[Buddha-l] Some history on Buddhism in Vietnam (jkirk)

[Mitchell Ginsberg]

hello all, 

In the article I notice mention of one Thich Minh Chau. 
Is this the same person as the author of the book The 
Chinese Madhyama Agama and the Pali Majjhima Nikaya? 

So: scholarship allows for a wide swath of political
positioning!!!! 

The paragraph in question read: 

In 1980, the government called on Buddhist monks to initiate
meetings to unify all Buddhist organizations from the north and
south. Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do opposed these
meetings, and were publicly denounced by Thich Minh Chau, a
member of the government-appointed unification committee, for
trying to "sabotage the unity effort" and "openly defy the
government and the Fatherland Front." At the congress, which was
eventually held in November of 1981, the Vietnam Buddhist Church
was established by government-selected delegates. The Vietnam
Buddhist Church's charter defined it as the sole representative
of Vietnamese Buddhism in all of its relations both within and
outside the country.  

I suppose no reason not to expect some Buddhists to take 
such powerful positions, except for the idea of proper
speech and such.... 

Mitchell G.
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