6.1 The Trúc Lâm School (continued)
Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ, whom King Trần Nhân Tông considered his master, was a famous lay Buddhist practitioner of Thiền Trúc Lâm School. His Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ’s Collection (Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ ngữ lục) and Khoa Hu Collection(Khoá hư lục )were fundamental to the Trúc Lâm School’s thoughts and teachings. After three master generations of Trần Nhân Tông, Pháp Loa, and Huyền Quang, this Thiền School lost its influence to Confucianism for a while. Until the second half of the Lê Dynasty (Lê Trung Hưng 1533-1789) it almost regained its strong cultural and religious position it used to have before in the 14th century. During the Buddhist Restoration Movement in the middle of the 20th century, many venerable monks and Thiền masters wanted to rebuild the Thiền Trúc Lâm School, but this is still a controversial matter among Buddhist scholars.
Some Sects during the Trúc Lâm Restoration Movement under the Lê-Nguyễn Dynasties:
Lâm Tế and the Master Chuyết Chuyết Lý Thiên Tộ
Chuyết Chuyết was born in China in 1590. His name was Lý Thiên Tộ at birth. His Buddhist names were Hải Trừng. Later when he became a monk, his name was Viên Văn. He left China for Cambodia n 1630, and entered Đại Việt through Cham (Chiêm Thành) in 1633. After the Mother Queen Trịnh Thị Ngọc Trúc and Princess Trịnh Thị Ngọc Duyên became nuns at Phật Tích Temple, Lord Trịnh Tráng began to rebuild Ninh Phúc Temple, Bút Tháp, and invited Chuyết Chuyết to be its abbot. Chuyết Chuyết’s statue can be found in Phật Tích Temple nowadays. He belonged to the 34th generation of Línjì/Lin-chi (Lâm Tế) School in China. It was he who taught this Thiền in Đại Việt (Vietnam). One special trait if this School was that it followed the four guidelines(“tứ liệu giản”), clear formula, and selected or graded levels of perception of the subject and the object.
6.2. Thiền Lâm Tế in the South (Lâm Tế Đàng Trong) and the Liễu Quán Subsect
After Nguyễn Hoàng began to rule the South (the beginning of the 17th century), a Buddhist center started to develop in Thuận Hoá. Besides strengthening their rule in the South, in order to prevent foreign influence of Western ministers, many lords of the Nguyễn focused on developing and spreading Buddhism in the South, so they invited many respected monks from China. Many of these monks were from the Lâm Tế School. Some were abbots of temples in Thuận Hoá, such as Thiền masters Viên Cảnh, Viên Chiếu, Nguyên Thiều...and many others. Hence the Liễu Quán subsect came into existence.
Liễu Quán was from Bạch Mã Village, Đồng Xuân County, Phú Yên Province. He was born into a poor family, and started a monastic life at the age of 12. In 1697, he learned Buddhism in Thuận Hoá. After many years of traveling from temple to temple to learn the Dharma, at 41, he was accepted by Thiền master Tử Dung as a disciple and began to disseminate the Dharma to many congregations in Thuận Hoá và Phú Yên. He demised in 1742.
Many researchers believe that Liễu Quán had Vietnamized the Lâm Tế School, so it now has Vietnamese characteristics. Before Liễu Quán, the Buddhist congregations in the South had some of the Cantonese (Quảng Đông) characteristics that were introduced from the two east and west Southern regions of China. With Liễu Quán, Lâm Tế retained its original academic characteristics, as for its method of disseminate the Dharma, it was completely Vietnamese.
6.3.Thiền Masters under the Ly Dynasty
Ly Cong Uan /Ly Thai To(1010-1088), an adopted son of the respected monk named Ly Khanh Van at Co Phap Temple, learned Buddhism from Thiền Master Van Hanh. He helped restored old temples, and built new one such as Hung Thien Ngu, Van Tue, Thang Nghiem, Then Vuong, Thien Quang, Thien Duc, Cam Y, Long Hung, Thanh Tho. he also ordered to cast new bells. In 1019 the King sent two subjects Pham Hao and Nguyen Dao Hung to China for copies of sutras, and asked a Thien Master named Phi Tri to preserve the sutras in the royal archives. It was the second time Vietnam sent subjects to China in order to receive copies of sutras. In 1020 the king ordered to build a big Buddhist Hall for Dharma talks in the capital, and sent monks all over the country to spread Buddhism. In 1024 he ordered to build Chan Giao, another hall inside the royal palace, and invited well-known monks to teach the dharma there so he could learn. These famous monks were Thien Masters Van Hanh, Sung Pham, and Da Bao. They were from either the Vo Ngon Thong or Ty Ni Da Luu Chi Schools.
Thien Master Van Hanh was from Co Phap Temple (Dinh Bang, Tu Son, Bac Ninh). All we learned about him was that he was born into a Buddhist family, and his last name was Nguyen. Since early childhood, he was already very intelligent, and had learned many Buddhist sutras and treatises, as well as understood the core of Confucianism and Taoism. He became Thien Master Dinh Hue’s disciple at the age of 20, learned Thien from Dao Gia, the Second Master of the Ty Ni Da Luu Chi School. Before Van Hanh passed away (1018), he left a famous Thien stanza.
Thien Master Da Bao was the abbot of Kien So Temple (Phu Dong). He was the disciple of Khuong Viet The National Master (Vo Ngon Thong School). Since he often traveled from place to place to teach Buddhism, nobody knew much about him, or when and where he passed away. The disciple who received his Dharma transmission was Dinh Huong.
Under the leadership of the most religious Buddhist King in the Ly Dynasty, King Ly Thai Ton (1028-1054), 95 more temples were built in 1031. Three years later in 1034 the Song Dynasty in China sent their subjects to Vietnam to donate copies of the Tripitaka, which were received in a grand ceremony. In 1036 King Thai Ton ordered to renovate the old Buddha statues in many temples. It was said that there were two monks who attained enlightenment during this period, Nghiem Bao Tanh and Pham Minh Tam. From 1034 to 1038 the King often came to Thien Master Thuyen Lao to learn the Dharma and to beg to become his disciple. He was at last given the Dharma transmission, and became the seventh master in the Vo Ngon Thong School. Famous Thien masters of the Vo Ngon Thong School at the time were Cuu Chi, Bao Tanh, Minh Tam, Hue Sinh, Dinh Huong, Da Bao, Thuyen Lao. The King also practiced Thien and learned Buddhism enthusiastically. In 1049 he ordered to build Dien Huu Temple (Chua Mot Cot/One-Pillar Temple near Hanoi), a typical Vietnamese Buddhist construction of all times.
Another Buddhist King, Ly Thanh Ton (1054-1072) was very kind and compassionate to the poor and prisoners. He often ordered his subjects to treat them kindly in the prison, and to reduce their sentences, for they committed crimes because of their ignorance. In 1056 the King ordered to build Sung Khanh Temple, Bao Thien (Tien Thi, Tho Xuong or Hanoi nowadays), with a 12-story stupa and to cast a big brass bell.
6.4 The Thiền Tào Động School
Tào Động was from China. It came to Việt Nam with Thiền master Thủy Nguyệt (Tông Giác). But according to Nguyễn Lang, in the South of Đại Việt, the first to introduce Thiền Tào Động School to Đại Việt was Thiền Master Hưng Liên, who was the abbot of Tam Thai Temple, Quảng Nam province, and who was assigned the National Master (Quốc Sư). Afterwards, Thiền Master Thạch Liêm from Canton (Quảng Đông) was invited by Lord Nguyễn Phúc Trăn to Thiền Lâm Temple to teach Thiền Tào Động.
Thạch Liêm combined both Tào Động and Pureland (Thiền and Tịnh độ), and introduced the Dharma to the multitude. Gradually, Tào Động mixed with Lâm Tế in the South and formed the Lâm-Tào practice in many Southern congregations.
6.5 Chân Nguyên and the Restoration of Thiền Trúc Lâm School in the North (Đàng Ngoài)
Thiền Master Chân Nguyên was born Nguyễn Nghiêm, at Tiền Liệt Village, Thanh Hà District, Hải Dương Province, in 1646. He became a monk with the Buddhist name Tuệ Đăng at the age of 19, and learned Buddhism with Thiền Master Chân Trú at Hoa Yên Temple. He received the Trúc Lâm School transmission from his master, and became the abbot of Long Động và Quỳnh Lâm Temples. His Thiền method emphasized direct realization of the Buddha Nature.
According to Nguyễn Lang, regarding Chân Nguyên's method, the key to enlightenment was the nurture of the realization of Buddha Nature. With this realization, every thought and action naturally stayed in the realm of enlightenment, without any magical power. It is through the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the consciousness (six senses) that the practitioner realizes the Real or the Buddha Nature.
Chân Nguyên demised at the age of 80. His major contribution was his starting and encouraging academic activities among Buddhists at the time, such as the translation of many Buddhist works and studies, which have been well preserved until now.
6.6. Hương Hải the Thiền Master Who Introduced Thiền into Daily Life
Thiền Master Hương Hải was from Áng Độ Village, Chân Phúc District (later renamed Chân Lộc, then Nghi Lộc), Nghệ An Province. His ancestors came to the South to support Lord Nguyễn, and stayed at Phủ Thăng Bình (Quảng Nam). After many years as a monk, he was invited by Lord Nguyễn to serve in the Royal Palace. After some false accusation, he quietly traveled to the North in 1683, at the age of 56, and at the end off his life he became the abbot of Xích Đằng Temple, Kim Động, Hưng Yên City nowadays.
Hương Hải proposed the social engagement approach, and continued to follow the fundamental guidelines of Trúc Lâm School; but he also introduced some new elements, such as bringing Buddhism to the multitude, pointing out the relationship between the mind and the external phenomena, illusion versus enlightenment, and the good versus the evil.
Source:
Nguyễn Hưng. Sơ lược các dòng Thiền Việt Nam
posted 20/08/2008.
http://www.phattuvietnam.net/2/16/4000.html
