Liễu Quán

Liễu Quán (1670–1742) was the founder of the Liễu Quán dharma line, a uniquely Vietnamese form of Zen Buddhism within the Linji (Lâm Tế) school that remains the most influential Zen lineage in central Vietnam to this day. Born in the poor village of Bạch Mã, Phú Yên Province, he lost his mother at age six. His father brought the boy to Hội Tôn Temple, where he met the Chinese Zen Master Tế Viên. At twelve, Liễu Quán became a novice monk.

After Tế Viên's death, the young monk undertook a remarkable year-long journey of approximately 500 kilometers on foot to reach Huế, arriving in 1690. After years of further study, he met his principal teacher, Minh Hoằng Tử Dung, in 1702. Tử Dung presented the koan: "All dharmas return to the one. Where does the one return to?" Six years of intensive investigation followed, until Liễu Quán experienced breakthrough understanding while reading the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp. In 1708, Tử Dung confirmed his enlightenment, transmitting the dharma to him as the thirty-fifth generation heir of the Lâm Tế lineage.

From 1708, Liễu Quán established Thiên Tông Temple on Thiên Thai Mountain and began thirty-four years of teaching, ordaining thousands and traveling throughout Phú Yên and the Huế region. According to Thích Nhất Hạnh, Liễu Quán "Vietnamized" the Lâm Tế lineage, rooting it in Vietnamese culture rather than Chinese forms. On the morning of his death in 1742, he composed a final gatha emphasizing "our true nature's pure ocean," entered sitting meditation, and peacefully passed away. His dharma transmission poem, with each character designating a generation, continues to be used for naming monastics in the tradition.