Thiền phái Trúc Lâm - niềm tự hào của văn hóa Việt Nam

As the earliest religion introduced into Vietnam, Buddhism has quickly adapted to the elements of indigenous beliefs, customs and lifestyles of Vietnamese people. And so Buddhism has found a firm foothold in all aspects of social life, as well as making a positive contribution to promoting the process of cultural development and leaving a deep impression in the treasure of cultural heritage. nation. According to the statistics of the Department of Cultural Heritage, as of the end of 2011, our country has 767 pagodas out of 3,167 dic area ranked national level.

Scientist Albert Einstein commented on the remarkable value of Buddhism in the present age: “If there is a religion that can cope with the needs of modern science, it is Buddhism. Buddhism does not need to revise its point of view in order to keep up to date with new discoveries of science, Buddhism does not need to give up its perspective to be inclined to follow science, because Buddhism includes science as well beyond science. Buddhism is a bridge that connects religion with scientific ideas, the Buddhist bridge has stimulated people to explore the great potentials deep within themselves and their surroundings, Buddhism in time. time and forever worth. "

In Vietnam, Buddhism was also tolerated by Confucianism and Taoism to form a "Theravada Buddhism", "a pre-Buddhist or post-Buddhist religious institution". Vietnamese Buddhism has maintained a peaceful coexistence with nearly all the great religions of humanity present in Vietnam.

It can be said that Buddhism has contributed to creating a diversity in Vietnamese culture, and to some extent Buddhism has become the flesh and blood element of the national culture, acting as a "funnel" for literature. chemical, spiritual fulcrum for the Vietnamese against the assimilation of Chinese Confucian ideology throughout the Northern domination period as well as later.

Truc Lam is the first indigenous sect of Vietnam to successfully carry out the "Vietnamization" of foreign sects suitable to the country's historical context. The Truc Lam Zen sect has brought together all the three sects of India and China to penetrate Vietnam (Meditation of the Bhikkhuni siddhartha, the Vo Ngon Thong sect and the Thao Duong sect) lay the foundations for building and consolidating the unified Vietnam Buddhist Church under the motto of Tran Nhan Tong: "If you don't know it, you will divide it into three religions. This proves that Truc Lam Zen Buddhism nurtures elements of Indian and Chinese Buddhism, Confucian and Taoist philosophy, and inherits and creates the Zen ideology of Vietnamese Zen teachers. The representative is from Trần Thái Tông and the master is Tue Trung sergeant.

The special thing is that the Truc Lam Zen sect was founded by Tran Nhan Tong - a reigning king who left the throne and power into Yen Tu mountain to practice and enlighten to become the First Patriarch. At Trần Nhân Tông, we find the superior quality of a great personality, a pure moral example that appeals to a large number of people and contemporary Buddhists.

Truc Lam Zen school was born to meet the historical requirements of having an independent ideology with China, as a spiritual support to build a great national unity - the strength of Dai Viet spirit. Therefore, we have successfully completed our historic mission of building and defending the country and expanding our borders to the south.

Vietnamese Buddhism, especially Truc Lam Zen, always adheres to the philosophy of Buddhist reincarnation, contributes to building the Dai Viet state, participates "in the burden of life, not alienating the world". In the spirit of positive reincarnation, Zen masters Truc Lam used Buddhism as a means to serve the King, help the country and save people. The spirit of "incarnation" of Truc Lam three ancestors is to associate "religion with life", which makes Buddhism always go along with the nation. With that humanistic philosophy, Truc Lam Zen sect has combined two elements "learned" and "folk", easily penetrating into the consciousness of the majority of people in society. It is a Buddhist sect imbued with national cultural identity and has become the "flesh and blood of Vietnamese culture." The reality of Dai Viet history shows that the philosophical thought of Truc Lam Zen is to cultivate one's mind and body to serve the national interests, the community benefits,

Truc Lam's ancestors simplified their practice without adhering to the ritual. "The Buddha is indoors, not far away", "the pure land is pure, not even suspicious to ask to the West; the mind is already enlightened, the rain must work hard to find about ecstasy "or like" know the foot of the letter, believe in the bowels of the bowels, and not look for the Buddha of the West East; corroborating a minister, so ask the North and the heavens ”. The Truc Lam Zen sect does not distinguish between monks and laypeople. Both forms of practice are aimed at the common goal of rediscovering the "nature of the Buddha" in each individual's mind by practicing compassion and wisdom.

Truc Lam is a purely Vietnamese sect, founded by a Vietnamese army leader - Tran Nhan Tong, on the basis of inheriting the ideology of Zen teachers of Vietnam 's famous, high and respectful teachers. with the elite Indian and Chinese Buddhism. It can be considered as a great cultural achievement of Vietnam, contributing to the cultural diversity of humanity in general and world Buddhism in particular.