Tran Quoc Pagoda, Hanoi

Tran Quoc Pagoda or  Chùa Trấn Quốc in Vietnamese is located on the east side of Hanoi's west lake. It is one of most ancient pagodas dating back to more than 1, 500 years. The Mahayana Buddhist pagoda, was the center during the Ly and Tran dynasties.

stupa seen from a distance

bridge for American War Memorial, which cuts across the lake connecting to pagoda

History of Pagoda:

• The pagoda is said to start its construction in 541 and was completed in 545 under the reign of King Ly Nam De, who was the founder of early Ly dynasty in Vietnam.
• It was initially located beside Red River and was known as Khai Quoc.
• In 1615, during Le Trung Hung, it was moved to Yen Phu dyke.
• During 1624, 1628 and 1639, it continued to be expanded and restored.
• Due to erosion on the river bank, the pagoda was again moved during the reign of King Le Hy Tong(1600-1618) and renamed Tranc Quoc.
• Last restoration was in 2010 to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Hanoi.

birds to be released for making merit

fish considered to bring good luck ready to go back in lake

Bodhi tree at entrance

entrance gate of pagoda

Dragons facing each other at the entrance gate

We did not check the pagoda timings and not until we reached the pagoda, did we come to know that it would be closed for lunch. We instead of waiting decided to go to One Pillar Pagoda

Bao Thap Luc Do Dai Sen:

Built in 1998, no one can miss seeing the 11 storey tower, Bao Thap Luc Do Dai Sen or the precious stupa. The tower is 15 meters tall.

The six sided tower has an image of Amitabha Buddha in each niche.

It is built symmetrically opposite to Bodhi tree,which is in front of the Tien Duong or the front house or the back side from where we stand now.

On top of the pagoda, is a nine-storey lotus called Cuu Pham Lien Hoa made of precious stones.

tombs from 18th century

Ancient tombs from 18th century during the Vinh Huu and Canh dynasties

image of Amitabha Buddha

All images are made in white stone and are in dhyaan mudra or the meditative posture. Lord Buddha sits on a fully bloomed lotus signifying the end of journey.

He has a swastika on his chest symbolizing the seat of Buddha's heart. Swastika should not be confused with the Nazi symbol.

offerings in front of image

The central pillar is surrounded by two and three tiered pillars.

All pillars have Buddhist "Aum" symbol

inside each pillar is a container for burning joss sticks

each pillar is topped with a lotus, some of them 

offerings

The complex has three main houses: Tien Duong, Thuong Dien and Nha Thieua.

The upper hall, Thuong Dien is connected to Tien Duong or the front house.

upper hall

dragon at the side of roof

There are lot of valuable statues of worship in the upper room. One most notable image is that of Shakyamuni entering Nirvana, that is the reclining pose which is very common to see in the wats of Thailand but here in Vietnam, it is not very common. Called by the locals as "Thich Ca Thap Niet Ban".

Unfortunately, it was closed when we visited the place.

house of stele

stone stele

The stele has record of pagoda's history.

pictorial illustration of Law of Karma

Nha To, place to worship gods and goddesses

On the opposite of house of stele is Nha To where gods and goddesses are worshiped.

In front is the incence burning urn.

Shrine of Mothers

Some of the oldest goddesses are worshiped here. In green dress, is the mother of mountains and forests, in red is the Mother of sky and the white Mother represents water.

three sages and ancestor monks of pagoda

This is very typical of a Chinese temple, where they burn the fake notes and votives

west facing Tien Duong or the front house

Inside the front house, an altar has many precious Buddha images

images inside the temple

Opposite the front house is a huge Bodhi tree. It was a gift to Ho Chi Minh when Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India visited Hanoi in 1959.

devotees circumambulating  the tree

Though, not a very big pagoda, it is a must see in Hanoi.

Timings:

0730 - 1130

1330 - 1730

entrance : free

Tam Chuc Pagoda, Vietnam

The largest pagoda in the world, Tam Chuc pagoda is 1.5 hours drive from Hanoi. Located in Ha Nam province, the pagoda has been rebuilt on the grounds of ancient Tam Chuc of Dinh dynasty in the 10th century.

Inaugurated in 2019, this pagoda is largest pagoda to date covering an area of 5,100 hectares. I have so many pictures that I am in a dilemma which ones to chose.

History:

Around 20 years back while surveying the Tam Chuc lake, workers found wooden pillars and other remnents of ancient Tam Chuc Pagoda. The temple was dated back to 1000 years.

The present temple is built on the foundation of the ancient pagoda.

Pagodas as seen from road

Exterior gate, going inside the complex, couldn't take a proper picture

view from inside

The exterior gate is the entry to Tam Chuc complex. The gate has entrances. The top has architecture similar to pagodas in the complex.

The distance from parking lot to pagoda is 5 kms so there are two ways one can reach the pagoda-- by electric motor van or by boat. The van is much faster.

The boat takes about half an hour to reach inner gate. But, that way you get to enjoy the fresh breeze. Also, visit a temple dedicated to queen of Dinh dynasty- Duong Thi Nguyet. People come and pray here.

Architecture of Pagoda:

• The west facing pagoda has Luc Nhuc lake in front and That Thinh mountain behind.
• The Cong Tam Quan or the internal gate has three arched entrances.
• The largest building is Dien Tam The which is at the highest end and houses 3 huge black bronze Buddha images.
• Coming down from Dien Tam The is Dien Phap Cu which has a single image of Buddha.
• Further down is Dien Quan An with an image of Quan An.
• Between the internal gate and Dien Quan An is a garden of 32 pillars.
• This pagoda is very similar to Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh province.

ferry approaching

ferry closer to wharf

passengers get off the boats

Interior gate or Tam Quan Gate:

On getting off the wharf, is the three arched gate.

The gate is located on the Shinto axis, that is the axis between celestial poles. It is similar to Mount Meru or Kailash which forms the center of universe.

Reclining Buddha or "Thich ca thap niet ban" in Vietnamese under the center gate

Images of reclining Buddha are rarely seen in Vietnam in contrast to Thailand where one sees this posture of Buddha in almost all pagodas.

temple guardians on both sides of the hall

Most visitors after the internal gate go to Dien Tam The and then come back visiting  Dien Phap Chu and Dien Quan An temples.

A road goes up towards the Ngoc or ruby pagoda. It is a steep and long climb.

We decided to go to Diean Tam The first, then walk and climb up to Ngoc pagoda and come down seeing Phap Chu and Dien Quan An temples.

Dien Tam The or Main Hall of Buddha of three times:

This biggest temple in this complex is at an altitude of 45 meters above sea level.

The temple has 3 curved roofs.

The corners of roof curve upwards with a dragon mouth open towards inside and tail going up like tidal waves. In the center is the blazing sun with the center of yin and yang.

After taking off shoes and passing through huge wooden doors, one enters a large hall which is 5,100 meters and can accomodate upto 1,500 people.

The three Buddhas: Amitabha, Gautam and Maitreya

In the center of hall are three colossal black bronze Buddha images in three different poses or mudras. Each image weighs about 80 tons and has gold plated Bodhi leaf with small leaves inside.

Tam the Buddha means Buddha of three times: past, present and future. so, it is always worshipped in a set of three. Tam the Buddha is the most worshipped statues in Vietnam.

The past represented by Amitabha Buddha, present is Sakyamuni Buddha and the future is Maitreya Buddha.

back side of each leaf of image

An image of Boddhiattva of compassion, Quan An behind of the images

The hall has reliefs in stone all around the hall. They depict the life of Buddha. There are said to be 12,000 reliefs in the hall.

Kaal chakra or Wheel of time

Three huge reliefs at the back of three statues:

Three huge wall to wall reliefs decorate the back of colossal images. 

Angels and fairies can be seen above the meditating or preaching Buddha.

abhay mudra(do not fear) or even the blessing or var mudra

Buddha in dyaan mudra or meditative posture

Buddha in preaching posture

huge bell inside the hall

The courtyard:

Going down the stairs is a huge courtyard.

an incense burning urn flanked by cranes sitting on turtle

crane with a lotus in its beak symbolises purity and longevity

This image of crane sitting on top of turtle is very frequently seen in Vietnamese pagodas and also in Chinese temples.

I was never able to figure out the significance of this posture earlier.

Both, crane as well as turtle are a symbol of longevity and together they represent a long and healthy life.

According to a folk tale, many years back Vietnam was flooded and a crane flying up could find no dry place to land. A turtle swimming in water, came out and offered its back to the bird. Many years later, the country was struck with a bad drought and there was no water for the turtle. This time the crane flew down and carried the turtle to a lake thus repaying his debt.

These two are thus always displayed together. They also signify helping those in need.

The 30 ton bronze Pho Minh cauldron is 4 meters high and has famous spiritual landscapes of Vietnam sculplted on it.

Zen Master Ngyun Minh Khong

He was one of the Zen Masters who was the ancestor of Bai Dinh pagoda and contributed to the development of Buddhism in Vietnam.

Tam Chuc Pagoda- Ha Nam

Trang An Pagoda--- Bai Dinh

Bai Dinh Pagoda-- Ninh Binh

On the sides are images of Buddha in different mudras or hand gestures

Bodhi tree, a sapling of which came from Sri Lanka and said to be from a 2, 125 year old Bodhi tree in India.

We made our way to Jade pagoda or Ngoc Pagoda. After visiting that pagoda, we come down to see Phap Cu, Dien Quan An. That, I shall be covering in my next post.