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As
in other localities, the inhabitants of Quang Ninh have their own religions and
beliefs: Buddhism, Catholicism and ancestor worship to name a few.
Buddhism
came to the region early on. Emperor Trần Nhân Tông (1279 - 1299) chose
Yên Tử as the starting place for his religious life and founded the sect
of Thiền Trúc Lâm in Vietnam.
In
the 14th century, the zones of Yên Tử and Đông Triều
were Buddhism centres, with monks being trained on a country-wide scale. Many
centuries afterwards, Buddhism still kept its supremacy with hundreds of pagodas
having been built in Quang Ninh. Through various historical events and the
destructive work of nature and man, there only remain around 30 pagodas;
sparsely located through eight districts and towns.
There
is not yet an accurate statistic on the
number of monks in the province, but Buddhism worshippers are numerous.
On the first and 15th days of every lunar month, Buddhist adepts come
from all corners to burn incense before statues of Buddha.
Today,
there are 27 Catholic churches in eight districts and towns. The number of
Catholics total around 10,000 people. Caodaist followers are few and far
between.
As to beliefs, the most widespread amongst inhabitants are: the cult of
ancestors, the cult of generals of the Trần Dynasty, the cult of tutelary
genies, the worship of genies of mountains and water and the cult of Holy
Mothers (Mẫu Liễu Hạnh, Mẫu Thượng Ngàn, Mâu
Thoải)...
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