The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) carried out substantial social charity initiatives in 2025, with total expenditure surpassing US$82.3 million. These efforts were aimed at assisting people affected by natural disasters, and supporting disadvantaged communities and other vulnerable groups across the nation.
During a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on 20 January, the VBS reported that both its central board and provincial and city-level divisions had actively mobilized charitable activities.
Deputy Minister of Ethnic and Religious Affairs Nguyen Hai Trung commended the sangha’s significant accomplishments in 2025 at the fifth annual council meeting of the VBS’s ninth term (2022–27) held in Ho Chi Minh City on 22 January, reinforcing its reputation as a respected and responsible religious organization.
The meeting also featured a New Year greeting ceremony to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Horse, uniting Buddhist dignitaries and representatives from across Vietnam.
“This event once again underscored the role, stature, and international prestige of Vietnamese Buddhism,” remarked Deputy Minister Nguyen. “It also served to promote the image of the Vietnamese nation and people, offering a vivid testament to the consistent policies of the party and state in ensuring freedom of belief and religion.” (VietnamNet Global)
According to local media, the charity initiatives included providing relief to communities affected by natural disasters and individuals facing difficult circumstances, awarding scholarships, donating houses of compassion and solidarity, providing bicycles and wheelchairs, building bridges, digging wells, and constructing rural roads.
The VBS also funded vocational training, medical examinations and medications for impoverished patients, and supported heart and eye surgeries, assisting families benefiting from government policies, border guards, and caring for mothers, orphans, nursing homes, and charitable kitchens.
The VBS emphasized that these activities not only helped to ease the hardships of the underprivileged but also embodied the compassionate spirit of Buddhism and the Vietnamese tradition of mutual social support.
Looking ahead, the VBS affirmed charity and social welfare as a central focus for 2026. This year’s priorities include increasing fundraising efforts, implementing grassroots aid programs, and collaborating with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ca Mau Province to provide clean drinking water and proper sanitation facilities for schools.
The VBS also plans to encourage monastics and laypeople to work together in establishing a Buddhist hospital while continuing to strengthen and expand traditional medicine clinics nationwide.
The sangha affirmed that social charity was one of its primary responsibilities to alleviate the challenges faced by those in need, while showcasing the compassionate spirit of Buddhism.
The VBS, the only Buddhist sangha recognized by the Vietnamese government, was founded following Vietnam’s Buddhist Convention at Quan Su Pagoda on 7 November 1981. Its primary mission is to unify the Buddhist activities of monastics and lay Buddhists in Vietnam, and to unite all branches of Buddhism, including Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
Vietnam is a religiously pluralistic society, with 14.7 per cent of the population identifying as Buddhists, according to government data for 2023. The majority of Vietnamese Buddhists are affiliated with the Mahayana tradition, while some social and ethnic groups follow Theravada and indigenous forms of Buddhism. A small number of people follow Vajrayana Buddhism.
See more
Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha spends over 2.16 trillion VND on charity in 2025 (Lang Son News)
VN Buddhist Sangha highlights a year of global visibility and social commitment (VietnamNet Global)
Vietnam Buddhist Sangha spends over 2.16 trillion VND on charity in 2025 (Vietnam+)
Related news reports from BDG
Engaged Buddhism: Tzu Chi Volunteers Hand Over New Homes for 171 Families in Mozambique
Engaged Buddhism: Tzu Chi Volunteers Offer Free Dental Care for Displaced Gaza Families in Jordan
Engaged Buddhism: Tzu Chi Volunteers Bring Free Dental Care and Education to Vulnerable Communities in Jakarta
Engaged Buddhism Special Report: Ven. Pomnyun Sunim and INEB Conduct Field Survey in Earthquake-Hit Areas of Myanmar
Related features from BDG
Walking the Bodhisattva Path of Compassion
Young Bodhisattvas Pave the Way for Socially Engaged Buddhism
How to Generate Limitless Generosity: Giving Is Never Unaffordable
Buddhistdoor View: Cultivating Charity – Lessons for Buddhists From Christianity
