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borgseawolf September 29 2009, 09:30:47 UTC
This monastery looks rather new. Is this something like Falun Gong in China?

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makingthematrix September 29 2009, 10:14:51 UTC
It's not very new. It belongs to the Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the only Buddhist organization recognized by the Vietnamese government. It's something like PAX in People's Republic of Poland.
A few years ago followers of the zen master Thich Nhat Hanh made a deal with the abbot to use a part of Bat Nha and renew it. They put a lot of money and work in it and then Thich Nhat Hanh said something about religious freedom in Vietnam, the government got angry, they pressed on the Buddhist Church of Vietnam and the zen monks themselves, and now they threw them out.

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