Statue of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong inaugurated
 
The copper statue of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong

A grand and solemn ceremony was held today at the Yen Tu Historic Relics Site in Quang Ninh province to commemorate the 705th anniversary of the death of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong with a new copper statue.

The event was attended by Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan and Deputy Prime Ministers Vu Duc Dam and Pham Binh Minh, along with representatives from different ministries and sectors and thousands of Buddhist followers from across the country.

At the ceremony, delegates highlighted the great merits and religious career of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong. Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308) was the third king of the Tran dynasty. He abdicated his throne at the age of 35 and spent the rest of his life on Yen Tu Mountain propagating Buddhism and founding the Truc Lam School of Zen.

The king’s statue, the largest copper statue in Vietnam, has been forged in the pose of sitting meditation, weighing 138 tonnes and reaching a height of 15m. The statue cost VND72 billion (US$3.4 million) to create, and it has been solemnly placed in the An Ky Sinh Square on Yen Tu Mountain, about 1,000m above sea level.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy PM Dam said the grand ceremony aimed to pay respect to Tran Nhan Tong, a king associated with a glorious period in the nation’s history, reflecting the Party and State’s consensus policy on religious freedom.

He expressed his wish that monks and Buddhist followers continue joining hands with people from across the country to make Vietnam a prosperous and peaceful nation.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee, in co-operation with relevant agencies, is currently compiling a UNESCO petition to recognise King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong as a Great Man of Culture.

Thai Duy – Information Handbook of Records.