Buddhism in Japan movement to eradicate Buddhism and bring Shinto to ascendancy arose throughout the country due to the strong connections of Buddhism to the Shōguns. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), after a coup in 1868, Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion. Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat as well as a challenge to stand up to. Buddhist institutions had a simple choice: adapt or perish. Rinzai and Soto Zen chose to adapt, trying to modernize Zen in accord with Western insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese
Vạn Hạnh Zen Temple towards translating Mahayana scriptures from Chinese into Vietnamese, in addition to the translation of the Pali Canon. The temple is also a major contributor in the training of Vietnamese Buddhist monks in the south of the country. It is the host of an institute of higher education in Buddhism, at an equivalent level to a university degree. Monks and nuns are accepted through an examination process to start a four-year course. Since 1984, the school has run three courses, training more than 400 members of the sangha. Vạn Hạnh Zen Temple Vạn Hạnh Zen Temple is a Zen Buddhist temple