Unlike the Red River Delta's long-established religious traditions, southern Vietnam's Mekong region gave rise to indigenous faiths whose spiritual leaders offered healing, hope and support to communities facing hardship.
An international academic seminar titled "Buddhism in the Mekong Region," jointly organized by the Vietnam Studies Center at Fulbright University Vietnam and the University of Hamburg, Germany, in early October 2026, explored this distinctive religious phenomenon.
From the Mekong River to spiritual movements devoted to helping others
The seminar opened with a thought-provoking question: "How can a river carry a religion?"
It set the stage for an exploration of the spiritual and cultural landscape surrounding the Mekong River, a region home to hundreds of millions of Buddhist followers.
Originating on the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong flows through countries with strong Theravada Buddhist traditions, including Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, before reaching southern Vietnam, where Mahayana Buddhist influences also arrived from the central Vietnamese region historically known as Ngu Quang.
One of the region's most remarkable characteristics is the emergence of indigenous religious movements.
Originating on the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong River passes through countries with strong Theravada Buddhist traditions, including Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, before reaching southern Vietnam, where Mahayana Buddhist influences also took root. Photo from Dr. Chung Hoang Chuong's presentation.
According to Dr. Chung Hoang Chuong, a researcher specializing in the anthropology and ecology of the Mekong Basin, early settlers in southern Vietnam faced countless difficulties as they established communities in unfamiliar territory.
Their uncertain and often precarious lives led them to seek spiritual support as a way of maintaining emotional balance and finding meaning amid hardship.
It was in this environment that homegrown religious movements such as Buu Son Ky Huong, Tu An Hieu Nghia and Hoa Hao Buddhism gradually emerged.
A particularly distinctive feature of Buddhism in the Mekong Delta was the appearance of spiritual teachers whose religious missions were closely connected to patriotism and public service.
Figures including Phat Thay Tay An (Doan Minh Huyen), religious master Ngo Loi of Tam Bao Pagoda in Ba Chuc, Huynh Phu So, founder of Hoa Hao Buddhism, and military commander Tran Van Thanh of the Bay Thua - Lang Linh resistance base became spiritual leaders associated with movements against foreign domination.
These historical and religious developments have attracted the attention of international scholars, including Professors Pascal Bourdeaux and Hue-Tam Ho Tai.
"Rather than withdrawing from society to practice religion in remote mountains, as traditionally imagined, the spiritual teachers of southern Vietnam chose a deeply engaged approach to religious life," Chuong explained. "They entered people's everyday lives by preparing traditional herbal remedies to treat illnesses and teaching simple, accessible religious principles to reassure communities during times of turmoil."
Spiritual support for settlers and the blending of religious traditions
The headquarters of the Central Executive Board of the Tu An Hieu Nghia Buddhist Association, with its address shown before the administrative restructuring. Photo from Dr. Chung Hoang Chuong's presentation.
Explaining why Buddhism in southern Vietnam places particular emphasis on helping people and supporting the poor, Chuong pointed to the distinctive conditions of life in the Mekong Delta.
Communities in the region historically included people living directly on rivers, those settling near waterways and others struggling to earn a living along riverbanks.
Their lives were often marked by instability, hardship and constant adaptation to the natural environment.
For people facing such uncertainty, the teachings of Buu Son Ky Huong and Tu An Hieu Nghia provided an effective form of psychological and spiritual support.
Religious teachers explained that present suffering belonged to a difficult period known as "ha nguon", or the Lower Epoch, which humanity had to endure before entering *thuong nguon*, an age of peace and prosperity associated with the Long Hoa Assembly.
The belief that better times would follow adversity became a powerful spiritual anchor, helping settlers maintain hope and resilience.
The seminar also raised an intriguing comparative question: Why did the Red River Delta, with its thousand-year cultural history, not produce new indigenous religions in the same way as the Mekong Delta?
According to Chuong, the two regions developed under fundamentally different ecological, historical and religious conditions.
Northern Vietnam was deeply influenced by the long-established interaction of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, commonly referred to as the Three Teachings.
Major Buddhist traditions such as Vo Ngon Thong and Truc Lam Yen Tu, together with the ancient Buddhist center of Luy Lau, had already established strong cultural and spiritual foundations.
These deeply rooted traditions were difficult to displace.
By contrast, southwestern Vietnam developed as an open frontier where waves of migrants and diverse cultural traditions came into contact.
This environment encouraged the blending and assimilation of religious beliefs.
In the borderlands, the boundaries between Taoism and Buddhism often became blurred.
Residents might simultaneously honor indigenous protective spirits such as Neak Ta and village tutelary deities, while seeking blessings and protection from Mother Nam Hai, Thien Hau, Ba Chua Xu and Ong Bon during journeys and livelihoods associated with rivers and the sea.
In Tra Vinh, home to around 140 Theravada Buddhist pagodas serving the Khmer community, these religious institutions coexist alongside Mahayana Buddhist temples associated with ethnic Vietnamese communities and temples maintained by ethnic Chinese residents.
The region's open and inclusive spirit, reflected in the traditional belief that "all people within the four seas are brothers," has helped create a distinctive multicultural environment.
In this setting, different religious traditions have supported local communities and maintained relationships characterized by coexistence and mutual respect.
Modern challenges and the cross-border mission of ecological ethics
The teachings of Tu An Hieu Nghia, particularly gratitude toward the nation and all living beings, could provide an ethical foundation for environmentally responsible lifestyles and the protection of natural resources threatened by climate change. Photo from Dr. Chung Hoang Chuong's presentation.
Yet the religious landscape of the Mekong region is facing new challenges in contemporary society.
Chuong expressed concern that some festivals associated with indigenous religions are becoming increasingly focused on ceremonial activities and large-scale free vegetarian meals, while paying insufficient attention to the essential teachings of studying Buddhism, cultivating personal virtue and repaying the Four Debts of Gratitude.
Some events have also generated substantial amounts of waste, creating environmental problems.
Another major challenge is how these traditional teachings can connect with Generation Z and adapt to the social changes shaping modern life.
Religious leaders and followers must consider how to preserve their traditions while making them meaningful to younger generations.
To address these challenges, Chuong suggested renewing the spirit of engaged Buddhism by connecting religious faith with environmental responsibility.
He pointed to the example of Buddhist monks in Cambodia working alongside local communities to plant thousands of trees and help restore ecological balance.
In southern Vietnam, he argued, the philosophy of Tu An Hieu Nghia, particularly its teachings on gratitude toward the nation and all living beings, could provide an ethical foundation for environmentally responsible lifestyles.
Such teachings could encourage people to live in harmony with nature and protect natural resources increasingly threatened by climate change.
At a regional level, Chuong proposed taking this approach further by using Buddhist philosophy as a shared ethical foundation for cross-border environmental diplomacy.
Drawing on the example of six European countries cooperating through an agreement on the management of the Rhine River, he emphasized that the six countries along the Mekong share significant Buddhist cultural and ethical traditions.
"Sharing the same river and a common Buddhist foundation, these countries could come together in a spirit of compassion and harmony to establish a code of conduct and eventually work toward a convention on the protection of transboundary water resources," Chuong proposed.
When religious values extend beyond temples and monasteries to inspire responsibility for protecting a shared river, the spirit of the Mekong can take on renewed significance.
In that vision, the traditions that once helped settlers endure hardship could continue their mission of serving humanity, this time by encouraging cooperation and environmental stewardship across national borders.
Vietnamnet.vn
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