i THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines AGAPE IN THE SELECTED WORKS OF THICH NHAT HANH: IMPLICATIONS ON VIETNAMESE STUDENTS’ VALUES A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Graduate School Batangas State University Batangas City, Philippines In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major in English by NGUYEN THUY LINH 2015 ii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation entitled “AGAPE IN THE SELECTED WORKS OF THICH NHAT HANH: IMPLICATIONS ON VIETNAMESE STUDENTS’ VALUES” prepared and submitted by NGUYEN THUY LINH in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in English has been examined and is recommended for Oral Examination iii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines ABSTRACT Title: AGAPE IN THE SELECTED WORKS OF THICH NHAT HANH: IMPLICATIONS ON VIETNAMESE STUDENTS’ VALUES Author: Nguyen Thuy Linh Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Major: English Year: 2015 Adviser: Maria Luisa A Valdez, Ph.D Summary This study analyzed agape as manifested in the selected literary pieces of Thich Nhat Hanh pointing out the events and situations which show the implications of the writer‟s agape on noted Vietnamese students‟ values Likewise, this paper tries to present how the historical beginnings of agape in the Buddhist tradition; the virtues of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity as the essence of agape; the virtues of peace, respect and service portrayed in the selected works; the social issues gleaned from the selections; and the implications of the writer‟s agape on noted Vietnamese students‟ values iv THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines This study employed the qualitative method of research in analyzing the Thich Nhat Hanh‟s concept of agape in the representative literary works chosen Likewise, this analysis made use of the sociological, philosophical and historical approaches as the bases for analysis In particular, the sociological and philosophical approaches are supported by Goseph Fletcher‟s Situational Ethics and Peter Alber David Singer‟s Utilitarian Theories This paper also involved content analysis, which is a systematic technique in analyzing message content and message handling The data analysis in this research centered on seeking and the extraction of meaning from Thich Nhat Hanh‟s selected literary narrative or image data Much effort was focused on the task of making notes through concepts and categories; altering or creating new codes due to the incorporation of a matrix; linking and combining abstract concepts; extracting the essence; organizing meaning; writing an understanding; and drawing conclusions The essential features in the treatment of materials were considered by the researcher in the conduct of this study The general rules cited by Stott (2014) as regards the seven standards a piece of literature such as universal appeal, permanence, suggestiveness, intellectually valuable, spiritually valuable, style and artistry should abide to in order to be considered literary v THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines guided in the selection of works under study The representative literary works were analysed include: True Love: A Practice of Awakening the Heart, and Being Peace The said selections were chosen because of the correlation between the aforecited themes, literary devices, the social issues particularly gleaned from the selections, which helped in unveiling the implications of the writer‟s agape on noted Vietnamese students‟ values Findings of the study revealed that the historical root of agape can be traced back to the early days of Buddhism and is manifested in many teachings of the said religion From the selected literary pieces, Thich Nhat Hanh elaborated on the Four Immeasurable Minds known as loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity as concrete expressions of man‟s deepest love Nhat Hanh underscored that when a group of people manifest the virtues of peace, respect and perform a kind of service as a practice, it creates an ecosystem that holds a space, allowing value to emerge organically All of these indirect values, its ripple effect, have space and time to add up, synergize with other ripples, and multiply into something completely unexpected There are social issues particularly focused and have affected the Vietnamese people These include poverty, environmental degradation, war, vi THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines violence, social inequality and oppression The implications of agape on noted Vietnamese students‟ values can be discerned and distinguished from Nhat Hanh‟s selected works Students may glean insights on Buddha's words on the four immeasurables in ways that are deeply resonant for contemporary young readers as concrete expressions of men‟s deepest love vii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines ACKNOWLEDGMENT The researcher wishes to express her grateful appreciation of those, in one way or another, have helped make this humble work a reality First and foremost, she wishes to thank Batangas State University and the Thai Nguyen University, for giving her the opportunity to finish this dissertation under their International Academic Cooperation Program Dr Dang Kim Vui, the President of the Thai Nguyen University, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Tuan Anh, Assoc Prof Dr Dang Xuan Binh, Prof Dr Nguyen The Hung, the former Directors of the TNU International Training and Development Center, Dr Hoang Thi Bich Thao, the current Director of TNU ITDC, Prof Pham Viet Binh, the President of TNU of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Vu Duc Thai, the Vice President, Dr Truong Ha Hai, the Dean of the Faculty of Basic Science, for their motivation and wisdom that helped hasten the completion of this study Dr Maria Luisa A Valdez, the Dean of Colleges and Head of the Graduate School of the Batangas State University ARASOF Nasugbu Campus, the researcher‟s dissertation adviser, for her constant encouragement, dedication, and inspiring character which motivated diligent research for the realization of this study viii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Dr Matilda H Dimaano, the Chairman of the Panel of Examiners, for her thorough dissection and candid remarks that drew up the essential and relevant dimensions in this research Dr Amada G Banaag, Dr Felix M Panopio, and Dr Myrna G Sulit, the Members of the Panel of Examiners, for their valuable suggestions and criticism which motivated conscientiously the researcher during the conduct of this study Dr Remedios P Magnaye, the Recording Secretary and Ms Le Quynh Anh, the ITDC Administrative Staff, for their words of encouragement and kind gestures The writers whose works were included in this study for their emboldened wisdom in every page of this dissertation The researcher‟s colleagues and friends, all of whom generously gave their time, advice, and prayers They made her realize the value of truth and principles about people and human experiences The researcher is also very grateful for the wholehearted support and love that her husband, Do Ba Giang and her children, Do Thanh Thao, Do Thai Ha, and Do Gia Minh, along with her parents and brothers, have extended ix THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines during the writing process They supported her high and low points that accompanied the realization of this paper Nguyen Thuy Linh x THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines DEDICATION To my ever dearest husband, Do Ba Giang and my loving daughters, Do Thanh Thao, Do Thai Ha, and Do Gia Minh, who inspired me to search for the highest values in life, Nguyen Thuy Linh 165 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines url: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/joy; date retrieved: 07/26/2015 Freeforums.org, Website (2014) Vietnamese Refugees Resettling in Western Countries; url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_boat_people#Vietnamese_re fugees_resettling_in_Western_countries; date retrieved: 09/26/2015 Gandhi, Mahatma (2015) Quotes about Peace; url: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/peace; date retrieved: 07/26/2015 Gandhi, Mahatma (2015) Mahatma Gandhi’s Quotes; url” http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/140217-i-cannot-conceive-of-agreater-loss-than-the-loss; date retrieved: 09/26/2015 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How is the agape in selected works True Love, A Practice of Awakening the Heart and Being Peace of Thich Nhat Hanh manifested in terms of: 2.1 loving-kindness;... how they can change the situation Transforming the situation means transforming their minds Transforming their minds is also transforming the situation, since the situation is mind and the mind... agape as manifested in the selected literary pieces of Thich Nhat Hanh pointing out the events and situations which show the implications of the writer‟s agape on noted Vietnamese students? ?? values