What are Novice Monks Called in Vietnamese?

[Nengei]

Zenchishiki sounds Yiddish. :-)

Gassho,
Ryūmon (Kirk)
Sat Lah

A Zenchishiki boychik! The word doesn't role off the tongue very easily. But it is a good word.

I do like Soryo and Obosan. I would happily describe myself thusly.

Gasshalom,
Nengei
Sat today. LAH.

[Jundo]

Thank you.

By the way, "Keeper of the Temple" in Vietnamese -
người giữ đền - has an impolite sexual connotation.



Gasshō
Seiko
Stlah

Obosan (actually Obousan お坊さん or Bouzu 坊主)is actually a bit "lost in the fog of history" in its meaning but actually means more "keeper of the sacred precincts," and is likely a term going back in China long before Buddhism.

Gassho, J

stlah

[Soka]

Sorry for being slow to reply, my sister asked a Vietnamese friend of hers who has a strong interest in Buddhism:

after researching, I see that if the monk is under 20 years old- they're called "chú tiểu", if they are 20 & above - they're called "đại đức"
and another way to call them based on the gender: "Thầy" for male and "Sư cô" for female. actually, I see that many Vietnamese people call all types of monks as "Thầy"

I've only ever heard Thầy, and I think unless you are deep into Buddhist studies, then that's probably the only term most people use.

I'm not even sure how much "novice monks" are thing in Vietnam. I don't know the numbers, but I understand only a state-limited number of trainee monks are allowed to start that path each year, and must train through the state-approved Buddhist academy.

For added context to Seiko's comment that many young Vietnamese have never heard of Thích Nhất Hạnh, I'd say the same is true for older Vietnamese too. While Plum Village Sangha may be "Vietnamese Buddhism" everywhere else, it is not officially allowed to operate in Vietnam. Many of Thích Nhất Hạnh's writing were banned. When I visited Tu Hieu pagoda was deserted except for a couple of monks who scuttled away, and half a dozen tourists who stayed for about half an hour. I don't recall seeing any mention of Thích Nhất Hạnh.

On a surface level, there appears to be a lot of support for Buddhism in Vietnam, predominantly through the building of more statues and temples for tourists to visit.

Gassho,
Sōka
sat

[Jundo]

Sorry for being slow to reply, my sister asked a Vietnamese friend of hers who has a strong interest in Buddhism:



I've only ever heard Thầy, and I think unless you are deep into Buddhist studies, then that's probably the only term most people use.

I'm not even sure how much "novice monks" are thing in Vietnam. I don't know the numbers, but I understand only a state-limited number of trainee monks are allowed to start that path each year, and must train through the state-approved Buddhist academy.

For added context to Seiko's comment that many young Vietnamese have never heard of Thích Nhất Hạnh, I'd say the same is true for older Vietnamese too. While Plum Village Sangha may be "Vietnamese Buddhism" everywhere else, it is not officially allowed to operate in Vietnam. Many of Thích Nhất Hạnh's writing were banned. When I visited Tu Hieu pagoda was deserted except for a couple of monks who scuttled away, and half a dozen tourists who stayed for about half an hour. I don't recall seeing any mention of Thích Nhất Hạnh.

On a surface level, there appears to be a lot of support for Buddhism in Vietnam, predominantly through the building of more statues and temples for tourists to visit.

Gassho,
Sōka
sat

When I went to Vietnam about a dozen or so years ago, I was fortunate to sit Zazen here for a few days. Do yuo know anything about the place, Soka? It is in Vĩnh Phúc. It seemed to be a fully working monastery at the time, with quite a few monks and teachers in residence ...

Thiền viện Trúc lâm Tây Thiên

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C814AKg4MkM

https://www.dalattrip.com/truc-lam-zen-monastery/

Gassho, J

stlah

[Soka]

Hi Jundo,

I remember you mentioning Trúc Lâm monastery before. I've not made it down to Da Lat yet on my travels around Vietnam. The furthest south I've made it is Hoi An and Hue.

I visited quite a few temples in Hue, but mostly I got shoed away from working temples, and directed politely to the tourist temples where I could look around and take photos like westerners are supposed to .

I would love to spend some time in an actual Vietnamese Monastery for a few days. I am back in the van in the UK for a couple of months, but I would like to make Da Lat a priority visit when I am next in Vietnam.

Gassho,
Sōka
sat

[Seiko]

Sorry for being slow to reply, my sister asked a Vietnamese friend of hers who has a strong interest in Buddhism:

Hi Sōka,
I hoped you would respond. Thank you for your input

Gasshō
Seiko
stlah