During the
Nguyen dynasty and
French protectorate, there was no nation-wide Buddhist organization. Instead there were small independent Buddhist associations such as: • Cochinchina Association for Buddhism Research: in
Cochinchina • Vietnam Elder Sangha: in Cochinchina • Annam Association of Buddhist Studies: in
Annam • Central Vietnam Elder Sangha: in Annam • Tonkin Buddhist Association: in
Tonkin • North Vietnam Association of Buddhist Monk Regulation: in Tonkin After
Communist Party of Vietnam and
Viet Minh were founded in 1930 and 1941 respectively, many
Buddhist Associations for National Salvation (
Hội Phật giáo Cứu quốc) were formed across Vietnam. Many Buddhist monks and followers joined the revolution and war against Japanese and French. When the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam was founded in 1945, those Buddhist Association for National Salvation became official members of the independent socialist state. On May 5, 1951, the first unified organization was formed in
Huế (
State of Vietnam) and called
General Association of Buddhism in Vietnam (
Tổng hội Phật giáo Việt Nam). The first leader was
Thích Tịnh Khiết. Another organization named
National Elder Sangha of Vietnam (
Giáo hội Tăng già Toàn quốc) was formed on September 7, 1951 in
Hanoi (State of Vietnam). Its leader was
Thích Tâm Thi. Upon Viet Minh's victory over the French in 1954, the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam (
North Vietnam) unified all Buddhist sect into an organization called
Unified Buddhist Association of Vietnam (
Hội Phật giáo Thống nhất Việt Nam) in 1958. The first leader was
Thích Trí Độ, and the headquarter was in
Hanoi. In the
Republic of Vietnam, the anti-communist pro-American
Republic of Vietnam did not formally establish a Buddhist organization until January 4, 1964 when the
Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (
Giáo hội Phật giáo Việt Nam Thống nhất) was formed. Many conflicts between Buddhist followers and the government erupted due to pro-Catholic stand of the Government of South Vietnam. The conflicts include the 1963
Buddhist crisis and the
Buddhist Uprising in 1966. Famous Buddhist leaders at this time were
Thích Quảng Đức,
Thích Trí Quang,
Thích Tâm Châu and
Thích Nhất Hạnh. Later on the government of South Vietnam attempted to win support from Buddhists. The Unified Buddhist Church was divided into anti-communist faction (Quoc Tu faction) and pro-communist faction (An Quang faction) which later supported the
National Liberation Front (though unoffcially). In 1964 Zen Master
Thích Nhất Hạnh fled to France due to suppression from South Vietnam's government. There he joined anti-war movements and established an overseas organization named
Eglise Bouddhique Unifiée du Vietnam in 1969. His organization was independent and separate from the South Vietnam's Unified Buddhist Church. His sangha was renamed to
Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism (
Cộng đồng Làng Mai Phật giáo Dấn thân) in 1998. After the establishment of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1975, at first the
communist government promoted atheism and did not establish any Buddhist organizations. On November 7, 1981 a new official national organization was formed in
Hanoi, called
Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (
Giáo hội Phật giáo Việt Nam). •
Unified Buddhist Association of Vietnam •
Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam • Traditional Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam • Elder Sangha of Theravada Buddhism of Vietnam • Patriotic Buddhist Group • Thien Thai Giao Quan Tong Sangha • Elder Sangha of Mendicant Buddhism of Vietnam • United Association of Patriotic monks in Southeastern Vietnam • Buddhist Study Association in South Vietnam Although many followers of the Unified Buddhist Church (UBC) decided to join the new Buddhist Sangha, some followers resented the socialist government and opposed the move. So the un-recognized Unified Buddhist Church still exists today in Vietnam (but very scattered and divided), and in overseas. At the moment the UBC is formally banned in Vietnam. In 2008
Thich Nhat Hanh returned to Vietnam for the first time. However some conflicts between overseas and Vietnamese Buddhists arose, thus he again went back to France. Nonetheless he finally returned to Vietnam permanently in 2018 until his death. At the moment, his Plum Village of Engaged Buddhism is still independent from Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, but the co-operation between the 2 organizations is increasing. ==Organization==