Thiền

Thiền

Thiền

Branch of Chan

Thiền (禪) is the Vietnamese tradition of Chan Buddhism, brought to Vietnam through multiple transmissions from China beginning as early as the sixth century. The first Thiền school was founded by Vinitaruci (d. 594), an Indian monk who had studied with the Third Patriarch Sengcan before traveling to Vietnam. The second school was established by Vô Ngôn Thông (d. 826), a Chinese disciple of Baizhang Huaihai. Vietnamese Thiền developed a distinctive character, readily combining meditation practice with Pure Land devotion, Confucian ethics, and indigenous Vietnamese spirituality. The tradition produced several uniquely Vietnamese developments, including the Trúc Lâm (Bamboo Forest) school founded by Emperor Trần Nhân Tông in 1299, and the Liễu Quán dharma line of the Lâm Tế school, which became the dominant lineage in central and southern Vietnam.