Tran Nhan Tong

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Tran Nhan Tong's (1258 – 1308) given name was Tran Kham. He was born in 1258, Vietnam. After his father voluntarily abdicated in 1279, he ascended the throne, becoming one of the most illustrious kings of the Tran Dynasty. Known for and wide for his compassion and peacefulness, he used the system of national examinations to search for talents to serve the welfare of the country. He was instrumental in the organizing of the two most unique conferences in Vietnam’s history – the Dien Hong conference of all of the country’s elders and the Binh Than conference of all military commanders, which helped forge the nation’s will against foreign threats.

In 1293 Tran Nhan Tong abdicated in favor of his son, and devoted the rest of his life to the practice of Buddhism. He traveled far and wide, all the way to Chiem Thanh, a country that bordered Vietnam on the South and was often at odds if not at war with Vietnam. To secure a long – term peace, he arranged for a marriage between the Chiem Thanh king and one of his daughters – Princess Huyen Tran. In 1298 he became a monk and settled in Yen Tu Mountain. When he was not meditating in Yen Tu, he went barefooted around the country, giving lectures and organizing studies of the Buddhist dharma. He became the founder of the Truc Lam School of Zen (Bamboo Forest School), the first school of Vietnamese–created Zen Buddhism. One of the most brilliant kings and philosophers, he remains the polestar of Vietnamese traditional culture. His influence has reached across seven centuries. Both Zen master Thich Thanh Tu and Thich Nhat Hanh consider themselves to be his spiritual descendants and both try, each in his own way, to revive the tradition of the Bamboo Forest school. Tran Nhan Tong was a prodigious author, but only 31 of his poem and a few other short pieces remain in existence.