Vietnam will commemorate the 701st anniversary of the attainment of Nirvana of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong, the founder of Vietnamese Zen Buddhism, on December 16.

Also, construction of a copper statute dedicated to the king, which will be 9.9 m high and weigh about 100 tonnes, will kick off on the Yen Tu Holy Mountain where the King-Monk’s passage to Nirvana took place, the organisers of the northern province of Quang Ninh said on December 7.

For the occasion, the Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to coordinate with relevant ministries and the Quang Ninh authorities to compile a record on King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong for submission to UNESCO to recognise him as a World Cultural Celebrity.

Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308), the third emperor of the Tran Dynasty, ascended to the throne when he was just 21. He is famed for defeating Mongol invaders.

He abdicated his throne at the age of 35 and spent the rest of his life on the Yen Tu Mountain practising and propagating Buddhism, and founding the Truc Lam School of Zen (the Bamboo Forest School).

During that time, the King-Monk worked to unify different sects of Vietnamese Buddhism into Vietnamese Zen Buddhism.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee has long observed the day King Tran Nhan Tong attained Nirvana (the first day of the eleventh lunar month) as the national anniversary of Vietnamese Buddhism.