Trần Nhân Tông

Trần Nhân Tông (1258–1308, ), given name Trần Khâm (), was the third emperor of the Trần Dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned between 1278 and 1293 and became Taishang Huang (Thái thượng hoàng) for 15 years. He is remembered for repelling Mongol invasions during his reign.

He was born in 1258, in Vietnam. After his father voluntarily abdicated in 1279, he ascended the throne, becoming one of the most illustrious kings of the Tran Dynasty. Known far and wide for his compassion and peacefulness, he used the system of national examinations to search for talent to serve the welfare of his country. He was instrumental in the organizing of the two most unusual conferences in Vietnamese history – the Dien Hong conference of all the country’s elders and the Binh Than conference of all military commanders, which helped solidify the national will against foreign threats.

In 1293, Trần Nhân Tông abdicated in favor of his son and devoted the rest of his life to the practice of Buddhism. He traveled far and wide, all the way to Chiêm Thành (Champa), a country that bordered Vietnam on the south and was often at odds, if not at war, with Vietnam.

To secure a long-term peace, he arranged for a marriage between the Chiêm Thành king and one of his daughters – Princess Huyền Trân.

In 1298 he became a monk and settled on Yên Tử Mountain. When he was not meditating at Yên Tử, he went barefoot around the country, giving lectures and organizing studies of the Buddhist dharma. He became the founder of the Trúc Lâm School of Zen (the Bamboo Forest School), the first school of Vietnamese–created Zen Buddhism.

One of the nation's most brilliant kings and philosophers, his influence has reached across seven centuries, and he remains an icon of traditional Vietnamese culture.

Both Zen master Thich Thanh Tu and Thich Nhat Hanh consider themselves to be his spiritual descendants, and both try - each in his own way - to revive the traditions of the Bamboo Forest school.

Trần Nhân Tông was a prodigious author, but only 31 of his poems and a few other short pieces of his work remain in existence.