THE FOUR DHARMAS AND THE TRADITION OF INVOCATION AMONG AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES

Abstract

The rites of invocation (for rain and drought relief) dedicated to the Four Dharmas were spiritual ceremonies aimed at pacifying the populace under the rule of monarchical dynasties. The foundation of these rites originates from wet-rice agriculture, the patriarchal smallholder society, the influence of Buddhism, and the Daoist philosophy of the unity of heaven and man. Major historical records, such as The Complete Annals of Đại Việt (Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư) and The Imperially Ordered Annotated Mirror of Vietnamese History (Khâm định Việt sử thông giám cương mục), clearly document that the Lý and Lê dynasties once brought the statue of Pháp Vân to the capital for invocation ceremonies. Based on these records, we conducted surveys and compiled statistics on these invocation events to analyze their timing, locations, methods, and effectiveness..