Hanoi (VNA) – As part of its traditional attachment to the nation, theVietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) has considered external affairs a key task inline with the country’s international integration.

VBS active ininternational cooperation

MostVenerable Thich Nhat Tu, Deputy Head of the VBS Central Committee’sInternational Department, highlighted religious external affairs in thenation’s diplomacy, saying that Buddhism is associated with non-violence andthe principle of ahimsa (no harm), therefore, the religion’s external affairs havehelped consolidate friendship with other Buddhist nations.

Ithas also hosted and attended international conferences and workshops, leavinggood impression on international friends. Vietnamese Buddhist dignitaries havewelcomed hundreds of international Buddhist delegations and organisations.

Internationalcooperation in education has also been performed to enhance the capability ofmonks and nuns. The Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Ho Chi MinhCity has signed cooperation deals with 11 Buddhist universities, mostly inThailand, China and India, according to Most Venerable Thich Nhat Tu, who is alsodeputy director of the academy.

The VBS has also worked tohelp international friends understand more about Vietnam’s Buddhism, people andreligious policies, thus contributing to the US’s lifting of Vietnam'sCPC (countries of particular concern) status in 2008, he said.

Accordingto the VBS’ Information Communication Committee, the VBS has played an activerole in Buddhist organisations worldwide, including the World Fellowship ofBuddhists in Colombo, Sri Lanka; the Asian Buddhist Conference forPeace; the International Organising Committee for the UN Day of Vesak inThailand; the Committee for International Buddhist Colleges and Universities inThailand; and the International Buddhist Confederation in India.

Inthe past tenure, 300 monks and nuns were sent abroad for study, with 200 earningmasters and postgraduate diplomas in Buddhism studies andreturning home, working in VBS chapters and teaching at Buddhist schools.

According to Most VenerableThich Thanh Nhieu, Vice standing Chairman of the VBS’sExecutive Council, Vietnam is the second country in the world, together withThailand, to host the UN Day of Vesak twice, in 2008 and 2014.

The 2014 edition was heldin the nation’s largest pagoda of Bai Dinh in Ninh Binh province. It attractednearly 1,500 religious delegates from 95 Buddhist nations and territories,representatives from the United Nations, UNESCO, foreign embassies in Vietnam,and about 20,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and followers both at home and abroad,said Most Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu, who was Chairman of the 2014 UN Day ofVesak Organising Committee.

Aspart of its external affairs, the VBS has also helped relieve sufferings ofBuddhists abroad. The VBS’ Executive Council called on dignitaries, monks andnuns nationwide to donate to help Nepalese people affected by an earthquake inApril 2015.

Vietnam Buddhismhelps foster national great solidarity

Bycaring for the spiritual and cultural life of overseas Vietnamese, the VBS hasgained their trust, reflected in the increasing number of Associations ofVietnamese Buddhists (AVB) abroad. More and more Vietnamese pagodas have beenbuilt overseas, fulfilling religious practice needs among Vietnamese expats.

Todate, 11 AVB have been established in Germany, Belgium, France, the CzechRepublic, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and most recentlyin Angola and Mozambique. They connect overseas monks, nuns, Buddhist followersand Vietnamese people with those at home.

TheAVB in Japan was established in November 2013, said Venerable Thich Tam Tri, presidentof the association, who is in Hanoi to attend the VBS’ eighth Congress, addingthat the association has contributed to consolidating Vietnam – Japan ties viareligious practices, propagation and cultural exchanges.

Tointroduce Japanese culture to Vietnamese people at home, the association hashosted Buddhist cultural activities in Vietnam, including religious exchangeswith Japanese Buddhist sects, Japanese Zen-style tea drinking, and bringingJapanese cherry blossom trees to be planted in Vietnam, she said.

Theassociation has established numerous Dao Trang (groups of Buddhists) in Japan,namely Nisshin Kutsu pagoda, Tinh Tan Hamamatsu, and An Tinh Duong Kumagaya,Aichi Phuoc Hue pagoda. They have been active in charity work, providing assistancefor locals, Vietnamese people in Japan and at home, giving food to homeless peoplein Asakusa and Ueno in Taito district, Tokyo, and teaching Vietnamese language tochildren of Vietnamese expats, according to Venerable Thich Tam Tri.

TheNisshin Kutsu pagoda offered one-month of accommodation and food to nearly 100Vietnamese people affected by the earthquake in Tokyo in 2011, she said.

Anumber of cultural exchanges have been conducted to enhance solidarity amongoverseas Vietnamese in Japan, she said, adding that the association works withthe Association of Vietnamese Students and the Association of Vietnamese Businessesin Japan to host Vietnamese traditional festivals and art performances.

Theirefforts have also helped the international community have a sound view ofVietnam’s policies on freedom of religion and belief, thus earninginternational spiritual and material support for the country’s building anddevelopment, Tinh affirmed.

Withsignificant achievements made over the past seven tenures, the VBS has securedits position on the world Buddhist map while affirming its role of a majorreligion of Vietnam, contributing to cooperative ties between Vietnam and othernations, particularly Buddhist ones, Tinh stressed.-VNA