Truc Lam Phuong Nam Monastery

In 1293, an emperor at the height of his power did something nobody expected. He was the youngest and most celebrated emperor in the history of the Trần dynasty. He had led the country to victory in two wars of resistance against the Mongols, the land was at peace, and his name was known everywhere. Then he chose to hand the throne to his son and become a monk.

Six years later, in 1299, he went up Mount Yên Tử and founded a school of Zen called Trúc Lâm. Zen is a school of Buddhism that puts meditation at its heart. Trúc Lâm was the first purely Vietnamese school of Buddhism, and it did not depend on Buddhism from China or India. Later generations called its founder the Buddha Emperor Trần Nhân Tông.

Today, Trúc Lâm Phương Nam Monastery stands among the orchards of Cần Thơ. It is one of the largest meditation houses of that school, and the largest Zen monastery in the Mekong Delta region.

The complex covers four hectares. Work began on July 16, 2013, the feast day of Quán Thế Âm, the bodhisattva of compassion. A bodhisattva, in Buddhism, is one who seeks awakening, someone on the path to becoming a buddha. The monastery opened only ten months later, on May 17, 2014. In those ten months came four main buildings, a thousand cubic meters of agarwood, and a bronze statue weighing 3.5 tons. For a complex of this size, that pace was a feat. Agarwood is a fragrant, resinous wood used for incense and perfume.

The agarwood was brought all the way from South Africa. The reason is simple. Vietnam's forest protection law forbids cutting precious timber at home, and importing it was the lawful way to get the quality of wood the monastery wanted. In the main hall, a gentle scent of agarwood fills the air. It comes from the precious wood all around.

The architecture follows the Lý and Trần dynasties, the two periods when Buddhism in Vietnam flourished most. The main hall has a roof in the style of the Trần period, both grand and light. The Patriarchs' Hall honors the Three Patriarchs of Trúc Lâm. Its roof, in the style of the Lý period, has softer and finer lines. Curved roofs shaped like the prow of a boat stretch out on all four sides. They give the monastery the look of old Vietnamese architecture.

In front of the Patriarchs' Hall stand three life-size stone statues of the Three Patriarchs. The First Patriarch, Trần Nhân Tông, stands in the center. On his right stands the Second Patriarch, Pháp Loa, his disciple. Pháp Loa was entrusted with his master's robe and bowl. After the Buddha Emperor passed away in 1308, Pháp Loa carried on organizing the school and spreading it. On the left stands the Third Patriarch, Huyền Quang. He was younger than Pháp Loa but reached awakening later, and he left many works on Buddhism.

The main hall holds a bronze statue of Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. It weighs 3.5 tons. The Buddha sits quietly in the lotus posture, his hands resting in his lap and his eyes half closed. The figure stands for a steady mind and for wisdom.

Behind the Patriarchs' Hall lies a small garden. A stone statue there shows Trần Nhân Tông seated in meditation. It is not the image of an emperor on his throne. It shows a man who has let go of everything, sitting still among mountains and forest. This is the last moment of the Buddha Emperor's life. It is also the spirit that the Trúc Lâm school hopes to hand on.

What sets the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử school apart is its spirit of taking part in the world. Practice is not separated from real life. Trần Nhân Tông did not leave his throne because he had failed. He left at the peak, because he believed that awakening and service to others do not need a seat of power. That is why the school is called the Buddhism of the Vietnamese people. It grew out of the Vietnamese spirit and was not imported from outside.

In the 20th century, the Venerable Thích Thanh Từ revived this school. He built a network of Trúc Lâm monasteries across the country. It runs from Yên Tử in Quảng Ninh to Da Lat in Lâm Đồng, and on to Tây Thiên. And now there is Phương Nam, here in Cần Thơ. Each monastery is a light for the Buddhism of the Vietnamese people in its own region.

The quiet of this place, the soft scent of agarwood, the sound of the bell and the green trees on every side are all part of the Zen experience the monastery offers.