Zen Conquests

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At the end of the twentieth century, a monk transformed a small village temple near Hanoi into Thiền Viện Sùng Phúc, a monastery and meditation center for both monastics and lay Buddhists to learn and practice Zen meditation. Over time, the original temple was replaced by larger buildings to host meditation sessions, youth events, weddings, and various activities to engage practitioners. The center's inclusive approach to Buddhism has attracted over a thousand attendees to weekly services. It is affiliated with Thiền phái Trúc Lâm, a larger organization initiated by Thích Thanh Từ, which has expanded across Vietnam and internationally. In Zen Conquests, Alexander Soucy provides the first ethnography of Thiền Viện Sùng Phúc and explores how Buddhist Modernism is integrated locally, highlighting the reasons behind the growing interest in Zen Buddhism in contemporary Vietnam. While claiming continuity with the fourteenth-century Trúc Lâm Zen School, the movement reflects the globalization of Buddhism, influenced by D. T. Suzuki's impact during the American War. Despite its claims to authenticity, it resembles Modernist Buddhism practiced by Western converts more than traditional Vietnamese practices. Soucy argues that understanding Vietnamese Buddhism requires examining the effects of globalization and the transnational flows shaping various forms of Buddhism worldwide.