A ceremony was held to observe King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong, the founder of Vietnam Zen Buddhism, in commemoration of his 702nd death anniversary in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh on Dec. 6 (the first day of the 11 th lunar month).
The event, jointly held by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and its Quang Ninh chapter, was attended by Most Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee’s Executive Board, Most Venerable Thich Quang Tung, who is also Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee’s Executive Board, and Most Venerable Thich Gia Quang, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee.
Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308), the third king of the Tran dynasty, ascended the throne when he was just 21. He was famed for defeating Mongol invaders twice during 15 years of his reign.
The king abdicated his throne at the age of 35 and spent the rest of his life on the Yen Tu Mountain practising and propagating Buddhism, and founding the Truc Lam School of Zen (the Bamboo Forest School ).
During that time, the King-Monk worked to unify different sects of Vietnamese Buddhism into Vietnamese Zen Buddhism.
The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee has long observed the day King Tran Nhan Tong attained Nirvana (the first day of the eleventh lunar month) as the national anniversary of Vietnamese Buddhism – one of the major events of Vietnamese Buddhism.
Commemorations of King Tran Nhan Tong’s death anniversary were also held in other localities./.
