Our Programs

Vietnam Project

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We at DVA send Metta to all the Vietnamese people and animals. May you all be healthy and safe.

DVA’s Vietnam Project connects with Pagodas (Vietnamese Buddhist temples) as our main operation. The Director of our Project, the Venerable Thich Thanh Huan, P.hD., Assistant Director Son Pham, and our team of chefs help spread the message for plant-based diets at the 15,000 Pagodas in Vietnam. Our DVA team supports individual Pagodas to hold cooking classes and demonstrations, Dharma talks on the benefits of a compassionate diet, and serve a free plant-based lunch to all attendees. We also promote our film TỪNG BƯỚC CHÂN AN LẠC (Each Step of Peace and Bliss) which asks the question ‘‘Are You Vegan or Vegetarian, and Why?’’ and has English subtitles.

Aerial view of a traditional Vietnamese temple complex with pagoda-style buildings surrounded by dense greenery and a residential area in the background.
Group of eight people, including Buddhist monks, holding a banner with the words 'Dharma Voices for Animals' in front of a large statue of a fierce warrior deity inside a temple or monastery with cultural decorations.

Outreach

DVA’s Project team plans to show our film, TỪNG BƯỚC CHÂN AN LẠC, all over Vietnam, especially at the 15,000 Buddhist Pagodas in a country where all the monastics are vegan. Our message to the approximately 60 million lay Buddhists in Vietnam is to practice compassion and non-harming according to the Buddha. The Mahayana sutras (scriptures/texts) are 100% clear that the Buddha was a vegetarian and expected his followers to also be vegetarian! In addition to the Buddha’s message of compassion and non-harming towards ALL animals, DVA also emphasizes the health benefits of a vegan diet and that such a diet is the best way to support Vietnam’s fragile environment and reduce the devastating effects of global warming.

Our Vietnam Project team is currently visiting as many Hanoi area Pagodas as possible, looking to deepen support for our Vietnam Project. We are planning soon to expand our Project to the southern and central regions of the country.

Our Vietnam Project has produced an original song about the amazing benefits of a compassionate diet, Ăn Chay An Lạc Chùa Pháp Vân.

Group of four people standing outdoors in front of a large seated Buddha statue, with potted plants and trees around them, smiling at the camera.
Five people standing behind a wooden table displaying various Asian dishes. Two women are wearing green aprons with the word 'Vegan' on them, and they are all smiling and making heart gestures with their hands. The table has decorated plates of food, jars, and fruits, with colorful flowers on the sides.

Cooking Classes

DVA’s Vietnam Project chefs and teachers are Vũ Liên Hà, and Nguyen Khac Chung. Both teach cooking classes in Hanoi and in the outlying districts. Their students learn how to prepare delicious and nutritious plant-based meals for themselves and their families. 

Hà, a vegan restaurant owner and devout Buddhist follower, talks about the other advantages of a plant-based diet including peacefulness, coming into harmony with the present moment, and happiness. Hà engages current owners of restaurants that serve animal flesh, encouraging them to convert to compassionate food. One of her recent successes was to convert a well-known dog meat restaurant to vegetarian. Over the past several years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of vegan restaurants in Hanoi.

Mr. Chung has been making amazing vegan food for over ten years. In addition to leading cooking classes for DVA, he also produces his own line of vegan products that are sold worldwide. His mission to help people build confidence in their plant-based cooking as he strongly believes that everyone can become vegan and make their own food that they love.

Our Venerable Director has built a DVA kitchen at Phap Van where Chef Chung, Ms. Hà, and other vegan chefs teach the laypeople delicious Vietnamese plant-based cooking using local, healthy and affordable ingredients.

Phap Van Pagoda is currently constructing a vegan restaurant inside its walls that will offer meals on a dana (donation) basis. People will pay only what they can afford in an effort to increase awareness of compassionate eating.

A group of women seated indoors, attending a class or presentation, with a woman standing at the front speaking. The setting has bamboo walls and a wooden floor, with a large green banner behind the speaker.

Learn more about our Vietnam Project from DVA Chef Ms. Ha

Group of people standing in front of a dark green banner with Vietnamese text, some wearing aprons and others in traditional attire, outdoors with greenery around.

Group of people standing in front of a dark green banner with Vietnamese text, some wearing aprons and others in traditional attire, outdoors with greenery around.

Large gathering of people seated on red mats outdoors, participating in a religious or cultural ceremony, with shoes removed and placed at the front. Banners and flags decorate the area under trees, and a stage with offerings and flowers is visible i

Large gathering of people seated on red mats outdoors, participating in a religious or cultural ceremony, with shoes removed and placed at the front. Banners and flags decorate the area under trees, and a stage with offerings and flowers is visible in the background.

Three people standing in front of an elaborate altar with statues, flowers, and offerings, including a white and gray cat lying on the altar floor.

Three people standing in front of an elaborate altar with statues, flowers, and offerings, including a white and gray cat lying on the altar floor.

People standing around a long table filled with various dishes, serving and eating food outdoors during daytime.

People standing around a long table filled with various dishes, serving and eating food outdoors during daytime.

A large indoor gathering of people, mostly children, sitting on the floor dressed in matching traditional clothing, with flags hanging from the ceiling.

A large indoor gathering of people, mostly children, sitting on the floor dressed in matching traditional clothing, with flags hanging from the ceiling.

Three people, including a young Asian man, an older man, and an Asian woman wearing a face mask, are smiling and shaking hands in an indoor setting with wooden walls and stairs in the background.

Three people, including a young Asian man, an older man, and an Asian woman wearing a face mask, are smiling and shaking hands in an indoor setting with wooden walls and stairs in the background.

Group of five people posing inside a restaurant with Vietnamese decorations, including a large fish-shaped decoration, pink flowers, and Vietnamese signs.

Vietnam Project Assistant Director Son, DVA Operations Director, Andrea and DVA President Bob with owners of An Lac restaurant in Hanoi who have graciously donated meals for DVA events over the years. Follow their Facebook and please support their incredible mission to save animals by offering delicious vegan food.

Supporting Local Vegan Restaurants

DVA’s Vietnam Project is dedicated to helping local vegan restaurants with mentorship and promotion. DVA Chef, Ms. Ha, who owns her own vegan restaurant, also encourages her students to open vegan restaurants and mentors them in the business and food aspects of ownership to increase accessibility to vegan food in Vietnam. DVA also hosts events, including cooking classes, at struggling vegan restaurants to help bring in new customers and promote the restaurant. Our Vietnam Project plans on expanding our work with local restaurants that include new strategies in 2025 to encourage affordable, accessible, healthy, plant-based food.

A LOOK BACK

Asia Farm Animal Day with Animal & Vegan Advocacy Summit

The Directors of DVA’s Vietnam and Thailand Project attended the 2024 Asia Farm Animal Day in Hanoi where our Vietnam Project Directors gave a presentation about the work DVA does and why Buddhists should be vegan to protect animals and the environment. Venerable Thich Than Huan stated in his speech, ‘‘Veganism is not out of fear of karma but out of true love for one's own life and that of other living beings.’’

This was the first time our Vietnam Project has presented at an animal rights conference and they are looking forward to the next one!

Group of four people standing in front of a presentation screen at Asia Farm Animal Day, with a title reading "Compassion for All Beings" and logos including "Animal & Vegan Advocacy Summit."

VIVE Saigon VegFest

In December 2023, DVA sponsored the Vive Saigon Vegfest in Ho Chi Minh City where we tabled the event with over 20,000 attendees who were given donated gifts in exchange for following our Facebook page and learning more about our work in Vietnam. DVA President, Bob Isaacson also led meditations throughout the two day event.

An elderly man sitting with his eyes closed, wearing a white button-up shirt and blue pants, with a red background featuring the word 'veg' and various logos.

DVA’s Third Annual Asian Buddhist Animal Rights Conference

The Director of DVA’s Vietnam Project is the Venerable Thich Thanh Huan. (See profile below). On Sunday, September 23, 2018, DVA co-hosted with the Venerable, his Phap Van Pagoda, and VBS (Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha) which oversees Buddhism in the county, DVA’s Third Annual Asian Buddhist Animal Rights Conference, at the 1,000-year-old Phap Van Pagoda in Hanoi where the Venerable is the abbot.

Over 500 Vietnamese and the press attended our conference and were entertained by singers, dancers, and other musicians, followed by the Veneral Huan, Bob Isaacson, DVA’s President, medical doctors, nutritionists, and other monastics speaking about the benefits of a plant-based diet. A delicious plant-based lunch was served.

After the conference, Bob and the Venerable met the press to discuss our Vietnam Project.

A large audience seated in rows at an indoor event, with some people at tables in the front, in a crowded hall.

Meet DVA’s Vietnam Project Team!

A Buddhist monk dressed in orange robes standing outdoors with greenery and a building in the background.

  • Venerable Thich Thanh Huan (his real name is Phan Nhật Huân) was born in 1967, in the North of Vietnam. He was born to a Buddhist monastic family with all but one of his six siblings becoming a monastic. After graduating from high school, he ordained in 1984 at Quán Sứ Pagoda, the headquarters of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS). In 1992, he earned his Bachelor of Buddhism degree. From 1994 to 2003, he studied in Taiwan, receiving his doctorate in Buddhism. During that time, he also successfully completed the doctoral program in Philosophy in Vietnam. The Venerable also studied in Làng Mai (Plum Tree Village) France, being taught by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh, who gave him a high-ranking title as a Buddhist teacher in 2003.

    Currently, the Venerable Thich Thanh Huan is the abbot of the 1,000-year-old Pháp Vân Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Venerable is a member of the Standing Committee of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS), which oversees Buddhism in Vietnam. He lectures at many Buddhist Academies, speaks Vietnamese and Chinese, and has started to learn English.

    In addition to leading DVA’s Vietnam Project, the Venerable’s main activities include humanitarian work of helping people with life-changing diseases find jobs and places to live and protecting our environment and biodiversity. Often leading retreats for over 1,000 Buddhists at his Phap Van Pagoda, the Venerable uses every opportunity to encourage each person to adopt a plant-based compassionate diet.

A man with short black hair and a slight smile, standing indoors near a colorful background with food images.

  • Nguyen Khac Chung has been a chef and vegan product producer for 10 years. Mr. Chung currently offers vegan cooking classes and support for meditation retreats. His ambition is for everyone to become vegan and be able to make delicious vegan dishes at home.

Two women having a conversation in front of a purple poster with logo and text.

  • Son Pham is DVA’s Vietnam Project Assistant Director. She is a devoted animal rights activist and a vegan. She has been part of our Vietnam Project team now for three years.

    Before becoming our Assistant Director, Son Pham was DVA’s Vietnam Project Vietnamese-English translator/interpreter and Vietnam Project Coordinator. Son studied translating and interpreting at Vietnam National University in Hanoi. 

    She also has a Master Degree in Language Studies in the same university. Son has experience working as a translator and interpreter for 14 years for different kinds of organizations such as 100% foreign-invested enterprises, non-governmental organizations and privately-owned companies. Son Pham has been a full-time lecturer at Thang Long University

A woman smiling, wearing a blue top and a red jacket, with short black hair.

  • Lê Sen is an indispensable figure in all activities at Pháp Vân Pagoda. Her presence is a constant in every project undertaken by the pagoda, where she plays a vital role in managing, organizing, and coordinating events. As the trusted right hand of the abbot, she ensures that everything runs smoothly and efficiently, contributing her unwavering dedication to the success of the pagoda’s initiatives.

    In addition to her work at the pagoda, Lê Sen is a successful businesswoman in the education supplies industry. Despite her demanding career, she devotes significant time and effort to supporting the pagoda's activities, demonstrating her deep commitment to the Buddhist community.

    Lê Sen is also a strong supporter of DVA, offering invaluable assistance in organizing events, building connections, and amplifying the impact of DVA’s compassionate mission. Her contributions have been instrumental in spreading messages of kindness, sustainability, and community service.

    With her dedication, organizational expertise, and compassionate heart, Lê Sen embodies the spirit of selfless service. She continues to be a driving force behind the work of Pháp Vân Pagoda and its partners, inspiring others with her tireless efforts to create positive change.

A woman with short dark hair and red lipstick smiling, holding a tray of assorted vegetables and dishes, in a restaurant or cafe setting.

  • Vu Thi Lien Ha ( Vũ Liên Hà ) is DVA’s Vietnam Project chef and teacher.

    Ha owns a vegetarian restaurant in the capital city of Hanoi, Chay Cồ Hồng – EZ VEGGIE restaurant, teaches large numbers of Vietnamese how to cook compassionate meals and mentors restaurant owners as DVA supports their transition to plant-based restaurants. She has succeeded in transitioning five restaurants into going vegan, including a dog meat restaurant that is now fully vegan!  

    Vu Thi Lien Ha worked as a television reporter in Vietnam for 17 years before joining DVA. Ha actively practices Buddhism, working with a Master (teacher), and regularly participates in Buddhist retreats.

Contact the Vietnam Team

Our volunteers assist our social media campaign, organize events, run errands, and may even help us by being advocates. If you are interested in volunteering to help DVA’s Vietnam Project contact us at: son@dharmavoicesforanimals.org