Nguyên Thiều

Nguyên Thiều (1648–1728) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who became the pivotal figure in establishing the Linji (Lâm Tế) school of Chan Buddhism in Vietnam. Born on July 8, 1648, in Triệu Châu Prefecture, Guangdong Province, China, he was ordained at age nineteen under Venerable Bổn Quả Khoáng Viên at Báo Tư Temple, receiving designation as the thirty-third generation of the Linji lineage.

In 1677, during the reign of the Nguyễn lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần, Nguyên Thiều traveled to Đại Việt by merchant ship, arriving during intense political upheaval in China as the Qing dynasty crushed the last Ming loyalist resistance. He initially settled in Quy Nhơn, establishing the Thập Tháp Di Đà Temple in 1683. He then moved to Thuận Hóa (the Huế region), founding Phổ Thành Temple and Quốc Ân Temple with the patronage of the Nguyễn lords. Between 1687 and 1690, he was sent back to China to invite additional monks, scriptures, and ritual implements, returning with several eminent Chinese monks including Minh Hoằng Tử Dung. He passed away on November 20, 1728, at age eighty-one. His mission fundamentally reshaped Vietnamese Buddhism, establishing the Lâm Tế tradition that would produce the Liễu Quán dharma line and, through it, Thích Nhất Hạnh and the Plum Village tradition.