Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Wu Yantong (Chinese: 無言通, known in Vietnam as Vô Ngôn Thông, 759?-826 C.E.) was a Chinese Buddhist monk influential in the propagation of Buddhism in Vietnam.
Born into a wealthy family, upon coming of age he renounced that lifestyle for a monastic life and eventually realized satori or enlightenment.
Around 820 CE, he crossed the border of southern China and arrived at Phù Đổng village (which is where Phù Đổng Thiên Vương of the legend had been born) to reside in Kiến Sơ Temple in Bắc Ninh, Northern Vietnam. There he only sat facing the wall to meditate (wall-contemplation or bích quán or diện bích – nhìn tường) like Boddhidharma, the Indian monk who had introduced Zen Buddhism to China around 520 CE and had faced the wall for 9 years to meditate at Shaolin Temple.
No one knew anything about Wu Yantong. The temple abbot, Cẩm Thành, quietly knew he was a high monk who had attained enlightenment and so treated him with much respect. Near the time of death, Wu Yantong called Cẩm Thành in and read for Cẩm Thành the parting poem:
Continue reading Wu Yantong’s final poem – Kệ Vô Ngôn Thông →