p. 129

IN THE BROAD SENSE, culture is the collective product of groups of people in their adaptation to their climatic and geographical conditions for the purpose of survival, and philosophy is the aspect of cultural activities which reflects most faithfully the conscience of the individual in the group who ponders over the problems of life and of the universe. Although the object of philosophy is general and philosophical thought objective, the viewpoint of the philosopher in relation to things and in his search for a solution to philosophical matters cannot be detached from and unrelated to the climatic, geographical, historical, and social factors conditioning the life of the group of which the philosopher is an integral part. For this reason we have national philosophy, just as we have Eastern, Western, and world philosophy.

p. 130

This paper presents the Vietnamese approach to life problems. Vietnam has had a long history on the Indo-Chinese peninsula, but, like other small countries of Southeast Asia, has never had the opportunity to create any great traditional philosophical system as have India and China. Up to now, it has only received and assimilated the philosophical thought of those two cultural areas. However, due to its geographical characteristics as a gateway for two great nations and old cultures of Asia, and due also to its national history comprising many struggles in defense of its independence, it has produced a special viewpoint in regard to life and to human problems. I call this viewpoint and this approach to life problems "Vietnamese humanism."

     The North Vietnam of today was the state of Giao Chau, the old territory of the Viet people. Before the coming of Chinese culture from north of the Yangtse River and the coming of Indian culture from the southwest, this land had already been the cradle of an Indonesian culture the traces of which archaeologists have discovered in the Dong Son Province, south of Giao Chau. This is why they call it Dong Son culture, whose characteristic is the vestige of "copper drum." Ducting the early periods of Chinese domination, people here already had a fervent religious life, believing in ancestral souls and natural spirits. With the development of means of communication between the Indo-Chinese peoples along the Indo-Chinese peninsula from the Gulf of Tonkin to Thailand and Bengal, the land of Giao Chau became the meeting point of two important thought-systems of Asia: the practical tendencies of Confucian thought and the metaphysical tendencies of Buddhist thought.

     Pagoda between
      Hoi-An and Hue

     Viet people found in the encounter of these two conflicting trends of thought a new source of energy strong enough to help them fight off outside domination and establish independence for their nation, a small nation by the side of a powerful empire like that of the Sung, the Yuan, the Ming, and the Manchu dynasties.

It is this new source of energy that fostered the independent dynasties of Vietnam (Dinh, Le, Ly, Tran dynasties) from the tenth century to the fifteenth century and helped bring about a synthesis of the metaphysical thought-systems and the practical one, thereby producing a humanist philosophy genuinely Vietnamese.

We shall present here some highlights of that philosophy found in a rare work written in the thirteenth century. It is entitled: "Lessons about the `Suunyataa." The author was Emperor Thai Tong[a] of the Tran[b] Dynasty (1225-1258). To us, the author was a national hero who successfully led the people in their fight against the invasion of the Mongol armies in Southeast Asia after the latter's victories over the China of the Sung Dynasty.

     The author was an emperor and founder of the greatest dynasty in the history of Vietnam. He reigned for a period of 33 years, led an active life, and had a very deep conception of the responsibility of a national leader. In foreign affairs, he had to deal with the invasion of Southeast Asia from the north by the strong Mongol armies. In the south, he had to negotiate for friendly relations with the Chams. Inside the country, he had to reorganize the administration and the army.

These tasks demanded that the responsible leader put his whole life and all his talents to the service of his country. He had already demonstrated that he was a heroic emperor.

Despite his busy life as an emperor, he was also a highly virtuous and moralistic king, who, throughout his life, perfected himself, read books, prayed and studied Buddhism, and learned to apply its teachings. History also recorded that the emperor had written such valuable books on Buddhism as "A Commentary on The Diamond Suutra,"[c] "A Guide to Zen Buddhism,"[d] and "Lessons about the `Suunyataa."[e] Two of these valuable works have been lost, and we now possess only the last, which contains the prefaces of the other two. In these works is found the humanist concept which we are now presenting.[1]

__________________________________________________________________________

1. These three works are in Tran-Thai Ton, Khoa-hu Luc,[f] written sometime between 1258-1277.

p. 131

To understand the author's feelings and motivations in his search for truth--first through the Buddhist transcendental viewpoint denying existence, and then in his return to the realistic point of view affirming existence in order to lead the people responsibly and conscientiously by an integral conception harmonizing the metaphysical tendencies with the practical-it is necessary to translate here the complete preface to "A" Guide to Zen Buddhism" so that we can see how the author could meet the two aspirations inherent in human nature: that for the transcendental and that for the existential, that for knowledge and that for action. Both are equally urgent,

Pagoda between Hoi-An and Hue
The translation follows:

I took the liberty of thinking that the nature of Buddha[* ]was universal and transcendent. It was not limited in time or in space. It was the same everywhere, and all men could find it, provided they perfected themselves for the purpose. There are intelligent and ignorant people, but, thanks to the quality of Buddha, they may all be enlightened. Therefore, the forthright principles of Buddhism are to use practical methods to teach ignorant people and to use simple ways to point out to them the truth about life and death. On the other hand, it was Confucius who set up particular patterns and techniques of government for the generations to come. Therefore, the sixth patriarch of Zen said: "Sages are no different from bonzes [monks]." So, the principles of Buddhism need the wisdom of Confucianism for their penetration into human societies. Thus, why can I not take the responsibility of the Sage and the principles of Buddha to be my own?

Ever since my childhood, I have come to an understanding each time I have heard the teachings of Zen, and I have immediately stopped all worrying and felt very much at rest. I already had a passion for spiritual truth. I wanted to study Zen Buddhism, and I decided to look for a master and devote my time to religion. I had my intentions clearly in mind but could not put the dynamism of my faith to work. When I was sixteen years old, my mother, the Queen, died.

p. 132


      I was extremely unhappy, and I cried until blood came out of my eyes. In my grief over this event, I could not think of anything else. A few years later, my father, the king, died. My unhappiness over my mother's death was not past and my father's death added much more pain. I did not think I could ever get over these tragic events. I thought of parents' love for their children and their great sacrifice in bringing us up. During their whole lives, no matter how much sacrifice they had made, the children could never repay this debt to their parents. Besides, my father, the king, had successfully dealt with the difficult task of ruling the country and achieving happiness for the people. From the time he handed the throne over to me at a young age, I constantly felt worried and was never at ease. I thought: "Above, I do not have my parents to lean on; below, I an afraid I might not meet the expectations of my people. What can I do, then?" I tried to look for an answer: "Perhaps I  should retire to the mountains and forests to study Buddhism in order to repay my debt to my parents. Maybe this would be a good thing." That was what I decided to do.

*. The word "Buddha" has a special connotation in Vietnamese. "The nature of Buddha" means "the transcendental nature."

On the third night of the fourth month, Binh Than year (1245), wearing common dress, I went out of the palace and said to my guards: "I want to stroll around to hear people's conversations and to learn about their ideas and desires, for this may help me to understand their hardship." There were about seven or eight guards with me. Around midnight, I furtively left the palace on a horse. When we crossed the river and went eastward, I told my guards the whole truth. They were greatly surprised and all cried sadly. At daybreak, when I crossed the Dai Than River near the Pha Lai Mountains, I had to cover my face with a piece of cloth lest people recognize me. Then I followed the path to the mountains. I spent the night at Giac Hanh pagoda and departed again in the morning. After crossing many rivers and climbing many mountains my horse was exhausted and could not go on. I left it and caught at the rocks to move on. I arrived at Yen Tu Mountains in the afternoon. The next morning I climbed up to the mountain crest and presented myself to the state bonze, Bamboo Forest, who was the great monk in charge of the pagoda.

On seeing me, the Bonze Superior was very glad and said in a calm voice: "I have lived long in the mountains, my bones are hard, and my body is thin. I eat vegetables and chestnuts, and I drink water from the brook. I enjoy the forest scenery, and my soul is as light as the floating clouds ("Floating Clouds" was the ensign of the Bonze Superior), so I came here with the wind. Now Your Highness the King has left the throne and come to these humble places; may I ask what Your Highness wants to find in this place?"

Hearing this, tears suddenly came to my eyes. I told the Bonze Superior that I was still young and had already lost my parents. All alone I ruled the country and had no one to lean on. I thought about my father's work and I realized that royal life and work may sometimes prosper, sometimes decline. Therefore, I came here to take the vows to become Buddha and would not ask for anything more.

The Bonze Superior replied: "In the mountains there is no Buddha, for Buddha is in the heart of man. If one's heart is calm and understanding, that is Buddha indeed. Now, if Your Highness awakens to this consciousness, you will become Buddha without having to look elsewhere."

At that time, I had an uncle, Tran Cong, who was my guardian at my father's request before the latter's death. After my father's death, I nominated my uncle, the Prime Minister, to help me in the administration of the country. When he learned about my departure, he sent soldiers here and there to look for my tracks. At last they found me in the mountains.

p. 133

On seeing me, Tran Cong said in a sad voice. "I have carried out the last words of your father and I have obeyed you in ruling the country. The people have looked to you in the same way that children look toward their parents. Also, the ministers in the Court are now all your faithful subjects. The learned men of the country have all admired and followed you. Even a seven-year-old child knows that the king is the father of the people. Moreover, your father has just left the world; the earth on his tomb is not yet dry. His last words are still there. And now you have escaped to the mountains and stay there to pursue your own ambitions. Perhaps you can do that for your own purposes, but what will become of the country and the people? If you want posterity to praise you, no way will be better than making yourself an exemplary leader of the nation. If you do not change your mind, I and all those who accompanied me here will die today and will never return home."

Seeing that the Prime Minister and all my officers did not want to leave me, I went to the Bonze Superior and told him what my uncle had said. The Bonze Superior held my hands and said. "Being at the head of a nation, one must identify oneself with the will of the people and their hearts. Now, the people want you to return to the palace. How can you go against this? Nevertheless, I hope you will. never stop the search for spiritual truth."

Consequently, I went back to the capital with the group and reluctantly returned to the throne. For over ten years, whenever I had any free time from national affairs, I always met with the learned men of the country to consult on the science of "dhyaana" (meditation) and on Buddhist teachings. Everyday I read The Diamond Suutra. Once I came to this sentence:

"It is better to have a non-clinging heart."[2] [g]

When I put down the book to sing this verse, I suddenly became enlightened, and I used this enlightenment as a theme for a series of songs called: "A Guide to Zen Buddhism."[3]

                     THE PHILOSOPHICAL ATTITUDE OF THE PREFACE.
This preface was in fact a sorrowful account of concern and anxiety about the conception of life. This worry must have been a real metaphysical anxiety to drive the king to leave his palace at night and go to the mountains to ask a bonze for the way to emancipation. He said:

I was still young and had already lost my parents. All alone I ruled the country and had no one to lean on. I thought about my father's work and I realized that royal life and work may sometimes prosper, sometimes decline. Therefore, I came here to take the vows to become Buddha and would not ask for anything more.

The king's heart was clearly a battlefield of two opposing ideas: on the one hand is the idea of responsibility toward human society and the nation, on the other hand is the idea of an eternal value, the basic meaning of the ever-changing process of life and death. On the one hand, it is the call of practical; life; on the other, it is the call of the metaphysical universe.

2. The Diamond Suutra (Hanoi: Duoc Tue, 1953), p. 27.

3. Tran-Thai Ton, Preface to Thien Ton Chi Nam ("A Guide to Zen Buddhism")

p. 134

Throughout the preface we find that the philosophical conflict between metaphysical and existential, between inaction and action, between denial and acceptance of existence, was raised and urgently needed to be resolved. The king stood between a State Bonze and a Prime Minister.

The Bonze introduced himself:

I have lived long in the mountains, my bones are hard and my body is thin. I eat vegetables and chestnuts, and I drink water from the brook. I enjoy the forest scenery and my soul is as light as the floating clouds, so I came here with the wind.

This is denial of existence and of the world in having realized a heart with little selfishness, as described in Tao Te Ching.[4] The Zenist replied in the following terms to the king who eagerly searched for Buddha:

In the mountains there is no Buddha, for Buddha is in the heart of man. If one's heart is calm and understanding, that is Buddha indeed. Now, if Your Highness awakens to this consciousness you will become Buddha without having to look for it elsewhere.

The Prime Minister introduced himself:

I have carried out the last words of your father and I have obeyed you in ruling the country. The people have looked to you in the same way that children look toward their parents. Also, the ministers in the Court now are all your faithful subjects. The learned men of the country have all admired and followed you. Even a seven-year-old child knows that the King is father of the people. Moreover, your father has just left the world; the earth on his tomb is not yet dry. His last words are still there. And now you have escaped to the mountains and have stayed there to pursue your own ambitions. Perhaps you can do that for your own purposes, but what will become of the country and the people? If you want posterity to praise you, no way will be better than making yourself an exemplary leader of the nation.

This is indeed the voice of an energetic and dynamic man who recognized only existence and the world, and who used the concept of political morality, "The king should be an ideal king, subjects ideal subjects, the father an ideal father, and the son an ideal son," from the Analects of Confucius to ask the king to be an example for his people. Metaphysical considerations, such as the problem of life and death, were nothing but absurd and selfish, because "while you do not know life, how can you know about death."[5] [h]

Faced with the sad and energetic reasoning of practical life, the author seemed to hesitate. He repeated the words of the Prime Minister to the Bonze and asked the latter to advise him what to do.

p. 135

The Bonze did not hesitate, and it seemed as if he had had a ready answer for the king. This is a philosophy harmonizing practical living with the universe by realization and not by intellect.

4. Chap. XIX.

5. Confucius, Analects, in James Legge. trans, The Four Books (Hong Kong: Hop Kuen Book Co., 1958), p. 85.

"Being at the head of the nation, one must identify oneself with the will of the people and their hearts. Now, the people want you to return to the palace. How can you go against this? Nevertheless, I hope you will never stop the search for spiritual truth."

Here the Bonze implied that man should look for truth according to the position in which he finds himself. In his position, the king should first fulfill his responsibility of leading the people and of helping them achieve happiness. In order to do so, he should thoroughly understand the aspirations of those whom it was his mission to lead. Thus he had to identify himself with the feelings of others, and, to this end, he would have to forget himself and do away with his "self," just as Mahatma Gandhi said: "I reduced myself to zero." Only in this way can there be a real understanding between us and others. We do not know exactly what transcendent truth and the permanent nature of Buddha ate, but we think they must be a general and universal reality, and one should look for this reality through one's own soul. So, before achieving this state of a universal consciousness, one should identify oneself with the will and feelings of all men. Thus, the nature of Buddha is universal reality, which does not exist in the mountains but only in the heart of man when this heart is calm and understanding. A calm and understanding heart is one which is not agitated by passion and desires, partly because the element of "self" is reduced to zero so as to enable it to identify itself with the will and feelings of other people. The spirit of the people is objective, and through it one can find universal reality, and this is the way to approach the ultimate aim and to achieve the intuitive power of understanding the nature of things. But this intuitive power is latent inside the heart of everybody; therefore the Bonze advised the king not to waste time looking for it elsewhere and hoped that the latter would never stop the search for spiritual truth while ruling the country and carrying out the wishes of the people.

After many years of conducting national affairs and doing religious work, he became enlightened upon reading over and over the prayer in The Diamond Suutra, "It is better to have a non-clinging heart." His mind was illuminated with significant understanding which he summarized in the opening passage of the preface as follows:

p. 136

The nature of Buddha is universal and transcendent. It is not limited in time or in space. It is the same everywhere and all men can find it provided they perfect themselves for the purpose. There are intelligent and ignorant people, but thanks to the quality of Buddha they may be enlightened. Therefore, the forthright principles of Buddhism are to use practical methods to teach ignorant people and to use simple ways to point out to them the truth about life and death. On the other hand, it was Confucius who set up particular patterns and techniques of government for the generations to come. Therefore, the sixth patriarch of Zen said: "Sages are no different from bonzes." So, the principles of Buddhism need the wisdom of Confucianism for their penetration into human societies.

In the concluding passage above, the king summarized the general humanist concept which he himself had put to work with conviction in his active life. This concept implies that all religious and philosophical systems are only points of view or "dar`sanas" or ways (Tao) toward the achievement of ultimate aims. These ways all aim at developing man; therefore, one cannot forget the humanist objectives when one studies religion and philosophy. Truth is absolute and universal, regardless of time and space, race and class. However, according to different situations, one should look for the most appropriate ways and methods. In life, there are two different ways to meet the basic needs, "knowledge" and "action." The need for knowledge is the desire to know the truth about life and death; this is the passion for truth. The need for action is the desire to act in compliance with one's human position; this is the passion for goodness. According to the above preface, the king did not think, as did the sixth patriarch of Zen, that Buddhism and Confucianism were alike, but he pointed out the strong and weak points of these two important systems of thought in Asia. On the one hand, it is Buddhism that denies the world to look for liberation and orients itself toward metaphysical objectives. On the other hand, Confucianism affirms the existence of the world and is in search of a practical way of life. These two philosophies are basically different, and no one can help distinguishing them because one stresses "knowledge" and the other stresses "action." But when one does not forget the human person with his own particular characteristics, one realizes that a complete human character should comprise both knowledge and action with both transcendental and realistic tendencies. Therefore, the king said: "The principles of Buddhism need the wisdom of Confucianism for its penetration into human societies." Thus, he used knowledge as a motivating factor for action and action as a means to realize knowledge, just as he had written in the "Lessons about the `suunyataa": "Illumination is only the discovery of the crux of things, for only practice can help one to become liberated from the bondage of existence."

p. 137

Knowledge and action are only complementary aspects of a silent and immanent spirit, of a deep and serene consciousness, and of a mysteriously crystallized essential nature which the human mind cannot comprehend and which was explained by Emperor Thai Tong in his "Lessons about the `Suunyataa."

              HUMANISM IN THE Khoa hu luc ("LESSONS ABOUT THE `Suunyataa")

This book contains lessons about the `Suunyataa concept (voidness) of Zen Buddhism, skillfully presented in artistic form in which humanism is interpreted as a general principle, permanent and universal. This principle notes two aspects of reality: the non-creating and transcendental aspect and the always creating and existential aspect. The king wrote:

In the beginning, there were not four elements (tanmatra), not even five aggregates (skandhas). From non-existence comes the misleading mind; from this misleading mind comes the external manifestation; and this external manifestation comes from the absolute void, which is ultimate reality. Thus the false comes from the "void" the "void" produces the false; and the false produces the many external manifestations. That which is contradictory to the non-creating and non-transforming principle will always create and transform, for that which is non-creating and non-transforming will always remain so, and only that which is creating and transforming can continue to create and transform.

Here Emperor Thai Tong reasoned that the real consists of both aspects, the transcendent and non-transforming essence and the existential and transforming one. Both are eternal, though they are basically contradictory.

Since Thai Tong recognized that the transformist nature is also eternal, as is the non-transformist one, he set forth the permanent and universal principle, which is different from primitive Buddhism in that the latter conceived existence as naturally inherent with sufferings because it has to pass through the stages of birth, age, sickness, and death, and therefore, is non-permanent, while Thai Tong considered these stages as having a permanent and universal character. He expressed his personal conception in these words :

Birth, age, sickness, and death Are the permanent law of existence. When one gets free from one chain, One will get caught in another. In illusion one prays for Buddha, In doubt one prays for Dhyaana, But Buddha and Dhyaana ate not to be invoked. They are silent and above words.[i]

p. 138

The author considered birth, age, sickness, and death as the permanent and universal aspects of reality, continuously changing and transforming but still always permanent. Theoretically, manifestation comes from the "void." Therefore, they are contradictory, but, practically speaking, in the void there is manifestation, and in the non-permanent there is the permanent and universal. For this reason, the author changed the four sufferings of primitive Buddhism, which were four Doors, into four Mountains representing four Seasons, being the four transforming aspects of a year-cycle in order to allude to the symbol of an agricultural society which loves life: Spring is the season of birth, Summer the season of mature growth, Autumn the season of harvest, and Winter the season of storage. Thus the author considered the extraordinary transformation of existence as a general rule which we should not deny. Therefore, he advised that, if we want to liberate ourselves while denying existence, it can be done only theoretically, for in reality we should live with the world in order to learn about its mechanism and find a way toward liberation.

This is the spirit of the realization of spiritual freedom as explained in the "Lessons about the `Suunyataa" on the theory of the manifestation of the body:

Existing in the illusory world is considered existing in the real world. In the despicable human body, it is considered to be in the ultimate reality of Buddha.

Let us destroy the six robbers (six pleasures of the six sense organs) and transform them into six supernatural powers; let us stroll around in eight places of misery and transform them into eight transcendent places.

Since the author concentrated on the realization of a parallelism for knowledge and action, he did not rely too much on theory, on the form of religion, on ceremonial rites, or on Holy Books. He wrote:

"If we have not reached an understanding of the consciousness of Buddha and the will of the Patriarchs, we should practice the commandments and prayers. But when we realize that Buddha and the Patriarchs are not the ultimate aim, why should we practice the commandments and prayers?

As far as spiritual truth is concerned, only the power for realization is important, while all the forms, such as the Holy Books and commandments, are only secondary, as the author had concluded: "We use rafts to cross the river, but when we reach the river bank we no longer need to keep them."

With a free spirit which does not cling to names and forms worshipped by the mass and believers as something sacred, the author had come to distinguish the sacred things from the despicable ones, for everything that exists is equally a manifestation of the Law of Buddha (dharma):

p. 139

To speak or to keep quiet, to be active or to remain static, ate all the Law of Buddha. To drink or to eat, to be sound asleep or to be half awake, are all the Law of Buddha. To go to stool is also the Law of Buddha; the temporal and the real, the essence and the existence, and others are all ways and means at the disposition of man.

The nature of Dharma is the changeless essence of truth which neither concepts nor thoughts can make impute. Originally it is true, profound, and perfectly pure. But by a sudden "superimposition" in man's mind, there appears the false external world with its mysterious forms and bodies depending upon the karma of knowledge. This knowledge loses its primitive light and puts all its power in the service of the six organ of sense. If it recovers the ever-pure nature of Dharma it can overcome all polluted things, make clear the true impartial mind, and adore the formless body of Dharma."

This true consciousness and this formless body of Dharma surpass all forms and rites, intellectual systems, introvert and extrovert ways, non-existence and existence concepts. Therefore, when a disciple asked: "How can the way to non-existence and existence be the same?" Emperor Thai Tong answered by a metaphor: "Except the 'real son in the family', who else dares turn toward that way and move along."

That way, which covers all the different lines of approach, the contradictory ways leading toward existence and non-existence, is in fact a consciousness without concept or a consciousness without intentions, which is a universal consciousness that one has to realize by pure experience as implied in the following lines:

The water that flows down from the mountains is unintentional, The white clouds that fly up from the cave are unconscious, Do not say that unconsciousness is the Truth, For an unconscious mind is quite far from it.

That is the "real son of the family," the consciousness without concept, the consciousness without intentions, which the Vietnamese philosophical emperor realized through his active and heroic life until he finally came to synthesize philosophy with art as illustrated in this poem dedicated to a Zenist :

To the Bonze Duc Son of Thanh Am Pagoda

The wind was tapping on the fir trees in front of the pagoda, The courtyard was bright with moonlight, The heart and soul met with the landscape a bliss that eludes the common man But that is reserved for the bonze in the mountain to enjoy unto illumination.[j]

p. 140

In face, the synthetic and realistic philosophy of Emperor Thai Tong is not an intellectual attitude. It is a behavioral attitude of people who live with their hearts and minds. He said:

"Confucian books teach us humanitarian love and virtues. Taoist books teach us to love Nature and cherish life. Buddha only keeps us from killing one another, teaches us to respect and be conscious of our acts and not to violate these principles."

A bonze asked him whether " in the past or in the present, the ways are not different, and all the enlightened follow the same path. Why did Your Highness the King say that only `Saakyamuni was enlightened?"

Emperor Thai Tong answered by a metaphor:

Spring rain is neither high nor low, But the branches carrying flowers may be short or long.

Thus, philosophy-religion is not different in its universality but only in its application which must take into account the practical conditions.

For example, to youth, which is an active and optimistic age full of hope for the future, the practical philosophy of Confucius may be appropriate. But after one has acquired a great deal of experience, has gone through many hardships, and has come to a thoughtful age, then the philosophy of Lao Tzu, which liberates man for natural and artistic sentiments, or the philosophy of Buddha, which liberates for spiritual truth, may be much more appropriate. Philosophical systems are only points of view; therefore, in Vietnam abstract ideas and concepts have always been put to work through practical living.

      THE PROBLEM OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

We have just presented the Vietnamese synthesis between two great philosophical systems of conflicting trends which spread over Southeast Asia while the land of Giao Chau (North Vietnam today) was their meeting place and a synthesis was achieved out of this encounter. This is, in fact, a synthesis between metaphysical tendencies and the practical.

In the world history of philosophy, there may be no system which concentrates so much on metaphysics and attends so much to liberation as Buddhism. Also, there may be no morality so practical and so conscious of human conduct and responsibility as Confucianism. When the Buddha preached non-permanence and negation of self, Confucius taught the religion of human conduct. And yet, these two extreme tendencies have been synthesized into a humanist philosophy of self-realization.

p. 141

For almost a century now, Vietnamese have been under Western influence, and the East-West problem has become pressing and urgent, requiring all intellectuals to work for a solution. When we speak of the West today, we mean the modern scientific West since the Industrial Revolution, in which rational and experimental thought predominate. World opinion usually confronts this West with the mysterious East because the East has produced many religions, and religious beliefs ate always in contradiction with rational scientific thought. Maybe this is the reason people often think that:

East is East, West is West, Never the twain shall meet.

This may also be the reason people often say that the East has no philosophy, but wisdom. Nowadays, if we want to promote mutual understanding between the East and the West, the first problem that should be examined is the problem of the rectification of names once proposed by Confucius over two thousand years ago. As a matter of fact, there is no definite frontier between East and West insofar as culture is concerned: cultures may be but variety in manifestation of the same humanity striving to adapt itself to different environments. The East-West problem is a contemporary problem, since the West with its technological progress came to play a leading part in the modern world. For this reason, we should be careful whenever we speak about East and West, even in the domain of philosophy.

p. 142

Eastern and Western concepts are not different in their search for truth and goodness. And the philosophical objectives concerning knowledge and action are also the common objectives of reflective thought in East and West. Only the objectives of primitive philosophies were different. While Greek philosophers were exploring the nature of things, the Eastern sages concentrated on the search for an understanding of the nature of man. That is why Greek philosophy developed along the line of rational thought, because natural things are not so closely related to man as the psychological man himself. One veers toward the objective rational existence while the other veers toward the subjective permanent existence. This first development has set up the direction for two East-West cultural trends: one concentrates on a natural scientific intellectualism and the other on spiritual truth and religious beliefs. Religion and science once met and came to terms with one another in Neo-Platonism by a synthesis between Greco-Roman intellectualism and the religion of love is Christianity representing the East. The synthesis between the reason and sentiments, with spiritual truth harmonizing transcendence with existence from St. Augustine to St. Thomas, has clearly demonstrated the good results brought about for the West by a new equilibrium to help put an end to the savage wars of northern barbarians who invaded the civilized world of the south. At that period, love protected the Western people from the threat of barbarous violence.

The present world finds itself in a similar situation, not because of a conflict between the East and the West, but because of a conflict between two powers that spread all over the world: the material power and the spiritual power. In man and machine there is no distinction such as Tagore had made :

Man is man, machine is machine, Never the twain shall meet.

Neither philosophy nor science has a frontier, since in the process of studying philosophy and science one cannot forget the common denominator, which is man.

Scientific intellectualism today is quite different from the scientific intellectualism of the Greco-Roman period or of the nineteenth century which studied the universe in an objective way. Today's science has reached the domain of metaphysics and spirituality and finds out that there are many problems in which the human factor is an integral part. In the past, philosophy led to science, and science thought it could liberate itself from philosophy. But today, science has come nearer and nearer to the realm of philosophy. This philosophy is one of depth and width which surpasses intellectualism and which is leading toward the realization of a world philosophy appropriate for an East-West unification and for the solution of basic conflicting problems between man and machine. This is the second problem we should consider: The question is to know whether man and machine are truly incompatible with each other and cannot go hand in hand or must man in his evolution rely on the machine for progress. Nowadays, we cannot deny the contribution of the machine to human life. The crucial problem, then, is how to avoid man's being mechanized and enslaved by the machine, just as the ancient sages of Asia had advised us long ago that man in his adaptation to material environment should not let himself be materialized.

We presented above the humanist philosophy of an old Vietnamese emperor who synthesized two traditional tendencies which are basically contradictory. This emperor devoted his whole life and heart, his whole personality, his sentiments and will, to the practice of this philosophy in order to bring about a synthesis through his practical search for truth, goodness, and dynamic beauty, and not on a purely abstract and intellectual basis.

p. 143

With such a spirit of realization, man tries to surpass all forms and appearances in order to reach a state of true consciousness in a dynamic spirit with the full power of faith and spiritual belief as the scientist Le Comte du Nouy has recently concluded: "True religion is in the Heart,"[6] Or as the moral philosopher Wang Yang-ming had said in the fifteenth century: "The divine principle is in the Heart."[k]

Only with such a pure heart guiding our study of science and philosophy, our practice of human morality, and our appreciation of the arts and religious beliefs, can the East and the West come to a mutual understanding that may benefit both sides, each side with its own particular way (dar`sana) and not with only one common path.

6. Le Comte du Nouy, Human Destiny (New York: New American Library of world Literature, Inc., 1956), p. 125.