Religion

When asked by Westerners about their religion, most non-Christian Vietnamese answer that they are Buddhist. More properly, however, they practise the tam giao (“Three Teachings”), a blend of Taoist cosmology, Confucian ethics, and Buddhist eschatology.

Taoism, the world-view presented by the Chinese thinker Lao Tze, forms the basis of East Asian traditional science, medicine, and arts. It stresses the harmony of the universe, whose two founding principles, âm (Yin: inactive, female, cold, and dark) and duong (Yang: active, male, warm, and luminous), can transform themselves one into the other, and are subsumed into Thai Cuc (T’ai Chi), the First Principle. The world runs smoothly when all the principles are in perfect balance. Human beings, as part of the universe, should seek harmony with their natural and supranatural environment. Human nourishment, for instance, should provide the body with a balanced diet of “cold” (âm ) and “warm” (duong) food to enable a person to remain in good health.

Taoism is thus a cosmology rather than a religion, but the knowledge to which it gives access makes it possible to exercise some control over the environment. Since human beings are an integral part of the universe, their personality and destiny are linked to the positions of the stars and planets, the physical disposition of the earth on which they live, and the symbolic meanings of the numbers they have to deal with. For the Vietnamese and other East Asians, Taoism-based astrology, geomancy, and numerology thus play an important role in the way they conduct their life. Specialists in all three disciplines can be found in most Vietnamese-Canadian communities. One also finds small groups of individuals who practise a form of transcendental meditation inspired by Taoism. They belong to the Vô Vi (“Non-being”) school, a Vietnamese esoteric tradition in existence since 1945. Vô Vi operates seven centres in Canada, and its World Grand Master, Mr Tam, now lives in Montreal.

Confucianism stands at the very heart of Vietnam’s (and China’s) social and family ethics. Like Taoism, it stresses harmony. If children respect their parents and citizens respect their leaders, and if, in turn, those in command show fairness towards their inferiors, the world will remain in peace. Ancestor worship, which most Vietnamese do not consider to be a religious but a civic cult, belongs to the Confucian tradition.

Buddhism constitutes the third component of tam giao. Arising in India during the sixth century B.C.E., it was introduced into Vietnam, in its Mahayâna (Great Vehicle) form, in the first century C.E. Buddhism teaches that souls continue to be reborn into new bodies (and thus continue to suffer) until they reach enlightenment, that is, until they realize that earthly life is illusory and that they should detach themselves completely from things material. Enlightened souls enter nirvâna, a state of perfect inner peace and happiness.

To reach enlightenment, Buddhist practitioners must refrain from evil and show compassion towards other beings. Thus, Buddhism demands partial or total vegetarianism and, for monks and nuns, vows of poverty and chastity. The Mahayânists also stress the importance of praying to the buddhas (enlightened beings who have already entered nirvâna) and bodhisattvas (individuals who, upon reaching enlightenment, promised that they would not enter nirvâna until all living beings could do likewise). One of the most revered bodhisattvas is Quan Thê Am (Chinese: Kwan Yin; Japanese: Kannon), a female symbol of infinite compassion, to whom one prays when one is in any kind of trouble. She is the special protector of the boat-people. Several Vietnamese-Canadian refugees believe they actually saw her appear over the sea when their craft was in danger of foundering. A photograph of Quan Thê Am standing on a dragon amid the waves, allegedly taken in 1982 by a German journalist aboard a ship in the South China Sea, is displayed in many refugee homes.

Buddhism may be practised at home by offering prayers to various buddhas and bodhisattvas. Most Vietnamese Buddhists pray to Amitabha Buddha (A Di Da Phât), by reciting the sacred formula: Nam Mô A Di Da Phât (“Hail, O Amitabha Buddha”). Many homes possess a small altar with images of Quan Thê Am, Amitabha, and sometimes Buddha Çakyamuni (Thich Ca Mau Ni Phât), the historical founder of Buddhism. A small number of Vietnamese who belong to the Zen (Thiên) Buddhist school regularly practise meditation.

There also exist public Buddhist temples, the pagodas (chua), supervised by one or several monks (sometimes called bonzes) and occasionally nuns. The faithful are under no obligation to visit these temples, but those who wish to do so may participate in the communal recitation of prayers in front of the statues of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. One can also make offerings of fruits, flowers, and incense, and several families deposit photographs of their deceased relatives on a special altar, in order to have monks pray for them every day.

For many Vietnamese-Canadian refugees, the establishment of pagodas was an important step in preserving their cultural identity abroad. As early as September 1975, a group of first-wave refugees residing in the Montreal area founded the Lien Hoa (“Lotus Flower”) Buddhist Group. They first met in a school hall, but in 1976, they decided to gather funds and build their own temple (Chua Lien Hoa), which was inaugurated a year later in Brossard, on Montreal’s south shore. In the meantime, the group had become the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Canada (Hôi Phât Giao Viêt Nam tai Canada).

Most Vietnamese-Canadian Buddhist congregations stem from this first foundation. As the number of refugees increased, new pagodas were established in Montreal and elsewhere. They generally became affiliated with the Lien Hoa temple, or with one of the other three congregations in Montreal that had split off from it a few years after its establishment: the pagodas Tam Bao (“Three Jewels”) in 1980, Quan Am (“Quan Thê Am”) in 1981, and Tu Quang (“Ancestors’ Hall”) in 1985.

In 1993 there were twenty-one Vietnamese Buddhist temples in Canada: five of them were in Montreal, five in Toronto, two each in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary, and one each in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Victoria, London, and Windsor. Three more temples (in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver) catered to the special needs of the Sino-Vietnamese (who also attended some Viet pagodas). Buddhist oratories, without a residing monk, were to be found in Quebec City, Ottawa, and several other places. There also existed a few Zen meditation groups, notably in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. These were part of an international network of Zen adepts, under the direction of the Reverend Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known Vietnamese preacher and writer based in France.

A majority of the Vietnamese Buddhist congregations of Canada belong either to the General Association of Vietnamese Canadian Buddhists (founded in 1983 and headed by the Reverend Thich Thiên Nghi) or to the World Vietnamese Buddhist Order (founded in 1984 and headed by the Reverend Thich Tâm Châu). Both organizations have their headquarters in Montreal, at the Tam Bao and Tu Quang pagodas respectively.

Besides holding weekly seances of prayer and predication (on Sunday mornings), most Vietnamese-Canadian Buddhist temples celebrate weddings and funerals (which play an important part in family and community life). They also offer other activities such as religious retreats, Sunday school for children and adolescents, social gatherings, Vietnamese language courses for the children, etc. Overseas pagodas thus combine the functions performed in Vietnam by the chua (Buddhist temple) and the dinh (village communal hall).

It is difficult to estimate the number of Vietnamese Buddhists in Canada. Many people believe in reincarnation and enlightenment, and may pray to Amitabha and Quan Thê Am, without ever setting foot in a pagoda. In Vietnam, the chua is principally visited by older women. In the diaspora, however, a higher proportion of men and younger individuals come to the temple because of its role in preserving Vietnamese identity. In a way, all non-Christian Vietnamese who are not overtly anti-religious participate at least partially in the tam giao philosophical and ethical tradition.

Even the Christians, in fact, share in this tradition. Without believing in reincarnation, they still adhere to large sectors of Taoist cosmology, as well as to Confucian ethics. Many of them practise ancestor worship, or at least pray – or offer mass – for their ancestors on their death anniversaries.

Among the Christian minority in Vietnam, Roman Catholics constitute the major group, accounting for about 10 percent of the total population. Among Vietnamese Canadians, the proportion of Roman Catholics is higher than in the homeland, between 15 percent and 20 percent. The first Vietnamese Catholic mission was established in Montreal in 1975. Other congregations appeared when significant numbers of refugees settled in various Canadian cities. In 1993 Vietnamese Catholic parishes and missions were to be found in Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and several other towns. There were also twenty-two Vietnamese Protestant congregations, notably in Montreal (established in 1975), Toronto (eight congregations), Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. Both Catholics and Protestants are served by Vietnamese, or Vietnamese-speaking, priests, ministers, and nuns.

A Caodaist temple was established in Montreal in 1985 for a congregation of a few hundred adepts. Caodaism is a syncretic religion that originated in South Vietnam in 1925. It synthesizes the teachings of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Western religions. The Caodaists believe that God’s third and ultimate revelation occurred in Vietnam during the 1920s, by means of spiritualistic seances, and that they should work for the reunification of all of the world’s religions.

Finally, in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver there are also temples dedicated to the Lên Dong (“Mounting a Medium”) spirit worship. The practitioners of this cult (most of them are women over fifty years old) are possessed by various spirits linked to the history and mythology of traditional Vietnam. During their incarnations, the spirits answer – through the medium’s mouth – the participants’ questions about their present and future. The practitioners are not numerous (about fifty each in Montreal and Toronto), and, in addition to Lên Dong, all of them also adhere to Buddhism.

For Vietnamese, as for other refugees, religion plays an important role in coping with grief and stress. According to Canadian psychiatrists Morton Beiser and Nguyên Duy San, refugees have often lost their “timebindedness,” that is, the cognitive ordering of the past, present, and future that is necessary to preserve mental equilibrium. Religious beliefs and activities make it possible for refugees to establish continuity between their past and present by presenting them with a familiar world-view that makes sense out of the ordeal that they are undergoing. Anthropologist Janet McLellan believes that several Vietnamese Buddhist ceremonies enable the processing of grief (that has resulted from loss of identity, loved ones, homeland, possessions, and status) to take place without recourse to medical or psychiatric intervention. Moreover, monks, nuns, and other religious agents often act as psychotherapists with whom one may discuss one’s personal problems.

As religion helps the Vietnamese to preserve their mental health, it also helps with physiological and psychosomatic indispositions. All Lên Dong practitioners, for example, state that spirit possession preserves them and their families from illness. The adepts of Vô Vi or Zen meditation affirm that the inner peace they strive to attain helps to maintain them in good health. And Taoist cosmology offers theoretical explanations and practical recipes for coping with most medical problems.