Turn off National Highway 51 and pass through the triple-arched gate (tam quan), and the rumble of trucks fades behind you almost at once. You walk between tall rows of trees on red soil, see the curved roof of the main hall at the end of the path, and if you continue deeper inside, you spot small roofs scattered beneath the canopy. Those are individual meditation huts (thiền thất), one practitioner to a hut, with around two hundred of them across the grounds. Anyone arriving while the monks are sitting in meditation notices how quiet the whole forest is, quiet enough to hear leaves falling.
Thường Chiếu is not an ancient pagoda. The monastery dates only from 1974, founded by Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ. Yet for practitioners of the modern Trúc Lâm Zen school, this is the ancestral seat (tổ đình), the place where the school was reorganized and where generations of monks were trained before going out to open Zen monasteries across the country, including Trúc Lâm Zen Monastery in Đà Lạt.
IThe ancestral seat of modern Trúc Lâm Zen
The modern Trúc Lâm Zen school is a Zen movement revived in the 20th century by Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ. It takes the Three Patriarchs of Trúc Lâm (Trúc Lâm Tam Tổ) of the Trần dynasty, namely Trần Nhân Tông, Pháp Loa, and Huyền Quang, as its source and guiding principle, but it is a newly established school rather than an unbroken lineage handed down continuously from the Trần era to the present. Thường Chiếu Zen Monastery is the ancestral seat of that school. According to phatgiao.org.vn and the An Phát website, the name Thường Chiếu was taken from the Dharma name of Zen Master Thường Chiếu (died 1203), a 12th-generation master of the Vô Ngôn Thông school under the Lý dynasty who served as a historical bridge toward the Yên Tử and Trúc Lâm Zen tradition of the Trần dynasty.
The two uses of the name Trúc Lâm are often conflated. Trúc Lâm of the Trần dynasty was the Zen lineage of the Three Patriarchs in the 13th and 14th centuries, with its ancestral seat at Mount Yên Tử and temples such as Phổ Minh Pagoda, where the relic stupa of the First Patriarch stands. The modern Trúc Lâm Zen school was established in the 20th century, adopting the name and guiding spirit of the Three Patriarchs, with Thường Chiếu as its ancestral seat. The modern school honors the Three Patriarchs as its root, while the founding patriarch of today's Trúc Lâm monasteries is Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ. Both rightly bear the name Trúc Lâm, separated by layers of time.
The method of practice taught by Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ to Zen students is often summed up in the four Vietnamese words biết vọng không theo (recognizing delusive thoughts without following them). Sitting in meditation, when a thought arises, the practitioner recognizes it as illusory, neither chasing after it nor suppressing it, letting it subside on its own. The aim is to realize the innate awareness already present within oneself, following the sudden enlightenment (đốn ngộ) approach of Zen Buddhism.
The monastery pairs this with the maxim phản quan tự kỷ bổn phận sự, meaning that turning back to examine oneself is the fundamental duty of a practitioner. The phrase comes from Trần-dynasty Zen masters, and adopting it as a motto shows the connection the modern school seeks to keep with the Three Patriarchs. Alongside meditation, practitioners study sutras and treatises, following the dual path of Zen and scriptural teaching.
According to documents of the Trúc Lâm monasteries, Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ built the Pháp Lạc hermitage in 1966 on Mount Tương Kỳ in Vũng Tàu, entered solitary retreat there in 1968, and founded Chân Không Zen Monastery on the mountain in April 1971. In 1974 he founded Thường Chiếu in Long Thành. He later founded Trúc Lâm Zen Monastery in Đà Lạt in 1993 and rebuilt Trúc Lâm Yên Tử Zen Monastery in 2002, along with nearly thirty Zen monasteries in Vietnam and abroad. Thường Chiếu was the first large-scale center in that network, and the place where most of the abbots of later monasteries trained.
Regarding a generational Dharma-name verse (kệ truyền thừa), the library has not found any published verse with a clear source for this school, so none is recorded here. Readers wishing to know which generation a monk's Dharma name at Thường Chiếu belongs to may ask the monastery directly.
IIFrom a thatched hut to a Zen monastery
The history of Thường Chiếu is brief, consisting entirely of building and monastic training. The milestones below are cross-checked from phatgiao.org.vn, the An Phát website, and Tuệ Quang Zen Monastery.
- 1966First meditation retreatMost Venerable Thích Thanh Từ built the Pháp Lạc hermitage in 1966 and founded Chân Không Zen Monastery in 1971 on Mount Tương Kỳ in Vũng Tàu, the opening step in reviving Vietnamese Zen.
- 1974Founding of the monasteryThường Chiếu was established on a plot along National Highway 51, initially just a thatched-roof, mud-walled temple beside a Bodhi tree. Tuệ Quang Zen Monastery records August 1974, while phatgiao.org.vn cites the monastery's 25th-anniversary commemorative volume as recording October 1974, with Most Venerable Đắc Huyền as the first abbot.
- 1986Inauguration of the main hallRebuilt starting in 1984, the main hall was inaugurated on April 15, 1986.
- 1988Bell tower and drum towerThe bell tower and drum tower were erected in front of the main hall, according to the An Phát website and phatgiao.org.vn.
- 1994Rebuilding the central complexThe central monastery complex was rebuilt to a design by architect Đỗ Hữu Nam, according to the An Phát website.
- 1998Major restoration of the patriarchs' hallThe patriarchs' hall (tổ đường) and monks' quarters underwent a major restoration and expansion, completed at the end of 1999.
- PresentZen training centerMore than one hundred resident monks practice on a strict daily meditation schedule, right beside Linh Chiếu Zen Monastery for nuns.
Sources disagree on the area of the grounds. Phatgiao.org.vn and most introductions state that the campus covers about 10 hectares, noting from the 25th-anniversary commemorative volume that two Buddhists in Cát Lở donated a 52-hectare estate in 1973 to establish a meditation farm (Thiền Trang). The An Phát website records that in 1974 bà Huỳnh Thị Nhơn and her daughter donated 52 hectares of land, and that the monastery was built on 13 hectares. It is possible that 10 hectares refers to the built-up zone and 13 hectares includes the wooded gardens, but the library has found no source explaining the difference and records both figures.
IIIMeditation hall, retreat huts, and scriptural library
The architecture of Thường Chiếu carries the look of a traditional Vietnamese pagoda, with curved tile roofs and wooden columns, yet its layout serves Zen practice first rather than sightseers. The buildings are spread through the woods, linked by walkways beneath the trees.
Inaugurated in 1986, fronted by a bell tower and a drum tower. Inside, the hall is arranged simply in the Zen manner, enshrining only a statue of Buddha Shakyamuni holding up a lotus flower sculpted by artisan Minh Dung, flanked by a pair of 3.5-meter ceramic vases inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
Where the monastic assembly sits together in meditation on a fixed schedule. This is the true heart of the monastery.
Venerates Bodhidharma, the Zen patriarchs, and the Three Patriarchs of Trúc Lâm, extensively restored in 1998.
A library housing sutras, recorded lectures, and historical documents of the school, supporting doctrinal study alongside meditation.
Around 200 small huts scattered across the wooded gardens, each for a single monk in solitary retreat, stepping away from communal activities for a period.
Living quarters and refectory for the monks, alongside a guesthouse, kitchen, and a traditional medicine clinic offering free treatment.
Two hundred meditation huts is the number that says the most about Thường Chiếu. A village pagoda does not need solitary huts. A Zen monastery does, because the core work here is sitting meditation, and when a monk reaches a certain stage of practice he asks to enter a hut for solitary retreat over a period of time. The number of huts measures the scale of contemplation, not the scale of ritual.
Many visitors come to Thường Chiếu expecting a sightseeing spot like Trúc Lâm Zen Monastery in Đà Lạt. The two places serve different roles. Đà Lạt is a major monastery on Phượng Hoàng Hill with a zone open to general visitors. Thường Chiếu is the ancestral seat and training center, where most of the grounds are reserved for monastic study and meditation. Right next door, Linh Chiếu Zen Monastery, also founded by Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ, is the training monastery for nuns. The two monasteries stand side by side along National Highway 51, one for monks and one for nuns.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional geomancy (phong thủy), not something recorded in the monastery's own texts. Thường Chiếu's records do not mention choosing the site by geomancy, noting only that the land was donated. What follows is an interpretation, which readers should distinguish from historical documentation.
The first thing to note is that Thường Chiếu did not select an auspicious site by the book, but accepted donated land. The plot along National Highway 51 belongs to the red-soil low mounds of southeastern Vietnam, with no high mountain backing it and no wide river in front. In traditional land-reading, this is a flatland configuration (bình dương), gently rolling level ground where qi disperses evenly rather than concentrating sharply into a single node (huyệt).
Read in geomantic terms, such a setting suits a Zen monastery well. Places where qi gathers intensely tend to draw crowds, fitting temples where people come to pray for favors. Places where qi spreads evenly and quietly suit stillness and people who need to sit in silence for hours. The belt of trees around the monastery acts as a wall of qi, blocking noise and wind from the highway and keeping the interior a zone of calm.
In layout, scattering meditation huts across the wooded gardens instead of packing them into a single block follows the classic pattern of a Zen forest monastery, with many small points around a center. The main hall and meditation hall at the middle are where energy gathers, while the huts radiating outward are where it settles. Readers familiar with the geomancy of old pagodas will see a different way of reading the land here, seeking not a single focal node (huyệt) but quietness across the whole ground.
Finally, the name itself. Beyond honoring the Lý-dynasty Zen Master Thường Chiếu, the two words Thường Chiếu literally mean ever-shining. In meaning, that name matches the monastery's method of practice, remaining constantly aware and recognizing delusive thoughts without following them. Quiet ground bearing the name ever-shining is a place where name and land speak the same thing.
VObservances and daily training schedule
The rhythm of Thường Chiếu is the rhythm of daily study and meditation rather than festival crowds. The monks sit in meditation, study scriptures, and work on a fixed schedule year-round. Alongside that routine, the monastery observes the major Buddhist holy days and its ancestral memorial day.
| Lunar date | Observance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15th day of the 4th month | Buddha's Birthday (Phật Đản) | Celebrates the birth of the Buddha and marks the start of the monastic rains retreat. |
| Full moon of the 4th to 7th month | Rains retreat (An cư kiết hạ) | Three months during which monks remain in one residence for intensive practice, in accordance with Buddhist monastic discipline. |
| 15th day of the 7th month | Vu Lan and end of rains retreat | Festival of filial piety for parents, concluding the three-month rains retreat. |
| Early 11th month | Commemoration of Buddhist Emperor Trần Nhân Tông | Trúc Lâm Zen monasteries commemorate the parinirvana of the First Patriarch. |
| 19th and 20th of the 12th month | Patriarchal memorial (Lễ giỗ Tổ) | The largest annual gathering at the monastery, drawing thousands of monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists from Trúc Lâm monasteries. |
The year-end patriarchal memorial is when members of the school return to Thường Chiếu from everywhere, like descendants coming home to an ancestral hall. It is the clearest occasion to see the monastery's role as an ancestral seat, since most who attend are monks, nuns, and Zen practitioners who once trained here.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Bên quốc lộ 51, xã Phước Thái (huyện Long Thành cũ), tỉnh Đồng Nai
- Getting there
- The monastery lies along National Highway 51 in Phước Thái Commune, Đồng Nai Province, in the area of former Long Thành District. Follow National Highway 51 from Biên Hòa toward Vũng Tàu, with Linh Chiếu Zen Monastery standing right beside it.
- Coordinates
- 10.6834, 107.0254
Thường Chiếu is a place of Zen practice for monks, not a tourist attraction. Visitors must follow the rules of the monastery, dressing modestly and keeping silence across the grounds, especially around the meditation hall and the zone of meditation huts. Do not walk down paths leading to the individual huts, do not call out loudly, and do not photograph monks while they are practicing. Female Buddhists wishing to study and practice should visit Linh Chiếu Zen Monastery right next door.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
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Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Thiền viện Thường ChiếuEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
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?Quick Questions
Who founded Thường Chiếu Zen Monastery
It was founded by Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ in 1974 on a plot along National Highway 51 in former Long Thành, Đồng Nai Province. Initially a thatched-roof, mud-walled temple, its main hall was inaugurated on April 15, 1986. It serves as the ancestral seat of the modern Trúc Lâm Zen school.
Is the modern Trúc Lâm Zen school the same as Trúc Lâm of the Trần dynasty
Not quite. Trúc Lâm of the Trần dynasty was the 13th- and 14th-century Zen lineage of the Three Patriarchs Trần Nhân Tông, Pháp Loa, and Huyền Quang. The modern Trúc Lâm Zen school was revived in the 20th century by Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ, taking the Three Patriarchs as its source and guiding principle, but as a newly established movement.
What method of practice does Thường Chiếu teach
Its method is summed up in the four words biết vọng không theo (recognizing delusive thoughts without following them), meaning sitting in meditation, recognizing arising thoughts as illusory, and neither chasing nor suppressing them so as to realize innate awareness. This goes hand in hand with the maxim of turning back to examine oneself and combining Zen meditation with scriptural study.
How do Thường Chiếu and Linh Chiếu Zen Monasteries differ
Both were founded by Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ and stand side by side along National Highway 51. Thường Chiếu is the monastery for monks and the ancestral seat of the school. Linh Chiếu is the monastery for nuns. Both follow the same method of practice and daily schedule.
How many meditation huts does Thường Chiếu have
According to phatgiao.org.vn, the grounds hold around 200 meditation huts scattered through the wooded gardens, each for a monk in solitary retreat. The monastery has over one hundred resident monks and a sectarian library preserving the scriptures of the school.