agape in the selected works of thich nhat hanh implications on vietnamese students’ values (sum)

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines NGUYEN THUY LINH AGAPE IN THE SELECTED WORKS OF THICH NHAT HANH: IMPLICATION

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines

NGUYEN THUY LINH

AGAPE IN THE SELECTED WORKS OF THICH NHAT

HANH: IMPLICATION ON VIETNAMESE STUDENTS’

The Dissertation was completed in:

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Advisor: Dr Maria Luisa A Valdez

At: hour date month year 2014

Dissertation can be found at the libraries:

- National library of Vietnam;

- Learning Resource Center - Thai Nguyen University;

- Library of International Training and Development Center;

- Library of Batangas State University, Philippines

Nowadays, while the human being strides on the path of development towards the knowledge society, opened society, the more "great risk" posed for the whole society, including the degradation of ethics, lifestyle becoming a global problem Sadly, this situation occurs more frequently in young people, especially, in pupils, and students - the future owners of the country And Vietnam

is one of the countries which need to give the alarm about morality and lifestyle Facing requirements for sustainable development of the country, Vietnam is necessary to build a new moral foundation in order to be suitable for ages on the basis of inheriting the moral values, the good traditional of the nation

Born in India, spent nearly 20 centuries existence and development of the nation, Buddhism has left a deep commitment of thought and become really ingrained moral lifestyle of Vietnam people because Buddhism is always appreciated as compassion, charity Since the transmission of Buddhism into Vietnam, the helping rescue the spirit of Buddha is widely promoted in a country where were affected by many war-torn, disasters It is the important reasons to tie to Buddhism and be accompanied with the Vietnamese people through the long year

The philosophy of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity encouraging human to live in a friendly and good way,

it is easy for Buddhism to take part in the heart of human beings in order to perfect ethic personality, and create men to have lifestyle of altruism, equality, charity Nowadays, ethics and lifestyle of many people are depressed with many manifestations of strange lifestyle, contrary to the habits and customs of a community taking place

increasingly popular, especially in young people, pupils, students

So, before the development requirements of the country, to build a

moral foundation - agape, new lifestyles towards the humanities, and

sustainable progress for the younger generation of pupils, students is very necessary

Thus, the theme of “ Agape in the selected works of Thich Nhat

Hanh: Implications on Vietnamese student values” is chosen to study

The structure of dissertation includes 5 chapters

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

In addition, natural disasters and climate change, the inequality of women, and poor understanding of the law, and the potential threat

to growth and development of Asia countries in the future more and more, and Vietnam also suffer more from these hazards Thus, before this situation, Buddhism has an important role to contribute to support our country's security and to ensure social justice

Buddhism, formed from the very beginning, has expressed relief

of suffering and mental distress for men In the teachings of the

Buddha, people need to have agape - compassion and kindness This is a fundamental factor to help develop agape or

loving-compassion and relieve happiness suffering, leading to the orientation of Buddhist activities for people Thus, in the literature, there are many works born and honestly reflect these phenomena And the writer named as Thich Nhat Hanh is mentioned He has considered as the one who was enlightening for people to enjoy the

pure life Agape is valuable quality required of every man that Nhat

Hanh mentioned in the typical work of this study

STATAMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The study primarily aims to identify the manifestations of agape

in selected works of Thich Nhat Hanh and their implications on Vietnamese student values

Specifically, this study seeks answers to the following questions:

1 What is the historical root of agape in the Buddhist Tradition?

2 How is the agape in the following works of Thich Nhat Hanh

5 What are the implications of Thich Nhat Hanh’s agape on noted

Vietnamese students’ values?

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study analyzes of agape as embodied in the selected literary

pieces of Thich Nhat Hanh pointing out the events and situations

which show the implications of the writer’s agape on noted

Vietnamese students’ values Likewise, this paper tries to present the

historical beginnings of agape in the Buddhist tradition; the virtues

of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity as the essence

of agape; the virtues of peace, respect and service as portrayed in the

selected works; the social issues particularly focused on the youth gleaned from the selections; and the implications of the writer’s

agape on noted Vietnamese students’ values

This study employed the qualitative method of research in

analyzing the Thich Nhat Hanh’s concept of agape in the

representative literary works chosen Likewise, this analysis made use of the sociological and philosophical approaches as the bases for analysis Other approaches in literary criticism that may be employed

in the analysis like the Formalist Criticism, Biographical Criticism, Historical Criticism, and Psychological Criticism are not part of this study

This paper also involved content analysis, which is a systematic technique in analyzing message content and message handling The data analysis in this research centered on pattern seeking and the extraction of meaning from Thich Nhat Hanh’s selected literary narrative or image data Much effort was focused on the task of recording data or making notes through concepts and categories; altering or creating new codes or more subtle categories; linking and

combining abstract concepts; extracting the essence; organizing meaning; creating theory from emerging themes; writing an understanding; and drawing conclusions

The essential features in the treatment of materials were considered by the researcher in the conduct of this study The general rules cited by Stott (2014) as regards the seven standards a piece of literature should abide to in order to be considered literary guided in the selection of works under study

The following representative literary works of Thich Nhat Hanh were

analyzed: Love Is Being There, Overcoming Pride, Interbeing, Meditation in Daily Life, Feelings and Perceptions, Working for Peace, Telephone Meditation, Everybody Should Practice Mindfulness, The Heart of Practice, and The Three Gems, which are all found in his masterpieces entitled True Love: A Practice of Awakening the Heart, and Being Peace The said selections were

chosen because of the correlation between the aforementioned themes, literary devices, the social issues particularly focused on the youth gleaned from the selections, which helped in unveiling the

implications of the writer’s agape on noted Vietnamese students’

values

SIGNIFICATION OF THE STUDY

The relevance of literary analysis as an essential part of a research study is highlighted in terms of its significance to a number of individuals Therefore, it is vital to expound how this study is beneficial to academic managers, working professionals, college

instructors of literature, students of literature, members of the community, and other researchers

Viet Nam’s Ministry of Education and Training and Educational Institutions: employ this study to ensure that the practice of agape can access the academe and spawn activities in the curricula that will educate pupils, students the traditional moral values of the Vietnamese people from social evils, environmental degradation, war, violence, social injustice and human rights abuses Vietnamese students: can be utilized as the reference source for, and to help students to realize agape which is always seen as the very important factor in life The value of true love, peace, respect and service for each other to create the atmosphere of peace and warmth for themselves and for society are performed by learners

The members of the community: can realize the value of agape

or compassion while living, learning and working in every society or nation The results of the study also shows that practicing four immeasurable minds brings a peace and happiness life for man

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter is presented with the end view of identifying the constructs of the study

RESEARCH LITERATURE

This section presents the published and unpublished researches that are related to the present study

SYNTHEIS OF LITERATURE REVIEWED

This section justifies the direct bearing of the conceptual literature

to the present study followed by the presentation of the similarities and differences of the cited research literature to the present study CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This section presents the central theme or the main thrust of the study It serves as a guide in conducting the investigation It is followed by a paradigm which is a diagrammatic representation of the conceptual framework

DEFINITION OF TERMS

This section presents the terms defined conceptually and operationally for a better understanding and appreciation of concepts

as they are used in the study The following terms were defined:

agape, compassion, content analysis, joy, equanimity, peace, respect,

selected works of Thich Nhat Hanh, service, social issues, and Vietnamese values

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research methodology in terms of the research design and treatment of the materials studied

RESEARCH DESIGN

This study employed the qualitative method of research in

analyzing the tenets of agape in the representative literary works

chosen According to Suter (2012), qualitative research is directed by the philosophical premise that one must consider the multiple realities experienced by the participants themselves to understand a complex phenomenon These multiple realities experienced by the participants can be reflected in various ways, including the literary genre called wisdom stories, meditations, anecdotes, life coaching advices, and poems

According to Ary, et al (2006), human experiences take their signification from social, cultural and political influences, and are therefore incapable of being separated to the said influences Hence,

in analyzing the representative literary works, the tenet of agape in

the context of Buddhism in Vietnam are considered These provided substantial and significant interpretations of the author’s and

characters’ motivations as regards agape

Patton (2002) pointed out that the goal of qualitative data analysis

is to uncover emerging themes, patterns, concepts, insights, and understanding

The data analysis in this research centered on pattern seeking and the extraction of meaning from Thich Nhat Hanh’s selected literary narrative or image data Much effort was focused on the task of recording data or making notes through concepts and categories; altering or creating new codes or more subtle categories; linking and combining abstract concepts; extracting the essence; organizing meaning; creating theory from emerging themes; writing an understanding; and drawing conclusions

Through his being and his works, Nhat Hanh invites readers into the reality of the present moment Because he is a poet, his language has beauty, intimacy, and rich texture that illuminate the mind Because he is courageous, he willingly pierces the reader’s great heart of compassion Because he is wise, his simple words speak to the most obvious Dharma and to the truly profound levels of Buddha’s awakening, all at one time (Kornfield, 2005)

For the purpose of this study and to give philosophical credibility,

the representative literary works were analyzed: Love Is Being There, Overcoming Pride, Interbeing, Meditation in Daily Life, Feelings and Perceptions, Working for Peace, Telephone Meditation, Everybody Should Practice Mindfulness, The Heart of Practice, and The Three Gems, which are all found in his masterpieces entitled True Love: A Practice of Awakening the Heart, and Being Peace For

over half a century, this revolutionary monk has spread the teachings

of Being Peace (Kornfield, 2005) and True Love: A Practice of Awakening the Heart

From these literatures, readers will be able to see in them the seeds of all Thich Nhat Hanh’s most important teachings, and the seeds of man’s awakening as well Likewise, they may draw on simple Buddhist teachings; wisdom stories from various traditions; guided meditation practices and experiences of practices; gentle anecdotes and life coaching advises and teachings of this reverend Zen master to illustrate how each individual can cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity These prose and poetry constituted the primary and twining sources of the study They were chosen to parallel the criteria spelled out for the purpose These works have been taken up in critical analysis far less frequently than

the author’s most popular books entitled “The Heart of Buddha’s Teaching, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, The Miracle of Mindfulness; and Happiness: Essential Mindfulness Practices, Call Me by my True Names, Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of Buddha, Living Buddha, Living Christ, You are Here: Discovering the Present of the Magic Moment, and Mindful Movements: Ten Exercises for Well-Being

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND PRESENTATION FINDINGS

The results of analysis and interpretation revealed that:

1 The historical root of agape in the Buddhist Tradition

The root of agape in the Buddhist religion started with the birth

of Buddha Shakyamuni as a royal prince in 624 BC in a place called Lumbini, which was originally in Northern India but is now part of Nepal “Shakya” is the name of the royal family into which he was born, and “Muni” means “Able One.” His parents gave him the name Siddharta and there were many wonderful predictions about his future In his early years, he lived as a prince in his royal palace but when he was 29 years old, he retired to a forest where he followed a life of spiritual meditation

His intention in founding Buddhism was to lead living beings to permanent liberation from suffering because he realized that temporary liberation from suffering and difficulties is not enough Motivated by love and compassion, his aim was to help living beings

find lasting love or nirvana

Historically, agape is one of the basic founding principles of

Buddhism Motivated by love and compassion, the founder of Buddhism strived to help others find love This clearly states the

early stint of unselfish, unrequited love, agape love, in the early days

of Buddhism

Buddhism, formed from the very beginning, has expressed relief

of suffering and mental distress for men In the teachings of the