Abstract

This thesis is a qualitative research which includes three main objectives (1) To study the life of The Great King Zen Master Trần Nhân Tông, (2) To analyze the role and influence of The Great King Zen Master Trần Nhân Tông, (3) To propose the propagation process of Zen Buddhism in Vietnam by The Great King Zen Master Trần Nhân Tông. From the study, it found that firstly, the research offers a general knowledge about King Trần Nhân Tông’s life since he was born and became a Crown Prince, then a King, and a monk and eventually an Enlightened King of Vietnam as well as a religious leader responsible for the founding of Trúc Lâm Zen Sect - Vietnamese Buddhism. Secondly, through better understanding of his life, readers and younger generations are supposed to obtain a more comprehensive view about the King’s outstanding deeds towards the country of Vietnam and a wider view on how the Buddha’s Teaching can apply not only in the monastic life or life in the forest, but also in the secular life, as long as real Dhamma is practiced. Last but not least, the King’s lifelong propagation of Buddha’s Teaching until his own demise is a testimony of what is considered as mainstream. Buddhism in Vietnam. In addition to his devotion to Zen practices as a way to propose “Engaged Buddhism”, the King demonstrated that Buddha’s Teaching can be widely applied in secular life. By his own practices, the Enlightened King showed that everything in daily life is Dhamma, which encourages and engages us to the practice to reflect our mind. Based upon the King’s teaching and proposal, Zen or “Thiền” has been discovered and continually propagated by Zen Master Thích Thanh Từ in the modern era, which results in the application and practice of younger generations in their respective life. By the Enlightened King’s teaching, ‘Buddha nature’, or ‘true mind’, has proven to be the most important tool to liberate the saṁsāra. Thus, we can witness how Zen Buddhism was and has been propagated in Vietnam and become an official Vietnamese Buddhism of the current age.