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ABSTRACT
This article analyses how spiritual tourism and the corporate form of religion are contributing to the rapid spread of Tibetan Buddhism in Vietnam. Specifically, we place the newly established Samten Hills, a Buddhist luxury resort, in two scholarly contexts. First: ecological discourses about Đà Lạt. Once a French hill station, Đà Lạt in the Central Highlands is famous for natural beauty and spiritual possibilities. Samten Hills is dedicated as a Drikung Kagyu spiritual area, and many of the resident monks are from Ladakh (North India). We highlight the transposition of Ladakhi Buddhist branding to a novel Vietnamese context. Through tour packages, advertising, spiritual practices, camping, and discourses about Buddhist mountain hierophanies, we consider this new iteration of spiritual tourism. Second: a spiritual business model that blurs the distinction between economic and religious activity and negotiates state surveillance. With Vietnam Federation of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Associations (VFUA) and Guinness recognition and plans to construct a 2000-person Buddhist university, Samten Hills is the most public-facing, large-scale Vajrayana site in Southeast Asia. We analyse Samten Hills’ operational model – a for-profit business licence allied with discourses of heritage preservation and regional tourism initiatives but concealing Tibetan Buddhist practices – as an increasingly popular strategy for navigating state surveillance of religious activity.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. For an example of mixing pop elements with Zambala chanting, see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DwWvFRbUg0.
2. VFUA was established as a result of an effort made by UNESCO’s General-Director, Federico Mayor, during the official visit to Vietnam in 1993.
3. For the VBS charter (2017–2022), see: https://phatgiao.org.vn/toan-van-hien-chuong-moi-nhat-giao-hoi-phat-giao-viet-nam-d32675.html.
4. https://www.vietnamngaymai.com/node/23070; https://viettan.org/mot-co-3-trong-cau-chuyen-hom-cong-duc-cua-cac-su-quoc-doanh/amp/; https://thuvienhoasen.org/a37355/giao-hoi-phat-giao-viet-nam-sau-40-nam-thanh-lap-thuan-theo-chinh-quyen-nghich-lai-chan-kinh.
5. For a criticism of Chùa Bái Đính that received 5500 likes, 2100 comments and 1200 shares on Facebook, see: https://www.facebook.com/groups/526314318510356/permalink/824958781979240/.
7. See Christopher and Ngoc An (Citation2023c, Citation2023d).
8. See Christopher and Ngoc An (Citation2023e, Citation2023f).
9. https://cafef.vn/co-gai-bo-pho-len-da-lat-chua-lanh-chua-kip-lam-gi-thi-tieu-gan-100-trieu-muon-tien-thue-dat-trong-rau-duy-tri-cuoc-song-20230306064151384.chn; https://vnexpress.net/nhung-nguoi-tre-muon-nghi-lam-len-da-lat-trong-rau-4449567.html.
12. Đại Dương Đen (Black Ocean).
13. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/da-lat-expansion-to-absorb-neighboring-districts-4583059.html?fbclid=IwAR0XXLMNaqGxUbqzZTDiN_sFA6SEDtL7xKjbGw7TSrhtD9xozkDLyxbz4V4. For a fuller discussion of Samten Hills’ geographical layout and social structure, see Christopher and Ngoc an (Citation2023a, Citation2023b).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Stephen Christopher
Stephen Christopher is a Visiting Fellow at Nichibunken, a research center in Kyoto. He is the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies and an Asia editor at the Database of Religious History (DRH) at the University of British Columbia. He completed postdocs at the University of Copenhagen (2022-24) and Kyoto University (2019). He has taught at nine universities, including Beijing Normal University, Vietnam National University and Tokyo Metropolitan University. He has co-edited four Special Issues (HIMALAYA; Implicit Religion; Journal of Vietnamese Studies; and the Tribal Intellectual Collective) and two books (Springer and Brill). His research explores tribal casteism and refugee politics in the Indian Himalayas, new religions in Japan, and the recent popularization of Tibetan Buddhism in late-socialist Vietnam.
Hoang Ngoc An
Hoang Ngoc An is an academic researcher, museum practitioner and LGBTQI+ rights activist in Vietnam. She is the current recipient of a Fulbright award for graduate studies at Columbia University (2024-25). She has co-published several articles and book chapters on queer politics, spirituality and sexuality, LGBT ethnic minorities, trans medical interventions, parents’ acceptance of LGBT children, and ethnic minority child marriage.