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta today as follows:
In the field of ideology, ethics, lifestyle
Like the people of the whole country, the main ideology that plays a fundamental role for the residents of the Red River Delta is Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, along with the viewpoints, guidelines and policies of the Party and the State. The theoretical premises of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought have provided the people here with a political worldview, a correct understanding of the role and responsibility of individuals in social life, living and working according to the Constitution and the law. Since 1945, the mastery of the people of the whole country has been increasingly consolidated and perfected. The people of the Red River Delta are aware of their responsibility in the struggle for national liberation through the two resistance wars against France and the US as well as in the current cause of national construction and defense. Democracy has helped people access information, participate in the process of policy making and planning, and perform the role of social supervision and criticism through associations such as the Trade Union, Women's Union, Veterans' Association, Youth Union, and grassroots Party cells... People in the Red River Delta actively participate in the production movement, build a new life in residential areas, and build the country for the goal of a rich people, a strong country, democracy, fairness, and civilization.
In the field of ethics, the harmonious blend of traditional ethical values and lifestyles with modern factors has created richness and diversity in the ethical and spiritual life of the people of the Red River Delta. Traditional values of the nation such as the tradition of patriotism, the will to national self-reliance, and ethical values passed down from generation to generation are still beautiful features in the spiritual life of the people here. Under the leadership of the Party, the people of the Red River Delta actively participate in economic, cultural, and social development activities, creating spiritual motivation for building the country for the goal of a rich people, a strong country, democracy, fairness, and civilization. Campaigns, patriotic emulation movements, and activities from
charity has been widely developed, contributing to promoting ideological education, ethics and lifestyle in the whole region.
However, in the current period, under the impact of the market economy, globalization and international economic integration, a large number of cadres and Party members are far from the masses, far from the revolutionary ideal, showing signs of seeking positions and power, corruption, and not daring to fight for the right. The ideology of worshipping money and individualism has caused the revolutionary ideal, Marxism-Leninism, and Ho Chi Minh thought to fade away.
The close relationship of the old agricultural social tradition is no longer strong. It can be said that the industrial and modern lifestyle has hardened the emotional lifestyle, losing the peaceful scenes of village life, the emotional connection between people and nature. The spiritual and emotional world is not only less concerned but also increasingly impoverished, even crippled. This is a great loss for the lifestyle of Vietnamese people today [86, pp.33-34].
Therefore, the state of moral and lifestyle degradation has not been prevented, and the denial and disregard for traditional values among a segment of the population is an urgent ideological and ethical problem that needs to be solved.
In the field of customs and practices
In the Red River Delta, the solidarity of the community and villages is one of the basic and typical characteristics that form the unique values in the spiritual and cultural life of the people. The community spirit in the Red River Delta has connected individuals into a unified, united, and close-knit block between people and between people and society. Community activities such as village festivals, rituals, weddings, funerals, etc. are all common tasks, everyone works together, takes care of and shares with each other. In the village community in the Red River Delta, that equality has aroused everyone's enthusiasm, each person contributes their efforts and strength to the village, everyone feels proactive, creative and enjoys. That is what makes the community and villages in this area closely connected from generation to generation. If the way of life is the cradle of
In terms of village community character, the village is the space that nurtures and maintains those traditional values. The collective character of the village community in the Red River Delta is also expressed through spiritual cultural spaces such as communal houses, pagodas, shrines... On holidays, New Year's Day, and festivals, people go to communal houses and pagodas to perform spiritual rituals together.
Besides the communal and village lifestyle, traditional moral values have a significant role in guiding the lifestyle and behavior of residents in the Red River Delta. Each member is immersed in the communal atmosphere, moral values are passed down from generation to generation, influencing the lifestyle of each person. Community spirit and moral values have the effect of connecting members of the community, not accepting factors that break its communal spirit.
In the current context, the life of the people in the Red River Delta has been improved, material and spiritual life has been improved, community cohesion and ethical values, customs and practices have become the people's way of life and have spread widely. Community cohesion is not only demonstrated in production labor but also in the struggle for national liberation, in discussing common affairs of the village, commune and residential area today.
In the field of traditional culture and arts
With a long history of culture, the residents of the Red River Delta have built and preserved a system of unique and distinctive spiritual and cultural values, creating the cultural characteristics of the Red River Delta. Speaking of traditional culture in the Red River Delta, we must mention folk songs, proverbs, lullabies, Cheo, Quan Ho, Xam, Ca Tru melodies... bearing the cultural identity of the Northern Delta in general and the Red River Delta in particular, passed down through many generations. Those traditional cultural features have left a deep mark on the spiritual life of the people of the Red River Delta in all areas of life.
expressing the cultural behavior of people with people, people with society, people with nature.
The extremely rich and diverse treasure of folk songs and proverbs occupies an important position in the spiritual life of the people of the Red River Delta. Speaking of folk songs and proverbs is talking about the form of oral culture, including many different topics, vividly and long-standing in the life of the people. Folk songs and proverbs refer to the struggle between good and evil, between right and wrong... Through folk songs and proverbs, people convey their concepts of life, dreams, teachings, life experiences,... reflecting the customs, habits, lifestyle and thinking of the people. Lullabies, folk songs, quan ho, cheo, ca tru, xam... have created unique features in the spiritual life of the people of the Red River Delta. This is an indispensable spiritual food in the spiritual life of the people here, expressing the cultural beauty of each region such as quan ho in Kinh Bac (Bac Ninh), cheo (Thai Binh), ca tru singing (Hanoi), xam of street singers, lullabies... People have also preserved folk songs imbued with a unique artistic life through many generations. The main stream of cultural and artistic life in the Red River Delta today is still patriotism, attachment to the nation, humanity, truly reflecting the life of working, fighting and building the homeland and country of the people here. In the present period, traditional cultural arts have become cultural beauty, unique identity, and cultural pride of the region. The restoration of folk songs is being restored by many associations to preserve traditional values, promoting that unique art to the masses.
In the field of beliefs and religions
The religious life in the Red River Delta is quite rich and diverse, with both polytheistic and monotheistic beliefs and religions. Beliefs and religions have a profound influence on the spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta, bringing moral values, lifestyles, life concepts, and guiding people's behavior in social life. Looking at
Overall, the spiritual life of the people of the Red River Delta is a synthesis of many factors, but perhaps the most profound influence is the belief and religious factor.
There are many different religions in the Red River Delta today, including religions recognized by the State as legal entities such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism... There are also some new religious phenomena such as Long Hoa Maitreya, Thanh Hai Vo Thuong Su, Ngoc Phat Ho Chi Minh... This has brought the Red River Delta region a vivid picture of religious life. Religious life in the Red River Delta region is quite vibrant with many religious activities such as every Tet holiday, people go to the temple to pray for wealth, fortune, and peace, every full moon of the first lunar month, pagodas often organize star offering ceremonies to ward off bad luck, on the full moon and first day of the lunar month, people go to the temple to pray for the Buddha's blessing; Vu Lan festival, Buddha's birthday, Christmas... are organized quite loudly and attract a large number of people to participate.
In religious life, there are typical beliefs such as Mother Goddess worship, village tutelary god worship, ancestor worship... Among them, a part of the people participate in Mother Goddess worship activities. The spirit possession sessions are organized quite loudly, typically for the centers of Mother Goddess worship such as Phu Day (Nam Dinh), Phu Tay Ho (Hanoi), Tay Thien (Vinh Phuc)... and many Mother Goddess worshiping establishments spread throughout the provinces of the Red River Delta. People participating in Mother Goddess worship activities always believe that people have a predestined relationship with Mother Goddess, meaning that "Father chooses soldiers, Mother catches mediums" and is forced to serve Mother Goddess, serve the Holy House, hope for peace, hope for help from the Holy House in work, family, health...
However, the commercialization of religious activities has muddied the atmosphere of spiritual and cultural life. Superstitious activities are on the rise, causing religious activities and beliefs to be exploited by those who "sell gods and saints". Some people have not complied with the law and even organize illegal proselytizing. The construction, renovation and development of temples and pagodas, the development of festivals in an excessive and widespread manner with hybrid and flashy architecture, and endless festivals waste money.
the efforts of the local residents. There are a few Buddhist dignitaries who have fallen into temptation in everyday life because of lust, unable to abandon greed, anger, and ignorance, leading to actions that not only violate the precepts but also the law. More broadly, in the Northern Delta region, the phenomenon of summoning the dead and worshiping "karmic creditors" for profit at Ba Vang Pagoda is a typical example of this.
Chapter 2 Summary
It can be said that Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam very early and was quickly accepted by all classes of people in society, without any coercion or annexation. During its existence and development, Buddhism has had a profound influence on the spiritual life of our people in general and the people of the Red River Delta in particular. The Buddhist worldview with the ultimate and sole purpose of liberating sentient beings from suffering to have a peaceful life in the present has helped Buddhism enter the lives of Vietnamese people in general and the people of the Red River Delta in particular, responding to the thoughts and aspirations of the majority of the working people. Buddhism transcends the framework of common religious beliefs to become a cultural feature, spiritual values in the lives of many generations.
In Chapter 2, the thesis has clarified some basic contents of the Buddhist worldview and spiritual life to serve as a basis for understanding the influence of Buddhist worldview on spiritual life in general and in the Red River Delta in particular. This is the basis for studying and understanding the influence of the Buddhist worldview on the spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta in a number of areas such as: ideology, ethics, lifestyle and customs, habits...
Chapter 3
INFLUENCE OF BUDDHIST WORLDVIEW ON SPIRITUAL LIFE OF RED RIVER DELTA PEOPLE
CURRENT SITUATION AND SOME ISSUES
As mentioned above, Buddhism developed early in the Red River Delta and has permeated deeply into the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people in general, and the spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta in particular. Below, we will analyze the effects of the Buddhist worldview on the spiritual life of the people in the Red River Delta today.
3.1. METHODS OF INFLUENCE OF BUDDHIST WORLDVIEW ON THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE RED RIVER DELTA TODAY
The Buddhist worldview has deeply influenced the thoughts, lifestyle, behavior, ethics and humanity of a part of the people in the Red River region. The influence of the Buddhist worldview is through many different methods such as translating, publishing, printing sutras, preaching, and giving sermons at pagodas and monasteries, through the media, social networks, practicing and performing Buddhist practices, but mainly chanting sutras, reciting Buddha's name, participating in sutra groups, preaching and giving sermons at pagodas and monasteries, etc. Firstly, the influence of the Buddhist worldview is through meditation,
chanting, reciting Buddha's name
The influence of the Buddhist worldview on the spiritual life of the people of the Red River Delta is a direct influence through Buddhist rituals, chanting sessions, and reciting Buddha's name. Buddhists not only worship, bow to, and make offerings to Buddha, but also recite sutras, chant mantras, and recite Buddha's name. According to Buddhism, reciting sutras and reciting Buddha's name is to make the soul clear and enlightened to the profound principles in the scriptures. Therefore, along with worshiping, bowing to, and making offerings to Buddha, Buddhists must recite sutras, chant mantras, and recite Buddha's name.