Abstract
The article introduces important aspects of the history and contemporary situation of the Taiwanese new religious movement Yīguàndào in Vietnam, where it is called Nhất Quán Đạo. Fieldwork was conducted over four years between 2016 and 2020, chiefly among members of the Fāyī Chóngdé (Phát Nhất Sùng Đức) sub-branch in Hồ Chí Minh City, which is the centre of Nhất Quán Đạo activities. A particular focus is put on the legal and socio-political environment in which Nhất Quán Đạo operates.
1 Introduction
On the motorcycle speedily following our guide – a close personal contact and local member of Nhất Quán Đạo (Yīguàndào
This research is largely based on what could be gleaned from some forty semi-structured guided interviews and numerous personal conversations with as well as participant observation among members of Phát Nhất Sùng Đức (Fāyī Chóngdé
The present article adds to a wave of scholarly studies on the international development and presence of Yīguàndào published in the last some twenty-five years.6 With activities in more than eighty countries worldwide, Yīguàndào is one of the most sizeable East Asian new religious movements today. In the following section, we briefly outline the legal and socio-political environment of NQĐ. In Section 3, we trace the historical development of NQĐ, addressing two accounts regarding the establishment of the first Buddha hall in the country. In Section 4, we look into present-day NQĐ, its mode of reception and instruction, as well as its (temporary) Cambodian rallying point.
2 Some Notes on the Legal and Socio-political Context
A turning point in the history of contemporary Vietnam has been đổi mới (renovation), which was officially launched in 1986. The subsequent economic and political reforms triggered comprehensive changes also regarding the socio-cultural environment. In the realm of religion, most strikingly, the authorities’ attitude vis-à-vis so-called “superstitions” (mê tín dị đoan) of old, which were meant to be removed from public life, became less fierce and occasionally even sympathetic (see Bouquet 2010; Lewis 2013; Jammes and Sorrentino 2015).7 The generally positive developments notwithstanding, the approach pursued by the government towards the majority of religious communities, especially new religious movements (tôn giáo mới), is still very unfavourable, if not to say repressive.8 The present-day political discourse keeps branding a substantial portion of (organised) religion as a potential risk to national/social security.
The latest legal document pertaining to religious management is “Decree No. 162,”9 formally issued by the government on December 30, 2017, which took effect from January 1, 2018, replacing the Decree No. 92/2012/ND-CP dated November 8, 2012. It enforces “The Law on Beliefs and Religion. No. 02/2016/QH14” (Luật tín ngưỡng, tôn giáo. Số: 02/2016/QH14) sanctioned by the Vietnamese Parliament on November 18, 2016.10 According to this law, a religious group or community must first apply for a “religious activity registration certificate” (chứng nhận đăng ký hoạt động tôn giáo đăng ký). The certificate is granted by the provincial People’s Committee for a community operating in a province and by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bộ Nội vụ) for a group operating on a national scale (cf. Article 22.3 of the Law on Beliefs and Religion). After at least five years of stable and continuous activity, the religious group can apply for official and legal recognition as a religious organisation. During the whole time period, the activities of the group, among others, must not violate “national defence, security, and sovereignty, and order and safety of the social environment” (quốc phòng, an ninh, chủ quyền quốc gia, trật tự, an toàn xã hội, môi trường); “harm social morality” and “offend the honour and dignity of others” (xâm hại đạo đức xã hội … xúc phạm danh dự, nhân phẩm của người khác); and should not “prevent implementation of civic rights and duties (cản trở việc thực hiện quyền và nghĩa vụ công dân)” (cf. Article 5 of the Law on Beliefs and Religion). This vague wordings as well as other articles of this Law, for example: related to nomination and registration of dignitaries (cf. Article 5, Section 2); the requirement to notify and inform about any religious activities including ceremonies, conferences, publications, educational events, etc. (cf. Article 6); and additionally Article 62 pointing to the demand of “comprehensive/specialist scrutiny of beliefs and religions” (Thanh tra chuyên ngành về tín ngưỡng, tôn giáo), render explicit the authorities’ will to have full control over institutionalised religion. Recently, new regulations were also issued regarding the religious activity in cyberspace (cf. Decree No. 14/2022/ND-CP).11
According to our NQĐ informants, in 2008, Phát Nhất Sùng Đức formally contacted the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (Ban Tôn Giáo Chính Phủ) in Hà Nội pertaining to the registration of their religious activities. However, they reportedly did not receive any response and thus gave up on this issue. Some ten years later, the group’s leadership decided to hand in an official application for legal status, which was effectively submitted in December 2019 to the Ministry of Home Affairs. However, the group kept a low profile for the followers were afraid that making this public could have a negative impact on the consideration of their application.12 As of yet, NCĐ has not obtained legal status as a religious organisation in Vietnam. Their 2019 application was either silently rejected or is still under consideration.13
Notably, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bộ Ngoại Giao), on December 15, 2022, deputy spokesperson Phạm Thu Hằng emphasised that Vietnam’s consistent policy is to ensure the citizens’ human rights and freedom of belief and religion.14 Presently, there are sixteen “legally recognised religions” and forty-two “religious organisations” (the branches of religions being registered separately).15 No new group has been included since 2018. Official statements pronounced by government representatives associated with the state security, place NQĐ among religious groups “stained with superstition, contrary to traditional culture, and not permitted by law” (nhuốm màu mê tín dị đoan, trái với văn hóa truyền thống, không được pháp luật cho phép) (Lê 2021), belonging to “‘evil cults’ [which] are primitive associations, not qualified to establish a religious organisation” (“tà đạo” là những tổ chức sơ khai, không đủ điều kiện để hình thành tổ chức tôn giáo).16 Similarly, the ANTV – The People’s Police Television (Truyền hình Công an Nhân dân) – a channel specialised in providing information related to social order and security, warned its viewers to be aware of illegal missionary activities, referring to the case of an “intervention” made by the police in a private home where NQĐ followers gathered in May 2023. The police recommended not to become subject of “illegal preaching” (truyền đạo trái phép) which “may even lead to manipulative actions that induce people to participate in activities violating the law” (thậm chí sẽ dẫn đến hành vi lôi kéo, dụ dỗ người dân tham gia vào các hoạt động vi phạm pháp luật).17 On occasion, the Vietnamese press also reports on the “interventions” of government representatives in cases of NQĐ activities. For example, the electronic version of “Reporter” (Ngươi đưa tin) reported in June 2022: “Authorities of Thừa Thiên-Huế province have just found out and prevented the illegal ‘Nhất Quán Đạo’ group activities in the area” (Cơ quan chức năng tỉnh Thừa Thiên-Huế vừa phát hiện, ngăn chặn 1 nhóm đối tượng tụ tập sinh hoạt “Nhất quán đạo” trái phép trên địa bàn). The intervention in the private house resulted in the seizure of “all scriptures and documents as well as metal oil lamps, among them one with the character ‘Buddha’ written in Chinese” (thu giữ toàn bộ kinh sách, tài liệu; đèn dầu bằng kim loại trong đó có 1 cây có biểu tượng chữ “Phật” viết bằng chữ Hán).18 Actually, according to law, religious activities at home are legal. They become illegal when they “disturb” the public or, when they extend into the public space, if the religious group carrying out such activities is not formally recognised. That this is so, one can see, for example, by a calm recent report about the visit of functionaries of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs and local authorities to an NQĐ Buddha hall in Tiền Giang province (Nhật 2023). In general, this reflects the oft-times erratic behaviour one observes by the authorities pertaining to religious matters.
Also worth mentioning are especially the views vis-à-vis NQĐ by the (State-supervised) Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam (Giáo Hội Phật Giáo Việt Nam) since it wields particular (religious) discursive authority in present-day Vietnam. According to the eminent monk Venerable Thích Nhật Từ (b. 1969), deputy director of the Vietnam Buddhist University (Học Viện Phật Giáo Việt Nam) in Hồ Chí Minh City, NQĐ is a movement spreading mostly “superstitions” and lacking right faith. Monks and nuns, and all who follow the true Buddhist teaching, should not let NQĐ influence Vietnamese society. He expressed these views on his official YouTube channel in the video series “Questions and Answers: What is Nhất Quán Đạo?” (Vấn đáp: Nhất Quán Đạo là gì?).19 In an article on the popular Vietnamese Buddhist website Thư Viện Hoa Sen (Lotus Library), the question whether NQĐ is Buddhist or not is answered by two monks as follows: “Nhất Quán Đạo is an evil sect [tà phái] that uses the name of Buddhism [… It] is not orthodox Buddhism and can never be integrated into Buddhism because of its qualities, mode of practice, and especially its purpose are all different from Buddhism” (Thích and Thích 2018).20
Other religious communities commenting on NQĐ – especially those within the tam giáo (sānjiào
3 Nhất Quán Đạo in Vietnam
One day, while skimming the library of Minh Lý Đạo at Tam Tông Miếu (Temple of the Three Teachings), rather unexpectedly we came across a bound collection of twenty-three short texts in typescript relating to NQĐ. The volume – entitled Tổ thuật Nho Thích Đạo Nhất-Quán Diệu-Pháp Khai Phổ-Độ. Sư chưởng Lý Khí Tượng Tam-Thiên Đại-Nhậm Bạn Thu-Viên (see Figure 1)24 – introduces the life and activities of the Yīguàndào founders, namely, Lù Zhongyī
3.1 The First Buddha Hall in Vietnam
According to the standard narrative of the Phát Nhất Sùng Đức followers, NQĐ was introduced to Vietnam almost simultaneously by several Vietnamese individuals at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, who returned as students or workers from Taiwan.26 The first Buddha hall in Vietnam was founded by thầy Chu Đức Hùng (Zhū Déxióng
3.2 The Eternal Virtue Buddha Hall
Growing closer to our informants of the Hồ Chí Minh City Phát Nhất Sùng Đức branch, we were told an alternative story about the first origins of Yīguàndào in Vietnam connected to the establishment of Vĩnh Đức Phật Đường (Yǒngdé fótáng
By the end of 1980, and due to deteriorating health, thầy Trần started through spiritual inspiration looking for a new thầy who could continue the service and revive the community. However, all the female names she presented to Queen Mother Goddess were rejected. After some time, the name of a thầy unknown to her by the name of Quách was revealed.30 Thầy Quách (Guō
The story continues that within the first five days after the Tết 1991 (the New Lunar Calendar Year celebrations), around five hundred cầu đạo (qiúdào
4 Nhất Quán Đạo in Contemporary Vietnam
Historically, Vietnam was always profoundly influenced by Chinese culture. On the Vietnamese part it embraces both affinity and resentment, as the famous Vietnamese writer Hữu Ngọc (b. 1918) noticed: “Rejection and attraction characterize this ambiguous relationship, even in the present time” (2012: 521). We frequently noticed this ambiguity in our interviews and conversations, especially with NQĐ prospects. One encounter we had might indeed serve as a representative case. A Vietnamese student who had for some time joined the group eventually decided to leave despite his continued interest for NQĐ teachings. Asking him why he had withdrawn, he said that the Vietnamese had been fighting for their national identity and freedom for two millennia, so he simply did not want to be “sinicised” yet again.34 This prejudice might very well feed into the public image of NQĐ and explain the authorities’ largely negative stance towards it. But then again, the vast majority of practitioners are Kinh (i.e., ethnic Vietnamese) and not Hoa.
4.1 Presence of Nhất Quán Đạo in Vietnam
In terms of “initiations,” taking into consideration the whole country, the number of Đạo Thân (dàoqīn
Notably, around eighty to ninety per cent of initiations seem to have taken place within the Phát Nhất Sùng Đức branch. Based on the data provided by our informants, out of all those having received initiation, reportedly one third commit to Buddha hall activities in the longer term, a number much likely overstated if compared to estimates of other countries (Billioud 2020: 68–69).
Besides those belonging to the Phát Nhất Sùng Đức (Fāyī Chóngdé) sub-branch, the remaining twenty to ten per cent of NQĐ practitioners seem to (chiefly) belong to Fāyī Déhuà
Interestingly, based on our informants’ data and similarly to the situation in Thailand (Lin 2023), it seems that up to eighty to ninety per cent of those initiated to NQĐ (Đạo Thân) are Kinh and only some ten to twenty per cent are Hoa.36 As mentioned above, around sixty per cent of the followers are female. Based on our participant observation, the average age of practitioners might be in their early forties. Additionally, it is mostly women who decide to live in celibacy, committing their entire lives to spreading the dào, spiritual practices, and service for the community.37 In line with standard Yīguàndào proselytising strategies, contact with NQĐ is usually established within personal networks through marital relations, personal introduction by relatives, friends, and co-workers. Concerning occupational backgrounds, most of the followers we met across the years were labour workers, farmers, or involved in running small businesses.38 In Vĩnh Đức Phật Đường, only around two per cent of the adepts have a higher education, which is not in line with Fāyī Chóngdé’s reputation as having a larger share of educated members.39
One of the significant aspects of the NQĐ communities’ presence in Vietnamese society is their engagement in charity activities. In most cases, NQĐ welfare consists of food or money donations for specified purposes – this involves, for example, support for poor war veterans and victims of natural disasters. Such activities, however, must be carried out only in collaboration with the local authorities, who are responsible for directing the donations to the target clientele, for otherwise no such actions will be permitted. Our NQĐ contacts stressed their suspicion that portions of the donations often “disappear” – particularly if money is involved. According to the NQĐ welfare organisers we talked to, this is actually considered in their donation planning.40 Notably, charity activities must not be managed under the NQĐ name. Because of that, Vĩnh Đức Phật Đường, for example, launched a charity organisation – Hội Nhân Ái Sùng Đức (Sùng Đức Fraternity of Compassion). Whereas donations are also made out of local practitioners’ pockets, the larger portion indirectly comes from Taiwan.
4.2 Reception
NQĐ attracts followers for a range of individual reasons. Notably, what has been stressed by our interlocutors was the (politically harmless) Taiwanese origins of Yīguàndào. In other words, members ordinarily did not associate NQĐ with the People’s Republic of China. As mentioned above, if contention arose, it was connected to the supposed broader Chinese and thus “foreign” cultural dimension at play.
From a systematic perspective, we may extract three interrelated larger categories that make NQĐ attractive according to members:
(1) Frequently, our interlocutors highlighted the social and emotional benefits of being a Đạo Thân. As one adept had it: “I can count on the help of others if I am in trouble, and I can be useful for the community as well.”41 A female adherent told us that NQĐ virtually replaces her family: “In my big family I am treated by my mother-in-law as a labourer but here I have found what being in a family really means.”42 Often, practitioners stressed the role of the thầy, whose charisma and benevolence would be what intimately holds the community together: “I am grateful that I can talk to the thầy openly, who really cares for each individual and the community.”43 In this respect, a number of respondents mentioned that, according to their previous experiences, such close ties with and openness of the thầy are not to be found in Buddhist pagodas, let alone Christian congregations. Indeed, the majority of NQĐ members we encountered over the years hailed from a Buddhist background.
(2) Next come moral and soteriological benefits. “I appreciate the teachings, it is a doctrine for life, which is giving me a moral compass,”44 is what we were told in one form or another by many of our interlocutors. Frequently, members pointed out a decisive personal transformation, like one of our contacts who stated that “the practice really changed my personality – now I am a better human being, no longer hot-tempered, selfish, and greedy.”45 Occasionally, the practitioners particularly emphasise the salvific power of NQĐ practice, as is exemplified by one of our contacts: “I feel more confident about my life and not fear death – I now know that I will be saved because my name is written on the ‘heavenly scroll’.”46 Many recall their initiation ceremony as an especially awe-inspiring experience when the “three treasures” (Tam Bửu; sānbǎo
三寶 ) were bestowed upon them – that is, the “dào was transmitted” (truyền đạo; chuán dào傳道 ) by the Unborn Venerable Mother (Vô Sinh Lão Mẫu; Wúshēng Lǎo Mǔ無生老母 ) – that is: (1) the opening of one’s huyền quan (xuánguān玄關 ; mysterious pathway); (2) the transmission of the khẩu quyết (kǒujué口訣 ), a mantra consisting of five secret words (also called by members the “heavenly password”; mật mã thiên đường); and (3) the presentation of a secret mudra (hợp đồng; hétóng合同 ) (cf. Clart 2018: 440; see also Jordan and Overmyer 1986: 226–236). Our interlocutors vividly remembered the symbolic activities accompanying this ceremony (in Chinese with Vietnamese translation) – the burning of one’s name written on a paper called long thiên biểu (lóngtiān biǎo龍天表 ; heavenly dragon chart), which symbolises the erasing of the name from the sổ sanh tử (shēngsǐ bù生死簿 ; life-death register) and simultaneously inscribing it onto the thiên bảng lục (tiānbǎng lù天榜錄 ; heavenly scroll of records). This was usually understood by the practitioners as an assurance of “salvation,” transcending the wheel of reincarnation.47 In fact, followers are taught by the thầy that the condition of remaining on the thiên bảng lục is leading a “moral life,” that is, self-cultivation, the aim of which is the eradication of this-worldly desires and attachments. And whereas the initiation is a necessary condition for “salvation,” it is deemed insufficient by itself. However, this idea of “assured salvation” abides in the minds of many followers and is also emphasised by grassroots members when introducing the NQĐ teaching to others. A virtue held by many members (in particular those who are parents) to be especially fostered and amplified through NQĐ doctrine and praxis is “filiality” (hiếu; xiào孝 ).48 A few practitioners even underlined that the focus on filiality is NQĐ’s most powerful message: “I am happy about the teaching, and I think it is especially important for the young generation, so I spread the information about it to all people I know.”49 What is more, repeatedly, usually during joint meals, our contacts argued that NQĐ’s emphasis on vegetarianism is much appreciated as a spiritual practice in its own right, for it carries into effect traditional Vietnamese mores.(3) A third category marks educational and economic benefits. We were explicitly told that indeed Taiwanese entrepreneurs residing in Vietnam would often look for responsible employees particularly in the NQĐ Buddha halls. One respondent thus stated: “Thanks to the community, I have found a suitable job.”50 Another one disclosed: “I want to invite others to join us, especially young people, because they not only receive the good teachings, but they also receive material gifts as appreciation for their study efforts.”51 Given that the Buddha hall is regularly the venue for gratis Chinese language instruction, one parent explained with a view to such NQĐ’s apparent benefits: “My daughters are very happy having free Chinese classes.”52 In this respect, many younger followers we talked to indicated that their engagement with NQĐ might also open opportunities to relocate to Taiwan for further educational/occupational reasons.
A crucial aspect of Yīguàndào practice is spirit writing (fújī
4.3 Modes of Instruction
To enable a better understanding of the NQĐ teachings, various types of Pháp hội (fǎhuì
4.4 The Buddha Hall in Phnom Penh
This Buddha hall, called Lìdé fótáng
5 Concluding Remarks
Like in other countries of the wider region (e.g., Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore), Yīguàndào in Vietnam is growing rapidly despite external (legal and societal) pressures and proselytising limitations. Practitioners highlighted that membership brought them social stability, vested them with a sound moral compass, and instilled salvational assurance, but also keeps contributing to their economic well-being. NQĐ was often seen by our interlocutors as an expression of the tam giáo cosmos and thus essentially not alien to their religious sensitivity. The intricacies of the doctrinal dimension remained mostly incomprehensible, which many deemed ultimately irrelevant, for what connected them to the group was foremostly the experiential and socio-educational elements and not any distinct perspectives vis-à-vis transcendence. NQĐ practice and learning were often considered as a routine to establish and subsequently maintain a stable way of life at a time of rising economic hardships and moral decline. Yīguàndào came to Vietnam to stay. Despite its current lack of legal recognition (which might change quickly, especially if the group’s welfare activities keep rising), NQĐ will become an increasingly visible and influential actor in Vietnam’s religious landscape. The present article is but a preliminary study, for the phenomenon of Yīguàndào (also in Vietnam) is so many-faceted indeed that we could only scratch the surface.
Acknowledgement
Gratitude is owed to Nikolas Broy and Jérémy Jammes for their valuable feedback on drafts of the manuscript. We also want to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.
References
Amer, Ramses. 2011. “Nghiên cứu về người ‘Hoa’ ở việt Nam: Các khuynh hướng, vấn đề và các thách thức [Research on the ‘Hoa’ People in Vietnam: Trends, Issues, and Challenges].” Việt Nam học – Kỳ yếu hội thảo quốc tế lần thứ nhất [Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Vietnamese Studies], 1. Hà Nội: Dại Học Quốc Gia, pp. 143–157.
Billioud, Sébastien. 2020. Reclaiming the Wilderness: Contemporary Dynamics of the Yiguandao. New York: Oxford University Press.
Blagov, Sergei. 2018. “Vietnamese New Religious Movements: An Introduction.” In Lukas Pokorny and Franz Winter, eds., Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements. Leiden and Boston: Brill, pp. 547–564.
Bouquet, Mathieu. 2010. “Vietnamese Party-State and Religious Pluralism since 1986: Building the Fatherland?” SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 25 (1), pp. 90–108.
Broy, Nikolas. 2019. “Maitreya’s Garden in the Township: Transnational Religious Spaces of Yiguandao Activists in Urban South Africa.” China Perspectives, 4, pp. 27–36.
Broy, Nikolas. 2020. “American Dao and Global Interactions: Transnational Religious Networks in an English-Speaking Yiguandao Congregation in Urban California.” In Philip Clart and Adam Jones, eds., Transnational Religious Spaces: Religious Organizations and Interactions in Africa, East Asia, and Beyond. Berlin and Boston: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 263–282.
Broy, Nikolas. 2021. “Global Dao: The Making of Transnational Yiguandao.” In Nanlai Cao, Giuseppe Giordan, and Fenggang Yang, eds., Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion. Volume 11: Chinese Religions Going Global. Leiden and Boston: Brill, pp. 174–193.
Broy, Nikolas. 2022. “Nodes and Hubs: An Exploration of Yiguandao Temples as ‘Portals of Globalization’.” Religions, 13 (366), pp. 1–18.
Broy, Nikolas, Jens Reinke, and Philip Clart. 2017. “Migrating Buddhas and Global Confucianism: The Transnational Space-Making of Taiwanese Religious Organizations.” Working Paper Series des SFB 1199 an der Universität Leipzig, 8. Online: https://research.uni-leipzig.de/~sfb1199/app/uploads/2018/05/wp8_broy-et-al_preview_180518.pdf (accessed: October 11, 2023).
Clart, Philip. 2000. “Opening the Wilderness for the Way of Heaven: A Chinese New Religion in the Greater Vancouver Area.” Journal of Chinese Religions, 28, pp. 127–144.
Clart, Philip. 2018. “Yīguàn Dào.” In Lukas Pokorny and Franz Winter, eds., Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements. Leiden and Boston: Brill, pp. 429–450.
Do, Thien. 2013. Vietnamese Supernaturalism: Views from the Southern Region. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon.
Hữu, Ngọc. 2012. Wandering Trough Vietnamese Culture. Hà Nội: Thế Giới Publishers.
Irons, Edward and Gyungwon Lee. 2022. “Yiguandao in Korea: International Growth of a Chinese New Religion.” Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia, 2 (1), pp. 85–109.
Jammes, Jérémy. 2010. “Divination and Politics and Religious Networks in Southern Vietnam: From the ‘Temple of the Three Doctrines’ (Tam Tông Miếu) to Caodaism.” Social Compass, 57 (3), pp. 357–371.
Jammes, Jérémy. 2014. Les oracles du Cao Đài: Étude d’un mouvement religieux vietnamien et de ses réseaux. Paris: Les Indes savantes.
Jammes, Jeremy and David A. Palmer. 2020. “The Bible of the Great Cycle of Esotericism: From the Xiantiandao Tradition to a Cao Ðài Scripture in Colonial Vietnam.” In Philip Clart, David Ownby, and Wang Chien-chuan, eds., Text and Context in the Modern History of Chinese Religions: Redemptive Societies and Their Sacred Texts. Leiden and Boston: Brill, pp. 258–308.
Jammes, Jérémy and Paul Sorrentino. 2015. “Géopolitique des religions au Viêt Nam: Les voies multipolaires d’une société civile confessionnelle.” Hérodote. Revue de Géographie et de Géopolitique, 157, pp. 112–125.
Jordan, David K. and Daniel L. Overmyer. 1986. The Flying Phoenix: Aspects of Chinese Sectarianism in Taiwan. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Lewis, James F. 2013. “Vietnamese Religions, Asian Studies, and the Rule of Law.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 11 (2), pp. 55–63.
Lê, Phong. 2021. “Tự do tuyệt đối về tôn giáo – sự đòi hỏi phi lý [Total Freedom of Religion – Irrational Demand].” Online: http://bienphongvietnam.gov.vn/tu-do -tuyet-doi-ve-ton-giao-su-doi-hoi-phi-ly.html (accessed: October 11, 2023).
Lim, Francis Khek Gee. 2012. “The Eternal Mother and the State: Circumventing Religious Management in Singapore.” Asian Studies Review, 36 (1), pp. 19–37.
Lin, Yu-Sheng. 2019. “The Practices and Networks of Female Yiguan Dao Members in Buddhist Thailand.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 22 (3), pp. 84–107.
Lin, Yu-sheng. 2023. “Religion, Cult or the Truth? The Struggle of Yiguan Dao in Thailand’s Competitive Religious Field.” Asian Studies Review, 47 (2), pp. 318–335.
Lương, Gia Toàn. 2014. “Nhất Quán Đạo – Một tôn giáo mới ở Đài Loan [Yīguàndào: A New Religion in Taiwan].” M.A. thesis, Đại Học Quốc Gia TP. Hồ Chí Minh – Trường Đại Học Khoa Học Xã Hội và Nhân Văn, Vietnam.
Mozina, David J. 2019. “Living Redactions: The Salvationist Roots of Daoist Practice in Central Hunan.” Daoism: Religion, History and Society, 11, pp. 1–61.
Mù Yǔ 慕禹. 2002. Yīguàndào gàiyào 一貫道概要 [An Outline of Yīguàndào]. Táinán 臺南: Tiānjù Shūjú 靝巨書局.
Ngai, Ting-ming 危丁明. 2015. Shùmín de yǒnghéng: Xiāntiāndào jí qí zài Gǎng’ào jí Dōngnányà dìqū de fāzhǎn 庶民的永恆: 先天道及其在港澳及東南亞地區的發展 [The Eternity of the Common People: Xiāntiāndào and Its Development in Hong Kong, Macao, and Southeast Asia]. Táiběi 臺北: Bóyáng Wénhuà Shìyè Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī 博揚文化事業有限公司.
Nguyễn, Ngọc Quỳnh and Nguyễn Thị Quế Hương. 2021. “Các hiện tượng tôn giáo mới tại một số tỉnh, thành phố ở Việt Nam hiện nay [New Religious Phenomena in Some Provinces and Cities in Vietnam Today].” Thông tin Khoa học xã hội [Social Science Reports], 9, pp. 82–93.
Nguyễn, Thanh Phong. 2018. “Đạo Minh Sư trong đời sống xã hội Nam Bộ nửa cuối thế kỷ 19 đến nửa đầu thế kỷ 20 [Minh Sư Teachings in the Life of Southern Vietnamese Society from the Second Half of the 19th Century to the First Half of the 20th Century].” Nghiên cứu Tôn giáo [Research on Religion], 8 (176), pp. 99–114.
Nhật, Quang. 2023. “Ban Tôn giáo Chính phủ thăm và làm việc tại các cơ sở Nhất Quán đạo trên địa bàn tỉnh Tiền Giang [The Government Committee for Religious Affairs Visited and Operated at Nhất Quán Đạo Premises in Tiền Giang Province].” Online: https://btgcp.gov.vn/tin-hoat-dong-cua-ban-ton-giao-chinh-phu/ban-ton-giao-chinh-phu-tham-va-lam-viec-tai-cac-co-so-nhat-quan-dao-tren-dia-ban-tinh-tien-giang-postZQR8kblndA.html (accessed: October 11, 2023).
Phạm, Thị Bích Ngọc. 2013. “Nhất Quán Đạo – Hiện tượng tôn giáo mới ở thành phố Hồ Chí Minh [Nhất Quán Đạo: The Phenomenon of a New Religion in Hồ Chí Minh City].” M.A. thesis, Đại Học Quốc Gia TP. Hồ Chí Minh – Trường Đại Học Khoa Học Xã Hội và Nhân Văn, Vietnam.
Shen, Yeh-Ying. 2021. “The Expansion of the Andong Division of Yiguan Dao in Austria.” Journal of Chinese Religions, 49 (2), pp. 241–264.
Soo, Khin Wah. 1997. “A Study of the Yiguan Dao (Unity Sect) and Its Development in Peninsular Malaysia.” Ph.D. thesis, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Soo, Khin Wah. 2019 [2009]. “The Recent Development of the Yiguan Dao Fayi Chongde Sub-Branch in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.” In Philip Clart and Paul Crowe, eds., The People and the Dao New Studies in Chinese Religions in Honour of Daniel L. Overmyer. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 109–125.
Thích, Thánh Nghiêm and Thích Nhật Từ trả. 2018. “Nhất Quán Đạo Có Phải Là Phật Giáo Không? [Is Nhất Quán Đạo Buddhist?].” Online: https://thuvienhoasen.org/a30840/nhat-quan-dao-co-phai-la-phat-giao-khong- (accessed: October 11, 2023).
Truong, Phan Chau Tam. 2016. “Religious Conversion of the Ethnic Minorities in the South of Vietnam.” Tattva. Journal of Philosophy, 8 (1), pp. 27–44.
Trương, Văn Chung, Đỗ Quang Hưng, Nguyễn Hồng Dương, Nguyễn Công Lý, Trần Hoàng Hảo, Trần Kỳ Đồng, Đoàn Ngọc Minh, Nguyễn Thoại Linh, Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, Dương Hoàng Lộc, Phạm Bích Ngọc, Trương Phan Châu Tâm, Trần Thị Dung, Lương Gia Toàn, Vũ Thĩ Thanh Thảo, and Nguyễn Chiến Trương. 2016. Tôn Giáo Mới. Nhận Thức và Thực Tế [New Religions: Perception and Reality]. TP Hồ Chí Minh: NXB Đại Học Quốc Gia.
Yang, Hung-Jen. 2021. “Between Cultural Reproduction and Cultural Translation: A Case Study of Yiguandao in London and Manchester.” In Nanlai Cao, Giuseppe Giordan, and Fenggang Yang, eds., Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion. Volume 11: Chinese Religions Going Global. Leiden and Boston: Brill, pp. 157–173.
Appendix
Cover page of the Tổ thuật Nho Thích Đạo Nhất-Quán […]
Citation: Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies 15, 1 (2023) ; 10.30965/25217038-01501012
Altar in the Gratitude Hall dedicated to thầy Chu at Hợp Đức Phật Đường (Accruing Virtue Buddha Hall)
Citation: Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies 15, 1 (2023) ; 10.30965/25217038-01501012
The building with the Vĩnh Đức Phật Đường (Eternal Virtue Buddha Hall) on the top (indicated by the arrow)
Citation: Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies 15, 1 (2023) ; 10.30965/25217038-01501012
A praying ceremony for (close) ancestors to aid in their liberation/rebirth (cầu siêu) taking place at Vĩnh Đức Phật Đường
Citation: Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies 15, 1 (2023) ; 10.30965/25217038-01501012
Lìdé fótáng (Establishing Virtue Buddha Hall) in Phnom Penh
Citation: Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies 15, 1 (2023) ; 10.30965/25217038-01501012
NQĐ has no legal status in Vietnam and it has thus no right to perform any “religious” activities in the public space as will be briefly discussed in the next section.
This research was possible thanks to the assistance of NQĐ followers in Hồ Chí Minh City and Phnom Penh. In particular, we would like to express our gratitude to thầy (Master) Quách (i.e., Guō diǎnchuánshī
Taiwanese Fāyī Chóngdé is a sub-branch of the Fāyī cluster within Yīguàndào and one of the largest and internationally most active Yīguàndào groups overall. It reportedly operates in nearly forty countries (Billioud 2020: 19).
We would like to thank Nikolas Broy for the information on Lín Wànchuān (Mù Yǔ
Phạm 2013 aside, the sub-chapter draws on the M.A. thesis “Nhất Quán Đạo – Một tôn giáo mới ở Đài Loan” (Yīguàndào: A New Religion in Taiwan) by Lương Gia Toàn (Lương 2014).
A panoply of Chinese-language scholarship aside (a range of which is listed in Broy, Reinke, and Clart 2017: 22), see, for example, the English-language articles on Yīguàndào in Austria (Broy 2021; Shen 2021); Canada (Clart 2000); Malaysia (Soo 1997); Singapore (Lim 2012); South Africa (Broy 2019); South Korea (Irons and Lee 2022); Thailand (Lin 2023; 2019); the United Kingdom (Yang 2021); and the United States (Broy 2020). On Yīguàndào’s transnationalism, see Broy 2022 and Soo 2019.
A watershed was the Politburo Resolution No. 24-NQ/TW “Enhancing Government Tasks Related to Religions in the New Situation” (Nghị Quyết Số 24-NQ/TW Tăng cường công tác tôn giáo trong tình hình mới) of October 16, 1990, through which the Communist Party formally redirected its approach to religion (tôn giáo), confirming the significance of beliefs (tín ngưởng) and religion for the populace.
Regarding the presence of “new religious phenomena” (các hiện tượng tôn giáo mới) in present-day Vietnam, see Nguyễn and Nguyễn 2021.
Nghị Định. Quy định chi tiết một số điều và biện pháp thi hành luật tín ngưỡng, tôn giáo. Số: 162/2017/NĐ-CP (Regulations Detailing Some Issues and Implementation Measures of the Law on Beliefs and Religion. No. 162/2017/ND-CP). See https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Van-hoa-Xa-hoi/Nghi-dinh-162-2017-ND-CP-huong-dan-Luat-tin-nguong-ton-giao-353702.aspx. This and all other websites have been last retrieved on October 11, 2023.
Nghị định số 14/2022/NĐ-CP. See https://vanban.chinhphu.vn/?pageid=27160&docid=205256.
Personal communication with a Phát Nhất Sùng Đức dignitary, April 2020.
According to the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Vietnam, religious groups complained that “government agencies sometimes did not respond to registration applications or approval requests for religious activities within the stipulated time period, if at all, and often did not specify reasons for refusals as required by law.” See https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/vietnam/.
See General Statistics Office of Vietnam: https://datacollection.gso.gov.vn/Data/Sites/1 /media/huyvq/files/DanhMucTonGiao.pdf.
See https://antv.gov.vn/phap-luat-3/canh-giac-hoat-dong-truyen-dao-trai-phap-luat-374DFAB9B.html. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vagHxjQoATo.
See https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/ngan-chan-nhom-doi-tuong-tu-tap-sinh-hoat-dao-la-trai-phep-a554997.html.
Nhất Quán Đạo là một tà phái mượn danh nghĩa Phật giáo […] không phải là Phật giáo chính thống và vĩnh viễn không thể hòa nhập vào Phật giáo vì tính chất, thứ bậc tu hành, và nhất là mục đích của chúng đều khác với Phật giáo.
A new religious community founded in 1924 in Sài Gòn with an estimated present-day membership of some one thousand individuals. Their doctrine and life praxis are based on the Three Teachings with a focus on meditation (cf. Jammes 2010).
Personal conversation with Lâm Lý Hùng, February 2020.
Personal conversation with Hội Thánh Cao Đài Tòa Thánh Tây Ninh officials, May 2015.
English title: “The Patriarchs Say: Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism are Consistent, Marvellous Dharma Paves the Way for All-Embracing Salvation. The Masters Add: True Nature, Vital Energy, Essence, the Three Components, Great Gestation Conducting to Full Fruit.”
The scholarship on the Vietnamese Tiên Thiên Đạo is scarce and foremostly presented in relation to Minh Sư (Enlightened Master) – the Vietnamese religious movement most visibly preserving Xiāntiāndào/Tiên Thiên Đạo ideas today (e.g., Ngai 2015: 494–516; Nguyễn 2018). Comprising an estimated 13,000 followers today, Minh Sư is the oldest of the Minh redemptive societies. Being transplanted from China in the mid-nineteenth century it subsequently spawned the other four Minh groups – Minh Lý Đạo, Minh Đường (Temple of Light), Minh Thiện (Enlightened Goodness), and Minh Tân (Enlightened Renewal) (Blagov 2018: 551; Jammes 2010). Additional research exists on the influence of Xiāntiāndào on the teachings of Cao Đài (Jammes and Palmer 2020; on Cao Đài, see Jammes 2014).
See also https://nhatquandaovn.com/gioi-thieu/.
In contrast, Phạm states that the first Buddha hall was established by an unnamed woman who married a Taiwanese man and moved to Taiwan. After returning to Hồ Chí Minh City, she set up a Buddha hall in district 6 in 1990, from where she enthusiastically spread the teachings among her family and relatives (Phạm 2013: 43; cf. Trương et al. 2016: 452). According to Lín Wànchuān, Hàorán Hàodé
Ramses Amer indicates that by 1908, 138,284 ethnic Chinese were living in Vietnam. The number reportedly surged to 732,459 in 1951 (2011: 146).
After the death of the thirteenth patriarch Yáng Shòuyī
Personal communication with master Trần’s daughter in December 2019.
At the initiation ceremony, the adept ritually “requests the dào” (qiúdào). The điểm truyền sư (diǎnchuánshī
A Chinese Chán
Personal interview with thầy Quách, December 2019. He frequently travels to other Buddha halls in the country to conduct initiations there.
Personal interview, November 2019.
Phạm (2013: 44) indicates only two groups: Phát Nhất Linh Ẩn and Phát Nhất Hưng Nghị.
Even if this ratio might not be correct overall, at least our fieldwork confirmed a significantly larger representation – indeed probably up to eighty per cent – of Kinh among NQĐ members. In the same vein, Phạm (2013: 115) noted an impressive surge of Kinh vis-à-vis Hoa practitioners from 2010 to 2013, arriving at a ninety to ten ratio among youth members of one Buddha hall she conducted her fieldwork at.
In Vĩnh Đức Phật Đường and related Buddha halls we visited, this is recommended only to those who are at least forty years old.
This is confirmed by the aforementioned government report on NQĐ members in Tiền Giang province, which states that the majority of NQĐ followers comprise farmers, workers, and some traders (Nhật 2023).
Personal interview with thầy Quách, January 2020.
Personal conversation, June 2018.
“Em cảm thấy có chỗ nương tựa mỗi khi gặp khó khăn và bản thân trở nên có ích cho cộng đồng.”
“Trong nhà của mẹ chồng, chị bị đối xử như người làm nhưng ở đây chị cảm thấy giống như một gia đình.”
“Em thấy rất biết ơn khi có thể nói chuyện thoải mái cùng thầy.”
“Chị rất xem trọng bài giảng vì nó dạy về cách sống đạo đức, là kim chỉ nam trong cuộc sống.”
“Học đạo thật sự làm em thay đổi nhiều, bây giờ em biết kiên nhẫn, không còn nóng tánh nữa, cũng bớt ích kỷ và tham lam.”
“Bây giờ bà có lòng tin vào cuộc sống, không còn sợ chết nữa vì sẽ được phù hộ, tên của bà đã được ghi vào sổ ở trên trời.”
This is also noted in Trương et al. 2016: 468. See also Phạm 2013: 139.
Related teaching sessions we attended commonly draw on the Tâm Kinh (Xīnjīng
“Cô thích học đạo, và nghĩ nó rất quan trọng đối với mấy bạn trẻ; cô sẽ chia sẻ về đạo cho bất kỳ người nào mình biết.”
“Nhờ mọi người giới thiệu nên anh đã tìm được công việc phù hợp.”
“Chị muốn mời những người khác tham dự vào đạo, nhất là mấy bạn trẻ, vì tụi nó không chỉ được dạy về đạo lý mà còn được nhận quà khi cố gắng học tập.”
“Con gái cô rất vui vì được học tiếng Trung.”
If at all, members of the Hoa minority are proficient in Cantonese and only rarely in Mandarin.
“Thiệt ra cô không hiểu nhiều lắm nhưng nghĩ nó có ích cho tụi nhỏ.”
When activities were resumed at the conclusion of COVID-19 restrictions, the fótáng’s target clientele shifted to the local Cambodian community.
