Tam Chuc Pagoda 2, Vietnam

 After visiting Dien Tam The, we start our climb up to Ngoc Pagoda or the Jade Pagoda. The climb is not very easy. I take a sigh of relief on reaching the top and give myself a victorious pat.

view from above

Ngoc Pagoda:

The Jade Pagoda is the highest point in the complex and is located on top of one of the seven That Tinh mountains. Though area of pagoda is only 13 square meters but the whole structure weighs 2,000 tons!

The 15 meter high pagoda is made of red granite stones from India. One astonishing feature of this pagoda is that no cement or any adhesive material has been used to assemble the slabs together.

The image is carved in monolith jade which was sourced from Myanmar.

The image of Amitabha weighs 1.5 tons and stands on a white lotus.

On three sides inside alcoves is an image of Buddha

coming down 299 steps

Dien Phap Cu:

After visiting Ngoc Pagoda, we proceed to Dien Phap Chu. Phap Chu Palace is 31 meters high and is located below Dien Tam The.

Sakyamuni Buddha is worshipped in this temple.

temple has 2 curved roofs

Three images of Buddha on the side of temple with one in reclining posture in white

reclining posture of Buddha

A monolith bronze image of Buddha sits in the center of hall

 It is 150 tons in weight and sits in a bhumisparsh mudra or calling the earth to witness. Behind the image is a golden plate with dharamchakra on it.

it is the largest image in Southeast Asia

customary offering of betal nut and leaf

Around the hall on side walls are around 10,000 reliefs related to Buddha's life.

Buddha recieves food from Sujata

All the reliefs in this temple are numbered and an account of each is given below in Vietnamese and English. This makes it very easy to understand the section.

Gautam Buddha blesses his father, Suddhodana

Four large reliefs:

Each relief depicts a turning point in the life of Buddha.

There are wall to wall reliefs also along with small section of reliefs

The above relief depicts Buddha's first sermon

Reclining Buddha surrounded by his disciples

big bell inside the temple

Dien Quan Am:

Last temple to visit in the complex is Dien Quan Am.

The two roofed temple is 30.5 meters high and has a floor area of 3,000 square meters.

girls in traditional Vietnamese attire pose for a photo shoot as it was Women's day in Vietnam

Inside the temple is 150 ton solid bronze image of Quan Am or Guan Yin Boddhisattava.

More images in front of the main image

Quan Am or the Goddess of Mercy is sometimes portrayed with 8 or many arms signifying that she can help many people at the same time and is the embodiment of saving people from dangers and misfortune.

small reliefs showing anecdotes related to Quan Am

Garden of Sutras:

Between the temple o Quan Am and Tam Quan gate or  the 3-arched entrance is the garden of sutras. It is commonly known as the garden of pillars or Vuon Cor Kihn in Vietnamese.

garden of Sutras

There are 32 monolith pillars, 13.5 meters high and weighing 200 tons each. They are made from Thanh Hoa green stone which is a green limestone and is found in Vinh Loc are, 60 kms from Thanh Hoa city.

The octagonal pillars denoting the 8-fold path stand on a fully bloomed lotus and have a closed lotus bud on top.  All sides of the pillar have Sutras.

Sutras are records of teachings given by Sakhyamuni Buddha.

Apart from these four temples, there is Dinh Thu guest house, the first thing you notice on the lake. It is also called International Convention Center. Conventions are held here.

It is a three-floor guest house and seems to sitting on the Luc Nhac lake. With a height of 31 meters and area of 2,000 meter square, it can accomodate around 3,000 people. The upper floor serves as a dining area.

There is also a shrine dedicated to Queen Dinh Duong Thi Nguyet on an island in the lake.  It is connected by a zig zag bridge. Visitors going by boat can access that.

Opening hours:

the complex open from 6 am.

Entrance fee:

there is no entrance fee, however one needs to pay for transport from parking lot to Tam Quan.

Visitor can opt for an electric car which costs 60,000 VND ($2.60) per person, round trip or a boat which takes around much longer and costs 200,000 VND ( around $ 8.00), round trip.

Other things to note:

As is customary, visitors need to be dressed properly. Avoid wearing short skirts or shorts or short tops.

Respect their culture.

Soon after, it was time for lunch. We headed to a Vietnamese restaurant which was known for serving the local bird, con cò.

Con cò

Con cò is a little egret found mostly in the rice fields. It has a long beak so as to eat small insects.

gà lôi

Gà lôi is a phesasant.

 fried gà lôi with lemon grass

At the end, I would say, Tam Chuc is worth a visit. There is continuous construction going on. The whole complex would be completed by 2045. The place would have its own golf course, a resort so that people can come and combine relaxation with spirituality.