Vạn Hạnh Zen Temple is a

Zen Buddhist Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

temple in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, the largest city in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. The temple is located at 716 Nguyễn Kiệm Street on the road between

Go Vap Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * '' Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position l ...

and

Phu Nhuan Phu or ''variation'', may refer to: Places *Phủ, prefecture in 15th–19th century Vietnam People Given name *Phu Dorjee (died 1987), first Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen *Phu Dorjee Sherpa (died 1969), first Nepali to climb Mount ...

districts. It is the location of the main Buddhist training centre for

sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

in Vietnam, and is also the office of the Vietnamese Buddhist Research Institute. Before the

fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of ...

in 1975, the site of the temple was the campus of the school of applied science of Vạn Hạnh Buddhist University, under the leadership of Thích Minh Châu. In 1976, with the reunification of Vietnam. It was converted into a Zen meditation temple and Buddhist research centre. The temple is located on a block of land of one hectare in size. It comprises a main ceremonial hall, a patriarch hall, living and dining quarters for the sangha and separate facilities for various educational institutions. These include the office of the Vietnamese Buddhist Research Institute, the office of the Society for the Translation of the Mahayana sutras and the main Buddhist training centre in Vietnam, which trains Buddhist sangha. The temple fate was built in 1990 along the architectural model of the Buddhist temples in the central city of

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

, under the administration of Thích Tâm Đoan and Thích Tịnh Quang. The main hall is two-storied. The ground storey is the main ceremonial hall, with a white statue of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

seated on a lotus in the centre of the hall. One either side of the main hall are reading rooms of the temple's library, which stocks a large range of religious documents. The upper storey contains the guest room and the office of the abbot. The patriarch hall of the temple is also two-storied. The upper storey is for paying homage to the Buddha and to the patriarchs. On the altar of the patriarch altar is Thích Tịnh Khiết, the first head of the United Buddhist Congregation of Vietnam. The ground floor serves as the

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

hall, where dharma talks are held. Vạn Hạnh Zen Temple is the working office of the Buddhist Research Institute of Vietnam, where a team of Buddhist scholars works under Thích Minh Châu, who holds a doctorate in Buddhism and psychology. The institute is divided into departments, one for Vietnamese Buddhism, world Buddhism and one for printing and distribution. Another team is devoted towards translating

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

scriptures from

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

into

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

, in addition to the translation of the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...

. The temple is also a major contributor in the training of Vietnamese Buddhist monks in the south of the country. It is the host of an institute of higher education in Buddhism, at an equivalent level to a university degree. Monks and nuns are accepted through an examination process to start a four-year course. Since 1984, the school has run three courses, training more than 400 members of the sangha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Hanh Zen Temple Buddhist temples in Ho Chi Minh City