The influence of Buddhism on the ethical culture of the Ly-Tran dynasties

"transformation", giving up the high secular position to become a monk, living a frugal life. Therefore, criticizing Buddhism in the Ly - Tran period is something we must ponder, as Nguyen Tai Thu commented: "Thus, the Confucian scholars of that time attacked Buddhism not to overthrow Buddhism in terms of philosophy and ideology, nor to prove the irrationality in the religious beliefs of Buddhism, but to expose the consequences and evils that Buddhism has caused to real life, as well as the negative influence of Buddhism on social progress" [126, p. 228].

Some cadres, party members, and civil servants of the Party and State (especially some high-ranking cadres) take advantage of Buddhism to promote their names, in the name of doing charity work for pagodas, temples, and shrines. Public opinion does not deny their "merit", but many people ask: for some corrupt officials, where does the money from charity come from? Are their donations sincere or not, or is this just an act of escaping punishment, bribing gods and Buddhas? Are their actions sincere, giving fortune according to Buddhist ethics, or are they deceiving people and deceiving Buddha? Borrowing the name of Buddha to promote one's name, hypocrisy has more or less become a bad habit that needs to be criticized and eliminated.

The issue of building pagodas, towers, and Zen monasteries today on a large scale, throughout all regions of the country, is also a matter that is causing different opinions. NCS believes that the opinions of scholars Le Quat and Pham Su Manh need to be pondered: “From the top, to the bottom, to the common people, if they give alms to Buddhism, even if they run out of money, they will not be stingy (…) Therefore, from the capital, to the outside, to the prefecture, to the villages and alleys, people still follow without orders, people still believe without oaths. Wherever there are people, there are Buddhist temples, abandoned and then built, broken and then repaired, bells, drums, and castles occupy half of the population” [79, p. 154]. Many monks NCS has met, such as Venerable Thich Minh Tue (Hanoi), Venerable Thich Thien Hy (Binh Duong), and monk Minh Khai (Dong Nai), all believe that practicing is important, not big temples or big statues. Through this thesis, I would like to present a few things for reflection: First , why does this phenomenon exist?

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as above? Second , why did the "princes" give alms to Buddhism like that? Third , did the construction of Buddhist works affect the economic and social life like in the late Tran period? Fourth , Buddhism "developed" like that but the Ly - Tran dynasties, especially the Tran dynasty, declined rapidly, leading to the disaster of the Ming invaders re-occupying our country in the early 15th century?

The above are both lessons and issues worth pondering and needing to be addressed.

discuss when continuing to research the topic of the thesis.

Summary

From the lesson of Buddhism in the ethical culture of the Ly - Tran dynasties, we see that Buddhism with its positive values has always been a powerful support force for the cause of building and protecting the country's independence, fighting against the invasion and assimilation of foreign powers, becoming one of the driving forces for social development, not only affecting the ethical culture of the Ly - Tran dynasties but also affecting the political ethical culture in today's era. Buddhist teachings, laws, and rituals contain a number of humane, positive elements. In essence, these are the similarities between the purpose of Buddhism and the revolutionary ideals of the working class and the working people, the similarities between the two eras of the nation. Buddhism entered life with the theory of wanting to bring benefits to the majority, with the sole purpose of forming a beautiful lifestyle, a peaceful and liberated life.

The world enters the 21st century with many opportunities and prospects but also many challenges. People, besides their hopes for the future, will always have to face global challenges. In the "flat world", the modern pace of life puts people in front of many challenges. Vietnamese society still has conditions for the existence of religion. Buddhism as well as religion are still the needs of a part of the masses as the Communist Party of Vietnam affirmed in the document of the 9th National Congress of Delegates: "Belief and religion are the spiritual needs of a part of the people" [28, p. 128].

To promote the positive impact of Buddhism on Vietnamese culture today, it is necessary to raise awareness of inheriting and promoting the role of Buddhism according to the viewpoint of President Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party of Vietnam, promoting positive aspects, limiting negative aspects to build new people. Contemplating and discussing to absorb the good thoughts and ethics of Buddhism, promoting cultural activities of Buddhism in social life, especially building the current ethical culture is the content of the thesis mentioned in this chapter.

CONCLUDE

1. The process of Buddhism entering Vietnamese life has gone through different historical stages. Each stage has its own political, economic, social and cultural characteristics, but all directly or indirectly contribute to forming the concept of life and activities of Vietnamese people.

Not rigid with dogmas but with principles suitable to life, open and tolerant, the Buddhist worldview and philosophy of life have deeply influenced and permeated the souls of the Vietnamese people. Closely associated with the history of the nation, Buddhism has permeated the culture, suitable to the life and soul of the Vietnamese people, bringing spiritual values, contributing to creating a Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity.

2. The Ly - Tran Dynasty, as we have learned, is the era that marked the brilliant development of Buddhism in Vietnam, recorded by achievements in many fields, notably the stability and development of the country. The mark of "virtuous governance" is recorded from those achievements. From a cultural perspective, the ethical culture of the Ly - Tran dynasties escaped the framework of harsh autocratic monarchy, there was a distance shift, closer to the daily life of the Vietnamese people because of humanistic values, achievements in building the country and feats in protecting national independence and autonomy. Influenced by Buddhism, in the ethical culture of the Ly - Tran dynasties, there were left noble ethical values, noble moral celebrities who made the ethical culture of the Vietnamese nation and people shine.

Moral culture, after all, is also a concrete expression of cultural values. The Buddhist ideology of compassion, joy, forgiveness, the law of cause and effect, and causality have a profound and wide influence on the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people, in line with the good traditional values from the early days of the nation's founding in the Hung King era such as solidarity, mutual support, mutual love, and love for humanity.

3. The Ly - Tran Dynasty left us a huge legacy that every Vietnamese person needs to preserve, promote, and create many miracles for a new era. In that whole, there is the ethical culture of those who hold the power to run the country influenced by Buddhism. Buddhism in Vietnam has had its ups and downs, but has had an important position and made positive contributions to the lives of the Vietnamese people, to the stability and development of the country.

4. In modern life, people's material life is improved at the same time as there is a trend of declining moral values. Integrating into the integration flow, Vietnam is facing both an extremely great opportunity and enormous challenges. Seizing opportunities, overcoming challenges, completing the industrialization and modernization of the country is the task of the Vietnamese people in the new era. To complete the task, the key is how to make every Vietnamese person develop comprehensively and harmoniously in personality. We not only have to learn advanced scientific and technical knowledge but also need to grasp knowledge of humanities. Humanities tell us what humans are and what their nature is, tell us how to objectively and scientifically evaluate the influence, position, and role of Buddhism in the culture and history of the nation; Looking at the Buddhist mapping, we can clearly see the shortcomings and backwardness in order to limit and overcome them, as well as see the positive and useful aspects to maintain and develop. Promoting internal strength and national power is the decisive factor, but it is also necessary to simultaneously take advantage of external strength and the power of the times as important factors for rapid and sustainable development.

5. With the contents that have been implemented, from an overview of the research situation, theoretical basis, research methods to learning about the Ly - Tran dynasties with the impact of Buddhism on ethical culture, the thesis offers some lessons and discusses the ethical culture of the current leadership team, aiming at solutions to promote the good values of Buddhism from a specific period.

Hopefully, the thesis provides some understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist culture, contributing to the implementation of the Party's current viewpoint on promoting the cultural and ethical values of Buddhism in particular and religion in general.

The impact of Buddhism on the ethical culture of the Ly - Tran dynasties clearly shows the characteristics of Buddhism in Vietnam, the characteristics of Vietnamese religion and belief, helping us understand an important aspect of the country's cultural and ideological history. From positive contributions, the stature of Vietnamese Buddhism is gradually affirmed. A new era is opening with the challenges of the integration and development process. Together with the spirit of Buddhism and the progressive thoughts of religions in general, Vietnamese culture will have more strength in the process of preserving and promoting the national cultural identity. That is what we all expect.

LIST OF WORKS, SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES

OF THE RESEARCHERS PUBLISHED RELATED TO THE THESIS TOPIC

1. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao (2013 - 2014), (Project leader), "Buddhist terminology in Vietnam", Institute-level Scientific Project (Accepted, rated excellent), Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

2. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao (2015), "Buddhist ethics and national governance ideology in the Ly - Tran dynasties", Proceedings of the National Conference: Vietnamese Studies - traditional cultural aspects , organized by the Central Propaganda Department in collaboration with the Institute of Lexicography and Encyclopedia of Vietnam, Hong Bang International University, pp. 1352 - 1358.

3. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao (2016), "On the concept of ethical culture", Vietnamese Lexicography and Encyclopedia , (6), pp. 95 - 99.

4. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao (2016), “Buddhism and Tran Dynasty's ethical concept

Nhan Tong”, Cultural Studies , (17), pp. 37 - 41.

5. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao (2016), “Buddhism with philosophy and ethical thought of the Ly - Tran dynasties”, Religious Studies , (9 & 10), pp. 45 - 59.

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