Medical charities through the system of clinics offering healthcare using traditional medicines by the Vietnam Pure Land Buddhist Association is one of most important activities of this religious organization, as well as its main social charity. As the national economy facing many difficulties, the system of offices offering healthcare using traditional medicines by the Vietnam Pure Land Buddhist Association has practically contributed to meet the need for healthcare by people in the society. These offices have increasingly gained more confidence from the people.
Activities offering healthcare using traditional medicines by the Vietnam Pure Land Buddhist Association originated from the perception that to attain ultimate spiritual uplifting, one needs to build up one’s grace or merit and wisdom, and that each person contains a physical body and thinking mind, so both Buddhist dharma for the mind and medicines for physical body are needed to heal physical and mental sufferings, and medicines of a real medial system to heal physical suffering should be first offered in order to get people strong, as a condition to make them able to learn Buddhist dharma.
Therefore, to practice the principle of “cultivating merit and wisdom together”, with regards to “merit cultivation”, the Vietnam Pure Land Buddhist Association uses the medical doctrine (Southern medicines) to cure people’s disease, and considers this activity as a good deed, as it contributes to relieve human sufferings and bring happiness to human being. This medical charity also reflects practices of the Buddha’s teachings of love and compassion and is mainly carried out by setting up offices called “charity and grace” offering healthcare using southern traditional medicines next to Buddhist worshipping and studying places
From Ca Mau province to Nha Trang city, the Vietnam Pure-Land Buddhist Association has 206 establishments and 206 “charity and grace” clinics at these establishments. To ensure the quality and effectiveness of these clinics, the Vietnam Pure Land Buddhist Association always pays due attention to professional training for doctors and physicians. At present, the Vietnam Pure Land Buddhist Association operates 3 training centers in Ho Chi Minh City and provinces of Long An and Ca Mau in order to provide human resource for clinics. The Association always encourages medical students to further their studies in both health care profession and social sciences, and enroll in health and medical universities or colleges in order to meet the Ministry of Health’s conditions for opening clinics.
Every year, the Vietnam Pure-Land Buddhist Association organizes
A representative from the Vietnam Pure-Land Buddhist Association’s Charity and Grace Committee presents flowers and a painting to Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến
Individuals receive a praising certificate from Vietnam Pure-Land Buddhist Association for their excellent achievements
