PRINCIPAL TENDENCIES OF BUDDHISM IN THE SOUTHERN REGION IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY AND THE EARLY 20th CENTURY

Abstract

In the Southern region, Buddhism always plays a leading role in the spiritual life of the people. By the late 19th and the early 20th century, in the context of the country being colonized by French colonialists, Buddhism in the South faced many challenges in terms of politics, ideology, culture, and religion, etc. However, during this time, many monks and laypersons in the South have mobilized the Sangha to reform Buddhism, and consequently, the Buddhist revival movement in the South has formed and spread to the Central and the North.

This article, based on a religious historical approach, highlights two basic of movement trends of Buddhism in the South in this period: the tendency of establishing Buddhism associations and the advent of Buddhist journals; the formation of new Buddhist sects.