The Convergence of Secondary List Nguyen Sinh Huy’s and President Ho Chi Minh’s Thought with Buddhism: From Cultural Personality to Revolutionary Career

Abstract

Although Secondary List Nguyen Sinh Huy (also known as Nguyen Sinh Sac) and his son, later President Ho Chi Minh (Nguyen Sinh Cung), lived together for only about twenty-one years, their later revolutionary trajectories revealed many affinities with Buddhist thought. Based on an examination of some works written by President Ho Chi Minh, historical documents concerning Nguyen Sinh Huy, and previous studies on Vietnamese Buddhism, this article analyzes the similarities in these men’s perspectives on Buddhism in several aspects, including compassion for human beings and appreciation of labor; the promotion of the engaged-worldly spirit of Buddhists through their patriotic activities and religious preaching; and the revitalization of Buddhist patriotic spirit. The article thereby points out the significant contributions of Buddhism to the formation of the cultural personality and revolutionary careers of the father and son, Nguyen Sinh Huy and President Ho Chi Minh.