Promoting traditional values of Dao Mau and Truc Lam Zen in beliefs

(CLO) On the afternoon of February 19, 2025, Tuyen Quang City organized a discussion with the theme "Promoting the traditional values of Mother Goddess Religion and Truc Lam Zen in the religious life of Tuyen Quang people", aiming to contribute to shaping the religious life, guiding Tuyen people to the values of "truth - goodness - beauty".

Tuyen Quang - the place of spiritual and cultural quintessence of Vietnam

In her opening speech and introduction to the discussion, Ms. Vu Quynh Loan, Vice Chairman of Tuyen Quang City People's Committee, shared that Tuyen Quang is a sacred land, where many cultural and historical currents intersect. Not only is it a land associated with the heroic history of the nation, Tuyen Quang is also a place where the quintessence of Vietnamese spiritual culture converges. Over hundreds of years, two purely Vietnamese religious currents - Mother Goddess Religion and Truc Lam Zen - have coexisted in the spiritual life of the people, creating a unique identity, both sacred and mysterious, and pure and benevolent.

Mother Goddess Religion, with the worship of the Mother Goddesses of the Three Palaces and Four Palaces, has engraved in the Vietnamese people's minds a profound philosophy of life - promoting protection, tolerance and gratitude towards the sacred beings. Not only stopping at worship, Mother Goddess Religion is also a symbol of community strength, a place for people to find peace of mind, to pray for peace and happiness. Along with that, Truc Lam Zen sect, founded by Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong, is not only a pure Vietnamese Zen sect, but also a symbol of the spirit of entering the world, harmonizing spiritual life and social responsibility.

promote traditional values of religion and spirituality in religious life image 1 — Ms. Vu Quynh Loan, Vice Chairman of Tuyen Quang City People's Committee delivered the opening speech and introduced the discussion.

“Today’s discussion is extremely important. We hope that with the participation of experts, researchers, managers and enthusiastic opinions from delegates, today’s discussion will open up new perspectives, making practical suggestions so that the Mother Goddess worship and Truc Lam Zen not only continue to be preserved but also have a strong vitality in modern life, contributing to the cultural and tourism development of Tuyen Quang province in particular and the whole country in general,” Ms. Vu Quynh Loan emphasized.

Talking about the integration of Mother Goddess Worship and Buddhism in Vietnam, Prof. Dr. Truong Quoc Binh, former Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, said that Mother Goddess Worship is one of the folk beliefs of the Vietnamese people. Mother Goddess, called in Chinese, means Mother. Research results on folk culture show that Mother Goddess worship has existed since ancient times when Vietnamese people worshiped natural deities, these deities were combined in the concept of the Holy Mother, as idols with the powers of reproduction, protection and care for people.

Mother Goddess religion considers nature as a mother and worships it; Mother Goddess religion brings three things to people living in this world: Happiness - Prosperity - Longevity. These are the eternal wishes of people; Mother Goddess religion strongly expresses patriotism that has been spiritualized and worshiped. This is clearly shown through the fact that most of the 50 gods that Mother Goddess religion worships are historical figures who have contributed to the nation or have been historicized by the nation; Mother Goddess religion is a multicultural religion. This is a unique meaning that only exists in Vietnamese religion. And more importantly, in Mother Goddess religion, there is no distinction between ethnicity, majority and minority, it is very equal and always ready to open the door to accept multiculturalism.

Promoting traditional values of religion and spirituality in religious life image 2 — Prof. Dr. Truong Quoc Binh, former Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, presented a paper at the seminar.

“As an indigenous belief with long-standing origins in the Vietnamese community, through acculturation with Taoism and Buddhism to constantly improve, deeply penetrate, take root in folk life, reflect world awareness, have human values, educate patriotism, unite the community and contain many unique cultural and artistic values, the Mother Goddess worship has become a close need, playing an important role in the spiritual life of a part of the people. Despite the ups and downs, the Mother Goddess worship has always existed with the history of the nation” - Professor, Dr. Truong Quoc Binh emphasized.

According to Prof. Dr. Truong Quoc Binh, in order to improve the current practices of Mother Goddess Worship and Buddhism in Vietnam, we should recommend that the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha continue to guide Buddhist religious establishments to fully implement the provisions of the law and the instructions of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. At the same time, we should recommend that specialized management agencies of the State at all levels continue to guide and inspect the implementation of the current provisions of the Law on Cultural Heritage and the Law on Religion and Belief in order to effectively protect and promote the unique cultural heritage treasure of the Vietnamese ethnic community.

Protect and promote the treasure of Vietnamese cultural heritage

Regarding the issue of promoting the traditional values of Truc Lam Zen in the religious life of Tuyen Quang people, Venerable Thich Tam Thuan said that Truc Lam Zen is a purely Vietnamese Buddhist Zen sect, a Zen sect that carries within itself cultural, ethical and lifestyle values that strongly influence the lives of Vietnamese people. In particular, for the people of Tuyen Quang, a land rich in historical traditions, Truc Lam Zen has become an indispensable part of religious life.

Researching, preserving and promoting the value of Truc Lam Zen in religious life not only helps us better understand cultural heritage but also contributes to guiding ethics and spirituality for today's and future generations.

promote traditional values of religion and spirituality in religious life image 3 — The panel of moderators conducted a discussion with the theme "Promoting the traditional values of Mother Goddess Religion and Truc Lam Zen in the religious life of Tuyen Quang people".

“The Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect advocates that those who have full faith and right views can raise the issue of entering the world when they have not yet attained enlightenment. Even though monks live in the world and do many things for the world, because they have right views, they know how to preserve themselves and not “forget themselves and follow things”. Therefore, even though they have not yet attained enlightenment, they still do not live contrary to the Dharma, which is a condition for the process of leaving the world to take place until they attain enlightenment..." - Venerable Thich Tam Thuan added.

According to Venerable Thich Tam Thuan, Tuyen Quang province is like a bridge connecting the northern mountainous region with the midlands and plains, between the Northeast and Northwest, so Tuyen Quang is a province with many ethnic groups. Each ethnic group has its own way of life, a way of living or in other words, its own identity. But the people of Tuyen Quang all live in harmony with each other, gradually developing their province. That shows that the people of Tuyen Quang have absorbed the ideology of Buddhism, there is no longer the "I", the "mine", but everyone has let go of prejudices about their ethnicity, only looking towards the truth that any ethnicity is Vietnamese.

Throughout the discussion, leaders and guests presented their personal opinions and suggestions for innovation, helping to promote the traditional values of Dao Mau and Truc Lam Zen in the religious life of people in Tuyen Quang province.