| Summary: | Vietnamese Buddhism’s well-settled roots in France date back to the mid seventies, when Vietnamese refugees fled the communist regime in massive numbers. The same phenomenon can be observed in every other large host country that has opened its borders to Vietnamese refugees, such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. This Buddhism of the exiled is organized around associative networks that are deployed worldwide, giving rise to what could be called a transnationalization of Vietnamese Buddhism. In countries of exile, however, Vietnamese Pagodas must rely on symbolic resources, in addition to the simple feeling of belonging to Buddhism, which is non-exclusive for the Vietnamese. Through the practice of tributes to the dead, Pagodas provide a forum for the memorial, cultural, religious and identity dimensions of the Exiled. In the form of an “ethno-religion”, this Buddhism takes on the role formerly filled by social structures such as the family or cultural associations, and is able to federate a transnational Vietnamese community while fostering reinterpretations of Vietnamese identity.
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