Vietnamese Thiền stands upon a broad Mahāyāna foundation, especially the great sutras that articulate wisdom and compassion. Among these, the Lotus Sutra, the Avataṃsaka (Flower Garland) Sutra, the Laṅkāvatāra Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and the Heart Sutra are central, together with other Prajñāpāramitā texts in both shorter and longer forms. These scriptures are not merely studied as doctrine; they are chanted, contemplated, and allowed to permeate daily monastic and lay practice. In this way, the philosophical vision of emptiness, Buddha‑nature, and the bodhisattva path becomes the living atmosphere of Thiền life rather than a set of abstract ideas.

Alongside these sutras, the literature of Chinese Chan plays a decisive role in shaping the style and methods of Vietnamese Thiền. Texts such as the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, the Record of Linji (Lâm Tế Lục), the Blue Cliff Record, the Gateless Gate, and various “Transmission of the Lamp” collections form a kind of mirror in which practitioners examine mind, language, and awakening. These works, rich in kōans, dialogues, and paradoxical sayings, provide models for direct pointing to mind and for cutting through attachment to concepts. Because the Lâm Tế lineage is especially prominent in Vietnam, the sayings and records associated with Linji are particularly influential.

The tradition also preserves and cultivates its own indigenous voices, which give Thiền in Vietnam a distinctive flavor. Historical and doctrinal works such as the “Thiền Uyển Tập Anh” (“Outstanding Figures of the Zen Garden”) and the writings of Trúc Lâm masters, including King Trần Nhân Tông and later patriarchs, articulate a vision of awakening rooted in Vietnamese culture and history. Verse, prose teachings, and recorded sayings by Vietnamese Thiền masters function as both spiritual autobiography and practical guidance, showing how the universal Dharma is realized in local conditions. In more recent generations, the writings and teachings of figures such as Thích Thanh Từ and Thích Nhất Hạnh continue this stream, offering commentaries, practice manuals, and liturgical materials that are widely used in Thiền communities.

Finally, Thiền monasteries and centers make regular use of liturgical and disciplinary texts that support communal practice. Vietnamese translations of key sutras, daily chanting collections such as “Kinh Tụng Hàng Ngày,” and ceremonial texts shape the rhythm of meditation halls and temples. Vinaya materials and related disciplinary texts, transmitted through the broader East Asian Buddhist tradition, provide the ethical and communal framework within which meditative insight can mature. Taken together, these scriptural, Chan, and Vietnamese sources form a single tapestry: a body of texts that does not merely inform the mind, but continually invites practitioners to see their own nature and live the path of awakening in every circumstance.