Liễu Quán
Zen Master Liễu Quán | |
|---|---|
了觀 | |
 Stupa of Patriarch Liễu Quán at the foot of Thiên Thai mountain, Huế | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1667 Bạch Mã village, Đồng Xuân District, Phú Yên Province |
| Died | 1742 (aged 74–75) |
| Resting place | Foot of Thiên Thai mountain, Huế |
| Nationality | Vietnam |
| Posthumous name | Chính Giác - Viên Ngộ Hòa Thượng |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Mahayana |
| Lineage | Zen |
| Sect | Lâm Tế sect |
| Teachers | Tế Viên, Giác Phong, Thạch Liêm, Từ Lâm |
| Dharma names | Thiệt Diệu 實耀 |
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| Part of a series on |
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Liễu Quán (Chinese: 了觀; 1667–1742)[1] was a prominent Vietnamese Zen master of the 35th generation of the Linji school. He founded the Liễu Quán Zen lineage, a uniquely Vietnamese form of Zen Buddhism that remains influential today.[2]
Life and practice
[edit]According to a stele composed in 1748 by the monk Thiện Kế in Fujian, China, Zen Master Liễu Quán was born in the hour of Thìn, on the 18th day of the 11th lunar month, 1667, in Bạch Mã village, Đồng Xuân District, Phú Yên Province. His family name was Lê, though his personal name is unknown. Thiệt Diệu (實耀) was his Dharma name, and Liễu Quán (了觀) his Dharma title.[3]
Training
[edit]At the age of 6, he lost his mother. At 12 (1678), his father took him to Hội Tôn Temple in Phú Yên, where he met Zen Master Tế Viên (a Chinese monk). He stayed for seven years until his teacher died (1685). He then traveled to Thuận Hóa (Huế) to study with Master Giác Phong at Hàm Long Temple (later Báo Quốc Temple).
After caring for his father until his death in 1695, he was ordained as a novice by Master Thạch Liêm at Thiền Lâm Temple (Huế). In 1697 he received full ordination under Master Từ Lâm at Từ Lâm Temple.
From 1699, he traveled widely across central Vietnam seeking Dharma instruction. In 1702, he met Master Minh Hoằng Tử Dung at Ấn Tôn Temple (Từ Đàm Temple). Master Tử Dung gave him the koan:
- Vạn pháp qui nhất, nhất qui hà xứ?
("All phenomena return to the One, where does the One return?")
After years of contemplation, Liễu Quán attained awakening while reading the Transmission of the Lamp (傳燈錄). In 1708, he presented his realization to Master Tử Dung, who confirmed his enlightenment and transmitted the Dharma to him, making him the 35th generation heir of the Lâm Tế lineage.
Teaching and legacy
[edit]From 1708, Master Liễu Quán traveled throughout Phú Yên and Phú Xuân, teaching widely. In 1722, he settled at Thiền Tôn Temple on Thiên Thai mountain, Huế. He presided over major ordination ceremonies in the 1730s and was highly respected by Nguyễn Phúc Chú, though he declined court summons, preferring the forest life.
In spring 1742, he presided at Viên Thông Temple with nearly 4,000 participants, both monastic and lay.[4]
Death
[edit]In late 1742, at Viên Thông Temple, he fell ill. Before dying, he composed a farewell gatha:
- Seventy years within this world,
- Emptiness and form, all clear.
- Today fulfilled, I return home,
- No need to ask of Ancestors.[5]
He died peacefully on the 22nd day of the 11th lunar month, 1742, aged 75. Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát honored him with the title "Chính Giác - Viên Ngộ Hòa Thượng."
Dharma transmission verse
[edit]Liễu Quán left the following Dharma transmission gatha:
- True Reality, Great Way,
- Ocean of Nature, clear and pure.
- Mind-source widely nourishing,
- Root of virtue ever kind.
- Precepts, concentration, wisdom,
- Essence and function complete.
- Transcending forever wisdom’s fruit,
- Secretly realizing success.
- Uphold the wondrous truth,
- Proclaim the true lineage.
- Practice and understanding united,
- Realize the true emptiness.[6]
Contributions
[edit]Master Liễu Quán taught for 34 years (1708–1742), ordaining thousands. According to Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh, he "Vietnamized" the Lâm Tế lineage, making it the dominant Zen school in central Vietnam, rooted in Vietnamese culture rather than Chinese forms. His disciples established numerous temples and centers, laying the foundation for the modern Vietnamese Buddhist revival.[7]
In Huế, a street is named after Liễu Quán.[8]
Stupa
[edit]His stupa stands at the foot of Thiên Thai mountain, near Thiền Tôn Temple, which he founded. The temple still preserves a great bell cast in 1747.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Dates of birth and death of Patriarch Liễu Quán follow the inscription on his stupa. See: Nguyễn Hiền Đức, p. 290.
- ^ Thừa Thiên Huế Provincial Information Portal.
- ^ See linguistic note on the reading of "Thiệt Diệu."
- ^ Thích Nhất Hạnh, p. 204.
- ^ Nguyễn Hiền Đức, p. 300.
- ^ Thích Nhất Hạnh, pp. 205–206.
- ^ Thích Nhất Hạnh, pp. 206–207.
- ^ Thừa Thiên Huế Provincial Information Portal.
- ^ Chùa Bửu Minh Archive.
Further reading
[edit]- Nguyễn Lang (Thích Nhất Hạnh), Việt Nam Phật giáo sử luận, Vol. 2, Văn học Publishing, Hanoi, 1992.
- Thích Thanh Từ, Thiền sư Việt Nam, HCMC Buddhist Association, 1992.
- Nguyễn Hiền Đức, Lịch sử Phật giáo Đàng Trong, Vol. 1, HCMC Publishing, 1995.