Ex Oriente Lux 2021

152 Nguyen Tran Tan Hiep Тyumen State University, Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities CHARACTERISTICS OF VIETNAMESE BUDDHISM AND ITS INFLUENCE ON VIETNAMESE SOCIETY TODAY Religion is the need of the cultural and spiritual parts of each person, the com- munity and the whole society. Buddhism is a philosophical and religious movement with the aim of directing people to the good, saving people from the sufferings of life. Buddhism appeared in the VI century BC in India. From India, Buddhism was spread to many countries around the world, including Vietnam. In Vietnam, Buddhism is exposed to traditional religious beliefs of the Vietnam- ese people, and at the same time, its intertwining with other religions in Asia such as Confucianism or Taoism, has created a characteristic of the integration of Bud- dhism in Vietnam. Thus we can see a coexistence of the harmony of the original Buddhist philosophy, the traditional beliefs of the Vietnamese people and the influ- ences of some other religions. The article also touches upon some other characteris- tics that are specific to the Vietnamese Buddhism, for example: Vietnamese Bud- dhism is imbued with patriotism and national spirit; Vietnamese Buddhism is the basis of the great unity of the whole people; Vietnamese Buddhism tends to be in- carnated; Buddhism is a means of expressing the humanitarianism and altruism of the Vietnamese people. Another aspect, the author wants to clarify is the influence of Buddhism on Vietnamese society. Over many years of existence in Vietnam, Bud- dhism has affirmed its position as one of the major religions, Buddhist philosophies have penetrated into every corner of the Vietnamese society such as politics and economics, culture, spirituality... and it remains an indispensable part of Vietnamese people's life.