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This article provides an overview of the changing role of dāna in contemporary Buddhism through ethnographic research on Buddhist charities in Vietnam. I begin by briefly describing how the concept of dāna has developed through Buddhist history and philosophy. Then, I explore how Vietnamese Buddhists reinterpret the concept of dāna amid (a) shifting trends in Buddhist humanitarianism and volunteering, (b) critiques of corruption in Buddhist monasticism, and (c) changing forms of religious community, charity, and altruism via social media. I conclude by demonstrating how nonordained or lay volunteers in Vietnam adapt notions of dāna to include informal charity events organized online. These examples demonstrate how Buddhism operates as a highly adaptable, living ethical resource for both lay and monastic practitioners.

In this article, I explore how Buddhist charity workers in Vietnam interpret rising cancer rates through understandings of karma. Rather than framing cancer as a primarily physical or medical phenomenon, volunteers state that cancer is a product of collective moral failure. Corruption in public food production is both caused by and perpetuates bad karma, which negatively impacts global existence. Conversely, charity work creates merit, which can improve collective karma and benefit all living beings. I argue that through such interpretations of karma, Buddhist volunteers understand their charity at cancer hospitals as an affective and ethical form of public health intervention.

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