Location
Chùa
Trấn Quốc (or Tran Quoc Pagoda) is located beside the dazzling West Lake, on
Thanh Nien Road, Hanoi. Particularly, it is seated on an island linked by a
bridge to the causeway between the two most romantic lakes of Hanoi: West Lake
and Truc Bach Lake.
History
The
construction of the pagoda started in 541 and was completed in 545 under the reign
of King Ly Nam De (544-548) under its original name of Khai Quoc (National
Founder). It was initially built on the bank of the Red River (then West Lake
and the Red River met).
Until
the early 17th century, under the reign of King Le Kinh Tong (1600-1618), the
pagoda was moved to the Kim Ngu (Golden Fish) Islet due to the river bank
crumbling and was renamed Tran Quoc (National Defence).
You
might ask yourself why among a number of beautiful pagodas in Hanoi, Tran Quoc
should be visited. The reason derives from the fact that it is considered a
cultural symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism partly for it is the oldest pagoda and
situated in the center of the capital of Vietnam. More importantly, unlike
other ordinary pagodas, Tran Quoc Pagoda was built in a very intricate way.
Behind the worshipping shrine is the Buddhist trinity followed by corridors,
ten shrines and the belfry. Inside the pagoda, there are many valuable statues,
such as the red lac statue trimmed with gold of Sakyamouni Buddha's Parinirvana,
which is a masterpiece of Vietnamese sculptural art, and lots of ancient stele,
one of which was made in 1639 by Doctoral lau- Nguyen Xuan Chinh, recording the
Pagoda's history.
It
must be said that the island and pagoda provide a beautiful backdrop, particularly
when viewed at sunset. Standing at one end of
Thanh Nien Road, one can see the towers of the pagoda rising above the
lake’s surface. In the pagoda’s garden stands a Bồ Đề (Bodhi) tree, which is
attached to a past story. The story tells that in 1959, on his visit to
Vietnam, Indian Prime Minister Razendia Prasat offered the Pagoda a bodhi tree
as a gift. The plant was grafted from the holy bodhi tree where Sakyamuni sat
in zen (meditation) position and achieved enlightenment in India 25 centuries ago.
Now the bodhi tree is easily recognizable from its heart-shaped leaves, taken
from a cutting of its original tree
These
days, Tran Quoc Pagoda, as a religious relic with spectacular surrounding
scenery, is a favourite stop-over of so many foreign visitors and pilgrims.
Bai Dinh pagoda
Bai
Dinh Pagoda is famous for its great size and imposingness. The pagoda will be
also set more record for the owner of the most Arhat Statues in ASEAN with 500
Arhat statues made of stone and stand higher than human’s head.
Located
behind a range of limestone mountains in Gia Sinh Commune, Gia Vien District,
Ninh Binh Province, the site with construction lying about in disorder and in
the way, so it is difficult to imagine its beauty as well as its solemn to a
pagoda in the true sense of the word as the
tradition. However, its great size and imposingness can be felt by
anybody when visiting it one time. Its back leans against the Bai Dinh Mountain
with the height of 200m. The area for constructing Ba Dinh Pagoda is 80ha,
which is located on the mass of “Bai Dinh Pagoda hallowed culture” belonging to
Trang An Tourism Area. Currently, this mass is executing many items of Pagoda
including Tam The (Past, Present and Future) Temple, Sanctuary and Bodhisatva
Kwan Yin statue, Dharma Temple, Bell-tower, Three-door temple gate, and
dormitory area for Buddhist monks, etc. In front of Pagoda valley, a hundred
of excavators, bulldozers and
power-shovels are digging land and build up a dike to make a huge semicircular lake, which will be taken
water from the river crossing to create a landscape of “on shore and under
boat” like the Yen Stream flowing under the foot of Huong Tich Pagoda.
Four
statues - three bronze Tam The statues and one Great Buddha Sakyamuni statue -
are the pride of “Owners” of Bai Dinh pagoda. Each statue of Tam The weighs 50
tons, 12m high, Great Buddha Sakyamuni statue with 16m high and weighs 100
tons, which are casted by the pure bronze bought from Russian, casted and
installed by the famous Artisans of casting bronze statue in Y Yen, Nam Dinh. A
“great bell” with the weight of 60 tons was casted and located on the top of
hill on the way come to the main sanctuary. The Great Bell is so big that it is
estimated if wanting to sound the bell, it will need a big log of wood and four
puller the log of wood to prod into the bell.
The
astonishing one is the “collection” of 500 Arhat statues on the hill in the
right of Dharma Temple. The 500 Arhat statues with the height of 2.3m, carved
by Ninh Binh stone. According to the supervisor for executing at the site, Mr.
Nguyen Xuan Truong - investor and his collaborator came to China to learn and
take the sample drawings of 500 Arhat’s legend and brought to home country for
the painters, carvers to make the sample statue of gypsum, after that the
craftsmen carved the statues again by monolithic green stone. People in Gia
Vien District joked that: only carving enough these 500 Arhat statues, the
villagers in Ninh Van’s stone craft village, Hoa Lu (neighbor district) have got
enough jobs security during the past two years.
Though
the construction of Bai Dinh Pagoda has not yet finished, the reputation of
this new Pagoda was far-resounding. The visitors received some information from
the backstage “whisper in each other’s ears”, have come to burn incense before
the bronze statues of Buddha which are still being covered by scaffolds. While
far from the large site 2km, if sharp-sighted the passers will see a humble
three-door temple gate located next the roadside. Through the three-door temple
gate, turn to the small path rather slope, go up to the top of mountain we will
see the Bai Dinh Pagoda (old), full of green moss and quiet. There is virtually
none knowing to a “Great Buddhist Pagoda” will be going to set the record of Asian
being executed at the site over there.
A
tour of the top of Ba Na Mountain in the central coast city of Danang is never
complete without a walk around the Linh Ung-Ba Na Pagoda.
Thien Mu Pagoda
Location:
Thien Mu Pagoda is situated on Ha Khe Hill, on the left bank of the Perfume
River, in Huong Long Village, 5km from center of Hue City.
Characteristic:
It was built in 1601, and then Lord Nguyen Phuc Tan had it renovated in 1665.
In 1710, Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu had a great bell cast (2.5m high; 3,285kg) and in
1715, he had a stele (2.58m high) erected on the back of a marble tortoise.
The
name of the pagoda comes from a legend: a long ago, an old woman appeared on
the hill where the pagoda stands today. She told local people that a Lord would
come and build a Buddhist pagoda for the country's prosperity. Lord Nguyen
Hoang, on hearing that, ordered the construction of the pagoda of the
"Heavenly Lady".
Several
kings of the Nguyen Dynasty such as Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri and Thanh
Thai, all had the pagoda restored. Phuoc Duyen Tower (at first called Tu Nhan
Tower) was erected in 1884 by King Thieu Tri. This octagonal tower has seven
storeys (21m high). Dai Hung shrine, the main-hall, presents a magnificent
architecture. As well as bronze cast statues, it shelters some precious
antiques: the bronze gong cast in 1677, the wooden gilded board with Lord
Nguyen Phuc Chu's inscriptions (1714). On both sides of the pagoda are a room
for the bonzes and a guest-room for visitors.
The
pagoda is surrounded by flowers and ornamental plants. At the far end of the
garden stretches a calm and romantic pine-tree forest. The pagoda was heavily
damaged in 1943. Bonze Thich Don Hau hence organized a great renovation of the
pagoda that lasted for more than 30 years.
The main hall of the Linh Ung-Ba Na
Pagoda
This
is one of the three Linh Ung pagodas in Danang with the other two being Linh
Ung-Bai But on Son Tra Peninsula and Linh Ung-Non Nuoc on Marble Mountains.
Linh
Ung-Ba Na is the highest pagoda among the three as it is located at around
1,500 meters above sea level.
The
pagoda is part of the Ba Na Hills ecological resort complex on top of Ba Na
Mountain. It is a real challenge to walk up a very steep road to the pagoda
from the Gare De Bay transit terminal where visitors take a cable car ride to
the top of the mountain after going halfway to the peak. Don’t worry about that
as vans are available for those who are not ready for a workout.
The
pagoda is an excellent place where visitors can take a good look at the
French-style mansion of the Gare De Bay terminal nestled in the jungle and
looking just like a European castle as described in a fairy tale. Standing
there, visitors can also have a bird’s-eye view of the jungle and the city
below.
What’s
more striking about the pagoda is the 27-meter-high white Sakyamuni Buddha
Statue with the octagonal base having a story about the eight stages of the
Buddha’s life.
Just
around 40km west of downtown Danang, the Ba Na Mountain and especially the Linh
Ung-Ba Na Pagoda should be given a try when you are in Danang.
Vinh ngiem pagoda
HCM
City's Vinh Nghiem Pagoda boasts of a stone tower that is the tallest in
Vietnam. The 14-meter stone tower, which was inaugurated in late December 2003,
is the first stone tower in the South built by craftsmen aged between 20 and
30. The tower sits in a harmonious position amid imposing structures of Vinh
Nghiem Pagoda, whose construction started in 1964.
One
special feature of the tower is its small leaning degree, only 0.05% as tested
by design and construction experts from the Ministry of Defense. This means
that the 14meter tower leans only seven millimeters or every meter of its
height deviates just 0.5 millimeter (0.05%) from the center, a leaning degree
that is much lower than the common standard in Vietnam. In particular, the
tower was built completely with stones, which are put together by stone joints
and glue.
The
seven-story tower has the same superficies as those of most Buddhist towers in
Vietnam. It has a square shape, with each side measuring five meters, and is
surrounded by square stone parapets of 9.5 meters long each. The tower is on an
octagonal pedestal.
The
five steps from the two main stone columns leading to the tower represent the
five senses and the five forces in Buddhism. On its body is a pair of big
dragons and 27 pairs of small dragons and phoenixes. Countless lotuses, bodhi
leaves, waves, bats, parallel sentences and mantras are inscribed on the six
stories. The word "longevity" is inscribed on the first story in the
Ly Dynasty's style. Other patterns and sculptures follow the typical styles of
the Tran Dynasty.
Vinh
Nghiem Pagoda takes its origin from a pagoda of the same name in Duc La
Commune, Bac Giang Province, which was the center of Zen Buddhism during the
Tran Dynasty.
The
tower, named Vinh Nghiem, honors the most venerable Thich Thanh Kiem, one of
the two superior monks who founded Vinh Nghiem Pagoda. Upon completion, it was
recognized by many architects and arts researchers as the tower with the
highest density of elaborated carvings among the towers in Vietnam.
The
stones used for construction were taken from Thanh Hoa Province. Many were
mined from the famous Nhoi Mountain, whose stones have fine density and pure
color. The elegant, bent roofs of the seven stories, with their stunningly
elaborated carvings, are whole stone masses each weighing between six and 10
tons.
Most
young craftsmen come from the three stone villages of Thuong, He and Xuan Vu of
Ninh Van Commune, Hoa Lu District, Ninh Binh Province. There are several
hundred stone craftsmen in Ninh Van, most of them very young. They are the
offspring of craftsmen who built the stone church of Phat Diem in Ninh Binh
more than a century ago.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Heritage Travel
For
original article, please visit:
No comments:
Post a Comment