Tuệ Trung

Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ (慧中上士) (1230–1291) was an influential Buddhist lay practitioner and skilled poet of the Thiền (Zen) tradition during the Tran Dynasty in Vietnam.

In his early years, Tue Trung was the eldest son in a branch of the royal clan of Tran with the lay name of Trần Tung (陳嵩).

He was the elder brother of the Queen of Vietnam, Nguyên Thánh Thiên Cảm (wife of King Tran Thanh Tong and mother of King Trần Nhân Tông), and of the famous general-saint Trần Hưng Đạo.

Via Trần Nhân Tông, Tue Trung is part of the lineage of such modern Buddhist masters as Thích Nhất Hạnh.

Being essentially a Chan Buddhist tradition, the teaching of Tue Trung emphasized non-duality up to demonstrative negation of the value of formal meditation and rituals.