Monk Thich Dam Lan (standing) successfully defends doctoral thesis

Monk Thich Dam Lan said she was studious in childhood. However, since they were born into a poor family, Lan and her siblings decided to lead religious lives to improve their knowledge. 

At the age of 40, Lan began following university education at the Philology Faculty of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the mode of in-service training. 

In 2005, Lan and the other monks attended an entrance exam to the training course for a master’s degree. But all of them failed. They repeated the exam the next year and all of them passed this time.

When asked if she enjoyed privileges when writing and defending thesis, Lan said that she defended the thesis before 200 attendants, and she would not have succeeded if she had presented poor work.

Lan also denied that she plagiarized. “I can use computer, but cannot type fast enough to type my thesis. Therefore, I asked for disciples’ help,” she said.

The Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities this year begins officially to enroll students for Religious Studies Faculty and tens of learners have registered to study there.

“However, I can say for sure that this isn’t a copied work. This is the result of my research in the last five years,” she said, adding that she is considering editing the thesis and publishing a book.

Lan defended the doctoral thesis with 7/7 votes from the Scientific Council’s members.

Lan said that six out of seven siblings all are monks and they all have written doctoral theses.

Hoang Anh Tuan, vice president of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanity, praised the thesis ‘Buddhist ethics and the moral culture of Long Bien district’s residents’.

Tuan has guided 20 fellow PhDs; he is a member of 20 scientific councils.

Also according to Vui, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs for the last 10 years has been applying a policy on encouraging priests to follow training courses to improve their education levels.

“Many monks who still don’t have high school diplomas can follow supplementary training courses and then continue studying to obtain bachelor’s and master’s degrees, while some of them receive doctorates,” he said.

The Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities this year begins officially to enroll students for Religious Studies Faculty and tens of learners have registered to study there.

Tran Thi Kim Oanh, Religious Studies Faculty, commented that it is unfair to apply international standards to the thesis defending procedures in Vietnam. She also denied 
plagiarism, saying that the members of the scientific council highly appreciated Lan’s thesis.

Tien Phong