The ideas of Buddhism and Taoism in Vietnamese Confucianism of the 16th-18th centuries

During the long history of the Vietnamese nation, three doctrines, i.e. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, have gradually penetrated into the spiritual and cultural life of the Vietnamese people. Many ideological elements of these teachings have been progressively accepted and magnified by the feudal class of Vietnam. They entrenched in habits, psychology, rites, and customs in a revised form adapted to culture. The author analyzes the process of integration of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and identifies its goals and objectives. The goals of religious syncretism (the integration of the above-mentioned religions) in the 16th-18th centuries were to solve the problem of satisfaction of spiritual needs and confirm the predominant position of Confucianism in ideology. At the same time, the issue of spiritual life and people mood was the new and pivotal point that determined syncretism in the period under review.