From Vi Ba Road, the slope winding up Big Mountain (Núi Lớn) leads visitors past pine canopies and neatly trimmed ornamental trees. By the time one reaches the monastery gate, city traffic below has fallen silent. Looking back, one sees the rooftops of Vũng Tàu layered below and, farther out, a silver-gray strip of sea. At the highest point of the grounds, a large gold-covered Buddha statue sits facing that sea.
First-time visitors often think of this as a scenic hillside temple. Yet for practitioners of modern Trúc Lâm Zen, this site holds an irreplaceable position. Right here on the Hòn Chụp (also called Hòn Sụp) slope of Big Mountain in 1966, Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ built a small hut named Pháp Lạc, sat in meditation there, and from there opened the first Zen training courses. Every Trúc Lâm monastery standing today traces its story back to that hermitage.
IWhere a Zen lineage began
In a monastic lineage, there is a place called the ancestral monastery (tổ đình) and a place called the starting point. The two are not always the same. For modern Trúc Lâm Zen, the ancestral monastery is Thường Chiếu Zen Monastery, founded in 1974, where the monastic community was organized and trained on a large scale. Readers can find the lineage principles and its connection to the Three Patriarchs of Trúc Lâm of the Trần dynasty in that article. This article focuses on why Chơn Không stands before Thường Chiếu in the story of the lineage.
The answer lies in three milestones. The year 1966 was when the founding master cleared the Hòn Chụp area on Tương Kỳ Mountain, namely Big Mountain, to build Pháp Lạc Hermitage. The year 1968 was when he awakened to the Prajna principle right inside that hermitage, then stepped out in the twelfth lunar month of the Mậu Thân year to share his realization with practitioners. The period from 1969 to 1971 was when Chơn Không Monastery (Tu viện Chơn Không) was built and opened its first three-year Zen training course. Those three things, a dwelling, a realization, and a first group of students, are what make a Zen lineage. All three happened here before Thường Chiếu existed.
The founding master is Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ, secular name Trần Hữu Phước, born on July 24, 1924 in Cần Thơ and ordained in 1949 at Phật Quang Pagoda under Patriarch Thiện Hoa, according to phatgiao.org.vn. According to the same source and the Thường Chiếu Ancestral Monastery website, on the full moon of the fourth lunar month of 1968 he entered solitary retreat in the hermitage with the vow not to leave until he had seen the Way, and in the seventh month of that year he awakened to the Prajna principle (thuongchieu.net records July 20, 1968, while Phật Sự Online records December 1968). In the twelfth lunar month of the Mậu Thân year, he opened the hermitage door and declared that he would teach what he had realized, beginning the revival of Vietnamese Zen (thuongchieu.net records the 3rd day of the twelfth lunar month, while phatgiao.org.vn records the 8th day).
Regarding the first two Zen courses, thuongchieu.net and phatgiao.org.vn record that Chơn Không Monastery was built during 1969 and 1970, and on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month of the Tân Hợi year (1971) it was officially inaugurated and opened its first three-year Zen course (1971 to 1974). Meanwhile, Phật Sự Online groups the construction of the monastery and the opening of the first course of 10 monks, including Venerables Đắc Pháp, Đắc Huyền, Nhật Quang, and Thông Phương, into the 1969 to 1970 period. The second course opened on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month of the Giáp Dần year (1974) with 20 monks and nuns (including 10 nuns practicing in the outer convent). Those small numbers are worth recording precisely because they are small. A Zen lineage that later grew to dozens of monasteries in Vietnam and abroad began with ten practitioners sitting in a hillside monastery.
The name Chơn Không carries two layers of meaning, and the sources mention both. The first layer is a Dharma title. The Thường Chiếu website, Phật Sự Online, and Chốn Thiêng record that Chơn Không was the Dharma title of Zen Master Vương Hải Thiềm of the Lý dynasty (born 1045 or 1046, passed away 1100 or 1110 depending on the source), a native of Phù Đổng village who lived during the reign of Emperor Lý Nhân Tông. Naming the monastery after him linked the new practice center to Vietnamese Zen streams predating the Trần dynasty.
The second layer is doctrinal meaning. According to the monks here as quoted by VietNamNet, the words Chơn Không (True Emptiness) point to the unborn, undying nature inherent in every person. In the Prajna sutras, emptiness means the absence of independent self-nature, not nihilistic nothingness. The word chơn (the Southern Vietnamese pronunciation of chân, meaning true) is added to show that this emptiness is real, the fundamental ground a practitioner must recognize. Placed beside the 1968 milestone, the name expresses exactly what happened inside Pháp Lạc Hermitage when a monk realized the Prajna principle of Form and Emptiness, and the place took the name of that realization.
Two points are often confused. First is the name. Road signs and many travel pages write Chân Không, whereas lineage sources, Phật Sự Online, and digital maps write Chơn Không. Both names refer to the same place, as chơn is the Southern reading of chân. Before 1995 the site was called Chơn Không Monastery (Tu viện Chơn Không), and the original hut on Hòn Chụp slope was called Pháp Lạc Hermitage (thất Pháp Lạc).
Second is its role. Because Chơn Không came first, many people call it the ancestral monastery of the Trúc Lâm Zen lineage. In the lineage's own terminology, Thường Chiếu serves as the ancestral monastery, while Chơn Không is the starting point. Chơn Không is also neither the largest nor the most visited monastery in the system, a role that belongs to Trúc Lâm Đà Lạt Zen Monastery.
As for a transmission verse used to assign generational Dharma names, the library has not found a documented verse in verified lineage sources and therefore does not list one. What is clear is that the first generations studied Zen under the founding master at this very site during the two courses opened in 1971 (or 1969 to 1970 according to Phật Sự Online) and 1974.
IIFrom a bamboo hermitage to a Zen monastery
The history of Chơn Không consists solely of practice, study, and construction. According to thuongchieu.net and Phật Sự Online, Pháp Lạc Hermitage was initially built of bamboo and thatch on Hòn Chụp slope for dedicated Zen meditation. In 1986, Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ shifted the center of his teaching activities to Thường Chiếu to expand monastic training. By 1995, the grounds on Big Mountain were reconstructed to their present scale and renamed a Zen monastery (thiền viện), and at Lunar New Year Quý Mùi (2003) management of the monks' and nuns' divisions was entrusted to a leadership board.
- 1966Building Pháp Lạc HermitageMost Venerable Thích Thanh Từ cleared the Hòn Chụp (Hòn Sụp) area on Tương Kỳ Mountain and built a bamboo-and-thatch hermitage for Zen meditation. Phatgiao.org.vn records April, while Phật Sự Online records June 1966.
- 1968Realizing the Prajna principleOn the full moon of the fourth lunar month he entered solitary retreat, awakened to the Prajna principle in the seventh month (Phật Sự Online records December), and in the twelfth lunar month opened the hermitage door to begin teaching.
- 1969 to 1971Monastery and first Zen courseChơn Không Monastery was built during 1969 and 1970. On the 8th day of the fourth lunar month of 1971, the monastery was officially proclaimed and opened its first three-year Zen course of 10 monks, according to thuongchieu.net and Phật Sự Online.
- 1974Second Zen courseOn the 8th day of the fourth lunar month of 1974, the second course opened with 20 monks and nuns. In the same year, Thường Chiếu Zen Monastery was founded in former Long Thành.
- 1995Renamed a Zen monasteryOn the 8th day of the fourth lunar month of 1995, the monastery was rebuilt, renamed Chơn Không Zen Monastery, and divided into two separate practice zones for monks and nuns.
- 1998Casting the great bellA bronze bell weighing nearly one ton was cast for the bell tower, according to VietNamNet and Chốn Thiêng.
- 2021Inaugurating the great Buddha statueThe gold-covered Buddha statue at the highest point of the monastery was inaugurated, according to VietNamNet and Phật Sự Online.
Several details differ across sources and are stated plainly here. For the month the hermitage was built, phatgiao.org.vn records April 1966, while Phật Sự Online records June. For the opening of the first Zen course, thuongchieu.net and phatgiao.org.vn specify that the monastery was built in 1969 and 1970 and inaugurated Course I on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month of 1971, whereas Phật Sự Online groups both construction and the first course into 1969 to 1970. For area, Phật Sự Online records a land area of 27,000 square meters with a total built floor area of 2,831.26 square meters, while VietNamNet writes that the monastery covers about 2,000 square meters. One source likely counts the entire hillside plot while the other counts only the main built footprint.
The street address also appears in two forms. Digital maps list 44 Vi Ba Road, while thuongchieu.net, Phật Sự Online, and VietNamNet list 36/11. Regarding the former ward name, Chốn Thiêng lists Ward 6 (the name prior to 2014), while Phật Sự Online lists Thắng Nhì Ward. From July 1, 2025, Thắng Nhì Ward merged with neighboring wards to form Vũng Tàu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, so the two older ward names now serve only for archival reference.
IIIPatriarch stupa, main hall, and Flower Sermon statue
Chơn Không is not laid out on a flat terrace but spreads along a steep slope. Buildings sit at staggered elevations connected by stone steps and walkways through pine gardens and ornamental trees. VietNamNet lists the main structures as the patriarch stupa, main hall, bell tower, meditation hall, nuns' convent, and guest house. Since 1995, the grounds have been divided into two separate monastic zones for monks and nuns. According to thuongchieu.net, from Lunar New Year Quý Mùi (2003), Senior Venerable Thích Thông Nhẫn served as abbot of the monks' division and Abbess Thích Nữ Thuần Nhất headed the nuns' division.
According to Phật Sự Online, the main hall enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha holding a lotus flower, flanked by Bodhisattvas Manjushri and Samantabhadra. The flower-holding Buddha image is the signature arrangement of Trúc Lâm Zen monasteries.
Enshrines Patriarch Bodhidharma, who brought Chan Buddhism to China, alongside Buddhist Emperor Trần Nhân Tông, Second Patriarch Pháp Loa, and Third Patriarch Huyền Quang, according to Phật Sự Online.
Set amid trees on the mountainside as a memorial point honoring the founder of the monastery and of the entire lineage.
Hangs the great bronze bell cast in 1998 weighing nearly one ton. Chốn Thiêng places the bell tower to the left of the main hall, while VietNamNet places it on the right near the entrance, depending on whether one looks out from inside the hall or approaches from outside.
Where monks and nuns sit in scheduled group meditation, the core activity of the monastery even if rarely noticed by casual visitors.
A large gold-covered Buddha statue at the highest point facing the sea, inaugurated in 2021. Phật Sự Online records its height as 28 meters, while VietNamNet does not state a height.
The name of the great statue, Niêm hoa vi tiếu (Holding up a flower and smiling subtly), refers to a foundational Zen account in which the Buddha held up a flower before the assembly without speaking and only Mahakashyapa smiled. The entire lineage takes that account as the origin of mind-to-mind transmission beyond words. Because the main hall of Chơn Không enshrines the Buddha holding a lotus and the largest outdoor statue repeats the same motif, visitors walking from the lower courtyard to the upper ridge encounter the same story twice, once indoors and once under the open sky.
Many articles call this a solid gold Buddha statue. Press sources specify that the statue is gold-covered or gold-leafed, meaning a layer of gold applied to the exterior surface rather than a solid block of gold. That distinction changes nothing about the statue's value, but helps readers understand the material accurately.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional Vietnamese geomancy (phong thủy), not a statement recorded in monastery documents. The sources reviewed by the library do not say that the founding master chose the land by geomantic formulas, only that he sought a quiet place for solitary meditation. Zen practitioners likewise do not rely on geomancy when selecting a site. The paragraphs below simply offer a comparative reading for visitors familiar with traditional Vietnamese ways of viewing landforms.
Sources describe the monastery at an elevation of about 80 meters, backed by the mountain and facing the sea. In traditional geomancy, this closely matches the configuration of sitting against the mountain and facing water, where the mountain behind retains qi and the water in front opens the view. Big Mountain (Núi Lớn) is the highest massif on the Vũng Tàu peninsula, giving the site a firm backing, while the open sea ahead forms a vast bright hall (minh đường) that few monastic sites possess.
More noteworthy is the moderate elevation. Eighty meters is not the summit. Traditional builders avoided placing dwellings on bare peaks because summits catch strong winds that scatter qi and lie far from daily water and food supplies. A mid-slope site has support behind it, sits high enough to separate from street noise, yet remains close enough for practitioners to walk down the mountain for daily necessities. For a bamboo-and-thatch hut in 1966, that mid-slope was the most practical spot.
In layout, the buildings rise step by step from low to high, with the highest point reserved for the Buddha statue looking out to sea. Visitors ascending the slope move in a natural progression from daily living quarters to worship halls, from the city edge toward the open sky. Read in traditional terms, this is a gradually ascending posture where qi gathers toward the high ridge before opening outward.
Finally, there is the connection between name and land. A place named Chơn Không (True Emptiness) stands before the open sea. The ocean is an image Buddhist scriptures frequently use to illustrate awakened nature, where waves rise and subside while water remains water. The library does not claim the founding master chose the plot for that metaphor, only notes that the name and the landscape express the same thought.
VObservances and monastic schedule
The daily rhythm of Chơn Không revolves around the regular schedule of the monks' and nuns' divisions, consisting of sitting meditation, sutra study, and manual work. Annual observances follow the general calendar of Northern-tradition (Mahayana) Buddhism in Vietnam, together with commemorative dates tied to the founding history of the monastery.
| Lunar date | Observance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15th of the 1st month | First Full Moon (Thượng nguyên) | New Year full-moon observance following the common custom of Vietnamese temples. |
| 8th of the 4th month | Monastery founding anniversary and Northern-tradition Buddha's Birthday | Traditional Mahayana celebration of the Buddha's birth, and also the date when Chơn Không Monastery was proclaimed and opened Course I in 1971, opened Course II in 1974, and was rebuilt as a Zen monastery in 1995, according to thuongchieu.net. |
| 15th of the 4th month | Buddha's Birthday (Phật Đản) | Celebrates the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. Also marks the day in 1968 when the founding master entered solitary retreat in Pháp Lạc Hermitage, according to phatgiao.org.vn and thuongchieu.net. |
| 15th of the 4th month to 15th of the 7th month | Rains Retreat (An cư kiết hạ) | Three-month period when monks and nuns remain in one place for intensive practice according to monastic discipline. |
| 15th of the 7th month | Vu Lan (Ullambana) | Festival of filial piety honoring parents, concluding the three-month rains retreat. |
| 1st of the 11th month | Commemoration of the First Patriarch of Trúc Lâm | Anniversary of Buddhist Emperor Trần Nhân Tông's parinirvana, observed across all Trúc Lâm Zen monasteries. |
The fourth lunar month at Chơn Không holds two dates with a meaning found nowhere else. The 8th day of the fourth month marks the opening of the first Zen courses and the 1995 reconstruction of the monastery, while the full moon of the fourth month is both Buddha's Birthday and the exact day in 1968 when the founding master closed the door of Pháp Lạc Hermitage to meditate until realizing the Way. Practitioners of the lineage who return here during that month come back to the exact place and date where their tradition began.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Đường Vi Ba trên núi Lớn (núi Tương Kỳ), Maps ghi số 44, Phật Sự Online và VietNamNet ghi số 36/11, phường Vũng Tàu (thành phố Vũng Tàu cũ, tỉnh Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu cũ), Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
- Getting there
- The monastery sits on Vi Ba Road (digital maps list no. 44, while lineage and press sources list no. 36/11) on the slope of Big Mountain (Núi Lớn), Vũng Tàu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Ward 6 and later Thắng Nhì Ward, Vũng Tàu City, former Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province). From central Vũng Tàu, follow Vi Ba Road up Big Mountain, noting that the final stretch is fairly steep.
- Coordinates
- 10.3578, 107.0718
Chơn Không is an active monastic training center, not a tourist park. Monastery etiquette requires modest attire and quiet speech, especially when walking past the meditation hall and the separate monks' and nuns' quarters. The dedicated residential practice zones are closed to visitors, so please stay on the paths designated for guests. When visiting the upper plaza with the great statue, please pay respects from the courtyard, do not climb onto the statue pedestal, and do not photograph monks or nuns without permission.
Nearby places in the library
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?Quick Questions
Who founded Chơn Không Zen Monastery in Vũng Tàu
Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ founded it. In 1966 he built Pháp Lạc Hermitage of bamboo and thatch on Hòn Chụp slope of Tương Kỳ Mountain (Big Mountain) for solitary Zen practice. Between 1969 and 1971 the site became Chơn Không Monastery, and in 1995 it was renamed Chơn Không Zen Monastery with separate zones for monks and nuns.
Is the correct name Chơn Không or Chân Không Zen Monastery
Both refer to the same monastery. Trúc Lâm Zen lineage documents and digital maps use Chơn Không, as chơn is the Southern Vietnamese pronunciation of chân. Before 1995 it was called Chơn Không Monastery (Tu viện Chơn Không), and the original 1966 hut was called Pháp Lạc Hermitage.
Is Chơn Không Zen Monastery the ancestral temple of Trúc Lâm Zen
No. The ancestral monastery (tổ đình) of modern Trúc Lâm Zen is Thường Chiếu Zen Monastery, founded in 1974. Chơn Không is the birthplace of the lineage, dating back to 1966, where the founding master awakened to the Prajna principle in 1968 and opened the first two Zen training courses in 1969 to 1971 and in 1974.
What does the name Chơn Không mean
The Thường Chiếu website and Phật Sự Online note that Chơn Không was the Dharma title of Lý-dynasty Zen Master Vương Hải Thiềm. Monks at the monastery also explain that Chơn Không (True Emptiness) points to the unborn, undying nature inherent in every person, closely tied to the Prajna principle realized here by the founding master in 1968.
How tall is the golden Buddha statue at Chơn Không Zen Monastery
The gold-covered Niêm hoa vi tiếu (Flower Sermon) Buddha statue stands at the highest point of the monastery facing the sea and was inaugurated in 2021. Phật Sự Online records its height as 28 meters, while VietNamNet does not state a figure. The statue is covered in gold leaf on the exterior, not cast from solid gold.