Vietnamese Buddhism Quotes

“With the exception of a few scholars, the majority of Western people still hold a number of misconceptions about Vietnamese Buddhism. It is commonly believed, for example, that Buddhism in Vietnam belongs to the Hinayāna tradition shared by neighboring Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. But most seriously of all, Vietnamese Buddhism is wrongly thought to be entirely political in emphasis with all its activities directed only towards gaining political power.”
― Thich Thien-An, Buddhism & Zen in Vietnam: In Relation to the Development of Buddhism in Asia

“Although Hīnayāna disciplines and traditions continue to exert their influence in the daily activities of Vietnamese Buddhists, Zen comes closest to expressing the Vietnamese character, and as such, their attitude in all walks of life can best be described as a “Zen outlook.”
― Thich Thien-An, Buddhism & Zen in Vietnam: In Relation to the Development of Buddhism in Asia

“According to the glorious history of our people, the Vietnamese have always desired to create their independent culture in order to resist the oppressive threat from the north. In this great and noble task of creating a national culture Vietnamese Buddhism played an important part. This is proved by the great achievements of Buddhism under the dynasties of Dinh Le, Ly, and Tran. The truth is that Vietnamese Buddhism is a national religion.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire

“Basing their teaching on the essay on the Amitabha Sutra by the great monk Van The, the Vietnamese Zen masters have thus realized a synthetic doctrine combining Zen and the Pure Land practices that suits the masses of the people. Except for the pure Zen monasteries, almost every pagoda in Vietnam practices this combined Zen-Pure Land doctrine.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire