VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES KHUC MANH KIEN THREE SAINTS IN THE PAGODAS WITH THE BUDDHISTS IN FRONT AND SAINTS ON THE BACK IN THE FOLK CONSCI
Trang 1VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
KHUC MANH KIEN
THREE SAINTS IN THE PAGODAS WITH THE BUDDHISTS IN FRONT AND SAINTS ON THE BACK IN THE FOLK CONSCIOUSNESS IN NORTHERN DELTA
Discipline: Folklore Code: 9 22 90 41
SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION WITH THE MAJOR IN THE CULTURAL STUDIES
HANOI - 2020
Trang 2VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Supervisors:
1 Associate Professor, Dr Pham Quynh Phuong
2 Associate Professor, Dr Pham Thu Huong
Reviewer 1: Associate Professor, Dr Le Quy Duc
Reviewer 2: Associate Professor, Dr Bui Hoai Son
Reviewer 3: Associate Professor, Dr Dang Hoai Thu
The dissertation is defended at the academy level at
INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE – VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
At… , date……, month , 2020
The dissertation can be found at:
Vietnam National Library
Library of Institute of Social Sciences
Trang 3
INTRODUCTION
1 Reason to choose the topic
In the northern delta, a common form of pagoda has a special decoration structure and form of worship, called Buddhists on the Front and Saints on the Back This is a form of the temple as a whole is relatively similar in architecture to decorate the altar, the worshipping space, the object of worship, of religious practices, rituals, sacrifice, etc Subjects of the main
worship in many Buddhists on the Front and Saints on the Back is the Zen
Buddhists of Vietnamese Buddhism, who have merit, status and profile imbued with cultural marks of the Viet people in the northern delta The common point
of worshiping the three saints in the mind today is that people worship them as benevolent spirits, a supreme spirits that people can pray to the saints for everything they desire such as for good health, healing, a career, promotion, good exams, study, good business, etc In these temples, not only Buddhist rituals are held, but also traditional festivals dedicated to the saints as in the folk beliefs in the Northern Delta In the consciousness, people come to these temples mainly for rituals and prayers for blessing, with little focus on praying for salvation Therefore, although it is a Buddhist temple, but in many temples, the worship of the saints is even more prominent than the worship of the Buddha
The worship of the three saints has been interested in research works, the publications that mainly recorded the background, the legend and the values
of archeology, architecture, culture and art of the Buddhists in the front and saints on the back There are also a few studies that considered these three saints/Zen masters as a cultural - religious - historical phenomenon, investigating the relationship between the three saints in an economic, ideological, political, religious mainstream context in the historical period, geographical region, and so on However, the author of this dissertation finds that no work has been systematically explained about the three saints from the folk consciousness,, as well as questioning the folk worship of the three saints of the Viet in relation to the market economy, policies and religious context in
contemporary society The topic entitled "Three Saints in “Tien Phat hau
Thanh” Pagodas (Buddhists in the Front and Saints on the Back) and Folk Consciousness in the Northern Delta" is to complement this research gap
2 The research purpose and tasks of the dissertation
2.1 Research purposes
The dissertation researches the sacred behavior and biography of the three saints Tu Dao Hanh, Duong Khong Lo and Nguyen Minh Khong at some
Pagodas with Buddhists in the Front and Saints on the Back in order to explain
about the folk mind of Vietnamese people in Europe The northern region in the
Trang 4process of economic, political, cultural and social development The dissertation aims to clarify the argument on cultural, social and religious life of the Viet in northern delta in the movement of history, trends deification, as well as the background of the existence and continuation of worship of the saints in contemporary society
2.2 Research tasks
- Learn the status, sacred biographies of the three saints through historical sources, bibliographies, faculty texts, books, petition sheets, stories, stories and stories related to three saints from publishing works, transcripts of interviews, field notes and collected documents at the field sites
- Analyzing the manifestations of the consciousness of worshiping the
three saints in the pagodas of Buddhists on the Front and Saints on the Back
through worshipping space, folk festivals, prayers, petition sheets, blessed texts, ritual texts, and experiences of the folk about the three saints
- Explain the sacredness, the deification and their relationship with the magic power of the sacred biographies in the folk consciousness of the Viet in the northern delta
- Discuss some issues affecting the mind of worshiping three saints such
as religious syncretism, the trend of deification in Vietnamese culture, the impact of the market economy, policies and the religious market
3 Subject and scope of the dissertation research
3.1 Research subjects
The research subject of the dissertation is the representative Pagodas
with Buddhists on the Front and Saints on the Back dedicated to Tu Dao Hanh,
Duong Khong Lo and Nguyen Minh Khong, focusing on biography, status, ritual practice and festivals, petition sheets, and people's conception about the worship of the saints
3.2 Research scope
Space scope: The dissertation explores some the representative
Pagodas with Buddhists on the Front and Saints on the Back in some localities
such as Hanoi city, Nam Dinh province, Thai Binh province, Ninh Binh province
Time scope: The dissertation studies the appearance of the saints
worshiped in the Pagodas with Buddhists on the Front and Saints on the Back, their backgrounds, biographies, stories, histories, legends recorded from the fourteenth century to the fifteenth The study time in the dissertation
is the consciousness of people today, in reference to the Renovation after 1986
4 Approach and research method
4.1 Approach
Trang 5- Interdisciplinary Approach to a cultural phenomenon: the dissertation
combines operational research approaches of many related disciplines such as history, cultural studies, cultural anthropology, folklore, ethnography to synthesize, analyze data, and draw conclusions from the research
- Approach from the perspective of an insiders: This approach aims to
understand the mind of worship from the voices of practitioners
- Participant observation: Observe ritual practices related to the three
saints such as festivals, ritual for good luck, healing and praying for having children
- In-depth interview:
The dissertation interviewed monks, venerable, ritual masters, temple guardians, members of the Festival Organizing Board, the temple management board, and the people, businessmen, and public in general, people who go for a ritual at temples
5 New scientific contributions of the dissertation
- The dissertation recognizes the worship of the three saints as a cultural phenomenon in the long history of the traditional and contemporary Vietnamese society
- The dissertation clarifies a number of theoretical views on the relationship between sacred biography, charisma and the empowerment of the saints
- The dissertation explores the manifestations of religious practices through worship space, festivals honoring three saints on the occasion of saints‟ anniversary and deification at the representative Pagodas with Buddhists on the Front and Saints on the Back, during the ceremony, sacrifice, and texts
- The dissertation contributes to the identification of the general picture
of the operation, transformation and multi-dimensional effects on a religious phenomenon
6 Theoretical and practical significance of the dissertation
6.1 Theoretical meaning
The dissertation results show the importance of the study of religious practices and beliefs in its entirety, from space, context to dimensions of culture, society, politics, economics, and specially, inseparable from religious practices related to other aspects of human life
6.2 Practical significance
Trang 6- The dissertation has practical contributions in policy making and cultural management related to religious practices, including the practice of worship, festivals at pagodas the representative Pagodas with Buddhists on the
Front and Saints on the Back
- Completed dissertation is a useful reference in teaching and researching on religious practices, religious acts and folk consciousness
7 The structure of the dissertation
In addition to the Introduction (10 pages) and Conclusion (6 pages), the dissertation consists of 5 chapters, namely:
Chapter 1: Literature Overview and theoretical rationale (23 pages)
Chapter 2: The context of forming a folk consciousness about the three saints in the northern delta (20 pages)
Chapter 3: The statues of the three saints (19 pages)
Chapter 4: The manifestations of folk consciousness about the three saints (34 pages)
Chapter 5: The worship of the saints in northern delta: Some traditional and contemporary issues (30 pages)
CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE OVERVIEW AND THEORETICAL RATIONALE 1.1 Literature overview
1.1 1 Research on the folk consciousness of saints
There are quite a number of research works on polytheistic beliefs, sacred worship, rituals of worshiping subjects in communal halls, temples, pagodas, thereby expressing the folk consciousness in the religious life of the Viet people The worship of spirits and saints include worship of historical figures, people with meritorious services to the people and country and then deified, mythical figures, or worship of natural deities, totem, and objects
1.1.2 Research on the three saints and related relics and festivals
1.1.2.1 Research on the biography of the three saints
In the divine system of the Viet, the three saints of Tu Dao Hanh, Duong Khong Lo and Nguyen Minh Khong are considered as human beings in history Besides, there are quite a lot of studies written about each saint
1.1.2 2 Research on monuments and festivals in pagodas Buddhists in
the front and saints on the back
In the scope of the study, each temple worshiping three saints has many studies addressing each specific issue Some other works focused on the architecture of the temple The works on the traditional festival and the three saints in the northern delta region are quite diverse, with many similarities, but also many contradictions There has been no research to analyze biography and
Trang 7statue, as well as to place sacred biographies in the contexts of economy, politics, ideology, religion, social policy to determine the formation, development and change of the worship of the three saints, thereby understanding the folk consciousness of the saints in the northern delta
The system of research works on folk minds worshiping three saints is not much, but mainly about worshiping spirit and saints in general This work inherits the research results of previous works, and at the same time, researches and analyzes more deeply and fully the aspects of folk consciousness through the three saints The dissertation partly fills the gap in the research on the minds of the people of the northern delta through the conduct and practice of the rituals of worshiping three saints in contemporary life
1.2 Theoretical rationale
1.2.1 Spirits, ancestor saints in the belief system of Viet people
In the West, there are many expressions of god and god: God, Genie (god),
Saint, Angel In Vietnamese religious culture, god is the concept of a sacred
entity God is very powerful, can cause happiness, or curse for people and
objects works Gods can be natural phenomena Gods can also be ordinary people who die at sacred hours capable of affecting people Gods can also be famous generals who have contributed to the country, or who have contributed
to the villagers, after their death they were worshiped by the people
The motif of the Viet people is always the character with special talents, magic, healing powers, warding off evils and saving people and country, supporting the business, creativity and skills As saints they have magic and become immortal The immortality manifests itself in the regular existence between everyday life in the form of spirits, descending to the world so that it can comprehend and resolve all earthly matters The pagodas with the Buddhists in front and saints on the back worship the ancestor saints who have magical powers, and most importantly, they enter the consciousness of the people
1.2.3 Charisma and sacred biography
Charisma can be viewed from many angles, from a social, personal and spiritual perspective, to religion Charisma and favors for those with magical
Trang 8power, in the spirit of Buddhism, to be the Dharma or the Transcendent Reality, are a privileged personality and thus connected with the ultimate The concept
of a person's magic power from a Buddhist perspective far exceeds that of an ordinary person, but it is associated with those who are enlightened and who are said to be sacred, have power
Sacred biographies are connected with the magic power of historical figures and sacred masters The dissertation applies the concept of charisma by Weber and the sacred biography by Keyes to shed light on the biography and behavior
of the three venerable Tu Dao Hanh, Nguyen Minh Khong and Duong Khong
Lo The difference and extra ordinariness in their sacred biographies, their lives and their actions contribute to the magic power of Zen teachers
1.2.4 The theory of cultural areas
A cultural area is a territory of similar natural circumstances, the inhabitants
of which have long had historical origins, and similarities in economic development - society, between them took place the exchange, cultural influence back and forth Expressions of a cultural area can be expressed in lifestyles, production activities, forms of entertainment, as well as religious belief activities, festivals, and folk arts
The thesis applies the theory of cultural areas to recognize the characteristics of the northern delta cultural region in producing and nurturing religious practices for ancestral monks The worship of the three Zen masters will be analyzed in reference to the natural, economic, social and historical environmental factors
of the Northern Delta
CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND OF FORMING FOLK CONSCIOUSNESS
ABOUT THE THREE SAINTS IN THE NORTHERN DELDA 2.1 Natural and economic conditions
2.1.1 Natural condition
The northern delta is the cradle of Vietnamese cultural, religious and belief practices This land is a gathering place of manifestations, acts and practices of worship of the three ancestors saints In terms of topography, the North Delta has relatively flat terrain compared to other regions on Vietnam's geographical territory, convenient for growing rice and crops The climate in the Northern Delta has factors associated with the production and development of the sacred worship of the saints
2.1.2 Economic conditions
The northern delta has a geographical position and quite favorable natural conditions for agricultural development, cash crop and rice cultivation Abundant natural resources, diversity, densely populated, are
Trang 9favorable conditions for the development of productive labor industries from general to modern, bringing convenience to the life The density of population
is high in the villages and towns, related to the needs and working environment,
as well as collective cultural and religious activities and communitas
Residents of the Northern Delta are residents living on wet rice cultivation, that is, agricultural work is the main labor Farmers do extra work such as craft, from simple knitting, pottery primitive, the furniture, sericulture
to the fine craftsmanship Currently, in the provinces of the Northern Delta , hundreds of different famous handicrafts still exist today The development of the handicraft contributing to and building upon the three saints became multi-career ancestor
In the context of industrialization, modernization and urbanization, the economic fluctuations on the livelihood and composition residents have significant impacts to the practice of cultural villages, to organize, maintain and promote value in the contemporary context Changes in population composition, livelihoods, may have an impact on community-based cultural practices in villages and communes such as organizing traditional festivals, but the folk consciousness is maintained The mind of worshiping the ancestor saints still exists, changing to suit the thoughts and mind of the people in the context of their lives
2 2 Social and cultural conditions
A basic cultural characteristic of the Northern Delta region is that the residents live in a village, a basic unit of administrative management, as well as
a space that creates an entire village culture with customs, festivals, living practices, worship facilities and cultural conduct The village is the nucleus of Vietnamese society, and also the vitality and culture of Vietnam Today, when urbanization rural The traditional village culture such as festivals, sacrifices in the family, the temples still maintain in the neighborhood
Village culture in the Northern Delta is typical through worshiping the village tutelary god and holding an annual festival Most notably are cultural and religious activities of Vietnamese people in the North with a polytheistic worship system The objects worshiped are diverse, be it a historical figure, a stone, an old tree, or a legendary figure The system of polytheistic beliefs is manifested in festivals, legends, forms of sacrifice, worship, prayers
The pagoda with the Buddhists in front and saints on the back is a system of religious practices which is clearly manifested in the minds of Vietnamese people in the northern delta In the context of market economy, the worship of saints is not only weakened but also tends to revive and develop to meet the needs of spiritual life in the contemporary context
Trang 102.3 The formation of “tien Phat hau Thanh” (Buddhists in front and saints on the back) pagodas
2.3.1 Social and political context
The political and social context of Vietnam in history is one of the foundations of the system of worship of Zen masters who were sanctified at Buddhist temples From the autonomy period, there is a lot of evidence that reflects the religious life, the relationship between politics and religion related
to the birth of worship of Zen masters
During the Mac Dynasty, Taoism received strong royal patronage Aristocracy, mandarins of the Mac dynasty were present in many religious activities The Mac dynasty advocated Taoism as the official religion, advocating agro-commercial development to replace society for agricultural development, with renovation policies, commercial development During this period, many large temples were built in both the inside and outside of the city with many horizontal buildings, including many new architectural units
Due to the policy of encouraging the reclaiming of wasteland of the Nguyen Dynasty, many new lands were cleared and private land was recognized, creating a strong development motivation for economy in southern part Economic development has enabled people to develop merit of giving merit, expanding and building temples, temples and public works of the community more and more
2.3.2 The birth and development of the pagodas with Buddhists in front and saints on the back
As we all know, during the Ly dynasty, Buddhism was very developed The Ly kings all worshiped the Buddha The temples are built a lot under the auspices of the state with three basic types: great and famous, small and medium In the northern delta, pagodas are sprouting everywhere, and pagodas erected in the former times are often restored
An important factor for the birth of a Buddhist temple that both worshiped Buddha and saints at the same time was the Vietnamese way of thinking and worshiping Vietnamese people worship those who have superhuman abilities, who help the people and help the country Cultural heroes, national heroes, people with meritorious services to the country, and people with meritorious services to the creation are all worshiped and worshiped by Vietnamese people Some Vietnamese deities are incorporated into the three jewels of Buddhism, including saints, who are worshiped later, or equal, or before Buddha In these cases, worship is monks and Taoists, Zen masters with many tantric factors and Taoist influence
The formation and development of the system of worshiping the three saints was the birth of a system of pre-Buddhist pagodas, showing the
Trang 11complexity in the indigenous religious minds of the Vietnamese people The process of religious chaos between Buddhism and indigenous beliefs expresses the nature of Buddhism in the Northern Delta In the minds of the Vietnamese people, going to the Buddhist temple, also praying for everyday things, warding off evils, solving things, praying for good things for life The temple system of Zen masters is a blend of Buddhism, Taoism and indigenous beliefs, which are close and satisfy the minds of the Viet people
CHAPTER 3 THE STATUS OF THE THREE SAINTS
3.1 Biography and merits of the three saints
3.1.1 Biography and merit of Saint Tu Dao Hanh
According to the stories handed down, Tu Dao Hanh was a real Zen master, more talented than a person, with magical powers and proficient in a hundred jobs When he died, he was worshiped and worshiped in the precepts, such as Lang pagoda in the holy place, in Thay temple, where holy practice and Dai Bi pagoda, where the refugees with his mother were Ms Tang Thi Loan The temples were created in commemoration of his merit, and the people of the incense smoke pay homage to the Zen master who had helped save the world, taught the people medicine, farming, puppet dancing water and shallow
3.1 2 Biography and merit of saint Nguyen Minh Khong
Nguyen Minh Khong is a talented saint, has magical power to
transform, has a lot of merit for the world, is the ancestor of medicine, the ancestor of bronze casting He was revered as a cultural hero, as well as
someone who taught people to forge and be worshiped, worshiped in 16
Buddhist pagodas with Buddhists in front and saints on the back concentrated
in Nam Dinh (12 pagodas), and provinces Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh,
Tp Hanoi has 1 temple in each place (see Appendix 1 and Map of distribution
of the Buddhist pagodas) These myths and legends were noted by a system of post-Buddhist pagodas that worshiped him In Nam Dinh province, Tong Xa village worshiped Nguyen Minh Khong as the god of bronze casting and metal casting Diem Giang temple and temple in Gia Vien commune and Gia Thang commune (Ninh Binh province) worship him as a god that people can pray for good luck, peace, for good destiny, especially for healing Legend has it that he
is a physician and this area is still home to many medicinal plants that people use as herbal remedies
3.1 3 Biography and merit of saint Duong Khong Lo
Duong Khong Lo, after being deified, is worshiped by the people as a god of many miracles of transformation, associated with their lives in agriculture and fishing His merits are recognized and worshiped by people in
Trang 12many places, of which, in Nam Dinh province there are 8 temples, Thai Binh has 2 temples, typically in Keo pagoda in Nam Dinh and in Thai Binh provinces Through field surveys at Keo Pagoda in Hanh Thien village, Nam Dinh province, Duong Khong Lo is also worshiped as a saint to support the examinations and successful studies of people in the region
3.1 4 Sacred biographies of the three saints
The three Zen masters became saints, becoming sacred worshipers, with an important influence in the folk mind in the past as well as today If an important element of sacred biography is many episodes, events in the sacred nature of human life, which also led to the sacred character of worship
The sacred, mysterious and haunting fragments in the biographies of the three saints are a mixture of myths and historical foundations, associated with the names of kings, dynasties, and like places in history These elements of
a biography sacred life of the saints are always associated with charisma and empowerment
3.2 Sacralization and magical power of the three saints
3.2.1 Sacralization of the three saints
In folk consciousness, Tu Dao Hanh, Duong Khong Lo and Nguyen Minh Khong are considered holy saints The sacred contains the concepts of supreme, superior power, power that make people fear and fascinate, sometimes fascinated, that is, magic power
The sacred of the three saints manifests itself in many forms, in history, in legends, in legends, in biographies, in ceremonies, in festivals, in coarse leaves, offerings, statues, temples, no worship space, the attire of the saints, etc The expectation of the people to benefit from the three saints is actually a reflection
of the desire to have a good life
The sacred of the three saints is also featured in worshiping spaces, Buddhist temples, and temples The location of the temple building is considered and selected according to the strict feng shui principle, because it is the dwelling place of the saint, who has the most important role in the spiritual life of the members of the local village community It must be a place where
"gathering spiritual energy, sharing beautiful things"
The sacred manifests itself in various forms, by faith, by religious acts,
by the protection of the saints, or by reference to the events that take place and believers with assistance of a saint The sacred associated with power, the ultimate that saints are worshiped as the supreme gods, can do many things for the world
3.2.2 Charisma of the three saints
Charisma can also be generated and added attraction to certain people
by virtue and compassion and humanity The charisma of the saints are more
Trang 13empowered, the more attracted people, became a symbol of kindness and compassion, and humanity The three saints were also powerful national masters, who were religious instructors for the king They are the guardians of the religious rules, the royal religion, and gained merits for Buddhist ethics and philosophy
All the privileges such as being born to the elite and outstanding, when ordained to become Buddhists, have access to the supper monks, or have an important role in building Buddhism as the state religion in the Ly dynasty, as well as magic, the three Zen masters were different from ordinary people and created a halo around them The admiration and reverence have been conferred
by the people as sacred saints, worshiped and created with certain magical powers, pervasive with the nature of the blessed
CHAPTER 4 EXPRESSIONS OF FOLK CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE THREE SAINTS 4.1 Space to worship the three saints
According to the survey, out of a total of 39 pagodas worshiping 3 saints (separately worshiped and together worshiped) in 5 provinces and cities,
Tu Dao Hanh is most worshiped in Hanoi City with the number of 10/13 pagodas Nguyen Minh Khong is most worshiped in Nam Dinh province with the number of 12/16 pagodas; and Duong Khong Lo is worshiped the most in Nam Dinh province with the number of 8/10 pagodas This dissertation maps the distribution of pre-Buddhist pagodas that worship three saints in the provinces and cities of Hanoi, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thai Binh provinces, and provides analysis chart on the relationship between the space for worshiping three saints in the Northern Delta
4.1.1 Characteristics of the pagoda with Buddhists in front and saints on the back
The pagoda with Buddhists in front and saints on the back worships saints who only appear in the Northern Delta region due to the rugged terrain of this region, creating an appropriate area for the development of Tantras If the Red River is used as a demarcation boundary, the pre-Buddhist pagodas of the late Saints have more numbers on the right bank with dense pagodas in the lower section The pagodas are often built in charming feng shui land, on positive soil, meaning to gather water and happiness
4.1.2 The grounds and architecture of the pagodas dedicated to the three saints
The architectural system and decoration in the temples worship the three saints are not the same and are a complex form In general, the relics of the worship of the three saints are more holy than the Buddhist temples The