Lands Đonate to Temples by the People in the Tran Time in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries (As Seen from Epitaphs)

Abstract

Buddhism was venerated by the Vietnamese people during the Tran Dynasty. The development and spread of Buddhism not only manifested the cultural influence under the Tran Dynasty, but also received great respect from the Tran kings such as Tran Thai Tong, Tran Thanh Tong, Tran Nhan Tong and Tran Anh Tong. Land was donated to temples by many social classes. Thanks to their favorable living condition, people wished to offer a part of their land and money to either build or restore temples, stupas, steles, or to cast bells. The court, royal nobles, mandarins, peasants, all donated land generously which attributed greatly to strengthen the influence of the Buddhist temples. Based on the data extracted from epitaphs, this article aims to highlight the land donation to temples by various classes of people during the Tran Dynasty.