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From Mahasanghika to the Bamboo Forest: The Journey of Buddhism into Vietnam
140 years after the Buddha passed away, the Sangha divided into the Mahāsāṃghika and the Sthavira schools. According to the Northern tradition, this division stemmed from five points regarding the nature of an Arhat proposed by Mahādeva:
- An Arhat is still subject to temptation in dreams.
- An Arhat still has ignorance.
- An Arhat still has doubt.
- An Arhat needs instruction from others to know they have attained the fruit.
- The Path is attained by an exclamation of suffering.
From the Sthavira school arose the Pudgalavāda (Personalist) school, which advocated for the existence of a self as a reaction against the dogmatic explanation of non-self. By the time of King Ashoka, the Sangha divided into the Vibhajyavāda and the Sarvāstivāda schools. We inherited the Madhyama Agama and Samyukta Agama sutras from the Sarvāstivāda, the Dirgha Agama sutra and the Four-Part Vinaya from the Dharmaguptaka, and the Ekottara Agama sutra from the Mahāsāṃghika. Vietnamese Buddhism unifies both the Northern and Southern schools, beginning with Zen Master Tang Hoi in the 3rd century, who used early Buddhist scriptures to teach in the spirit of Mahayana.
The Zen schools that were successively transmitted to and developed in Vietnam include:
- The Vinitaruci school in 580.
- The Vo Ngon Thong school in 820, with the Baizhang monastic code and the philosophy of farming Zen.
- The Thao Duong school in the 11th century.
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The Truc Lam school in the 13th century, influenced by the Linji school.
King Tran Thai Tong once went up Mount Yen Tu to seek the Buddha but was advised by Zen Master Hien Quang to return to reign as king and practice right within daily life, marking the strong development of the philosophy of Engaged Buddhism.
