Buddhist Ethical Values and Transformations in the Practice of Mother Goddess Worship of the Three Palaces in Contemporary Hanoi

This article examines the role of Buddhist ethical values, including compassion, karma, merit-making, moral self-cultivation, right faith, and moderation, in orienting the contemporary transformations of Mother Goddess Worship of the Three Palaces in Hanoi. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach that combines religious studies, cultural studies, and ethics, the article uses document analysis, qualitative synthesis of recent field-based studies, and comparative interpretation of ritual spaces, ritual performances, and practitioners’ perceptions. The findings show that Buddhism influences Mother Goddess Worship not only at the doctrinal level but also as an ethical and legitimizing framework that helps practitioners regulate behavior, solemnize ritual practice, restrain commercialization, and strengthen humanistic and communal values. The Buddhist-Mother Goddess convergence in Hanoi should therefore not be understood as a one-way process of Buddhistization. Rather, it is a dynamic process of reception, selection, and reinterpretation by practitioner communities amid urbanization, heritage revival, and changes in contemporary spiritual life.