Along with the Tran Royal Temple relic, Pho Minh Pagoda is one of the famous spiritual destinations, impressing visitors with its ancient, green, and peaceful features.
Overview of Pho Minh Pagoda
Pho Minh Pagoda, also known as Thap Pagoda, is located west of Tran Royal Temple in Nam Dinh Ward, Ninh Binh Province. The pagoda was built under the Ly Dynasty, and in 1262, under the Tran Dynasty, it was expanded in scale and grandeur. Up to now, although it has been restored many times, the pagoda still retains many traces of the Tran Dynasty art.
Pho Minh Pagoda was once a place of practice and chanting for many emperors and noble mandarins of the Tran Dynasty. As a famous landmark on the Hong Duc map drawn in 1470, the pagoda is considered a great scenic spot in Dai Viet (one of the old names of Viet Nam). This is also one of the places of practice of Emperor Tran Nhan Tong with monks Phap Loa and Huyen Quang – the Three First Patriarchs of the Truc Lam Zen sect. After the death of the emperor, the successor, Emperor Tran Anh Tong, ordered people to make a stone palanquin and build a tower on top of it, then placed 7 of his father’s 21 relics in a precious stone box and brought them into the Pho Minh tower in front of the temple.
In 2012, Pho Minh Pagoda was ranked as a special national monument by the Prime Minister. The architectural works in the pagoda are elaborately carved, bearing the mark of the Tran Dynasty.
Pho Minh Pagoda is also a place to preserve many valuable antiques, contributing significantly to the study of the economy, politics, culture, and society of Viet Nam under the Tran Dynasty.
It is now a very large pagoda which includes a lotus pond, a floating house, and lush old trees, attracting many tourists to visit and worship.
Unique architectural features at Pho Minh Pagoda
The Tam Quan (Triple gate) of the pagoda has 3 entrances, brick walls, an ancient tiled roof, and is designed in the “two floors, four roofs” style.
Under the 3-level stone steps at the entrance, there is a pair of stone squirrels from the Tran Dynasty, carved from a monolithic stone block and arranged in a running position from top to bottom, with the entire set of steps wrapped in rectangular blocks of green stone.
The main architectural complex of the pagoda includes 9 front rooms, 3 incense rooms, and an upper hall with 3 rooms, which is wider and arranged in the shape of the Sino-Vietnamese character “工”. The door set in the middle of the front hall consists of 4 large, thick ironwood panels, carved with dragons, water waves, flowers, and geometric patterns.
The two middle panels are carved with a pair of large dragons facing the Sun, considered a quite perfect sculpture. Like the pair of stone crocodiles on the three-door steps and the pair of dragons on the steps in the middle of the front hall, this set of doors still retains the imprints of the Tran Dynasty’s carving art.
In the pagoda, there is a statue of Tran Nhan Tong entering Nirvana (lying statue); two other statues of the Early Patriarchs of the Truc Lam Zen sect made of wood, painted red, gilded, intact after 300 years; and a number of beautiful and splendid Buddha statues. This set of statues was recognized as a national treasure on January 30, 2023. The large bell of the pagoda was cast in 1796.
Behind the main hall, separated by a narrow yard, is an eleven-room building extending in the shape of the Sino-Vietnamese letter “一”. In the middle are five rooms of the ancestor’s house, on the left are three rooms of the monk’s house, and on the right are three rooms of the worship hall. In the ancestor’s house is a statue of Lady Mac, who used to contribute to the restoration and practice at the pagoda.
The statue is carved from white stone and sits on a lotus throne. Two corridors that connect the front hall and the 11-room building form the outer circle of the Sino-Vietnamese character “国”.
In the pagoda yard, in addition to the tower, there are two stele houses on both sides. The stela house on the right houses the 1916 stela about the Pho Minh tower.
The stele house on the left has a stele dated 1668, mentioning the pagoda. Both of them are put on the back of a stone turtle.
Pho Minh Tower
The most valuable structure, playing a leading role in the pagoda and preserved quite intact to this day, is Pho Minh tower. Located in front of the altar house is a 21m-high tower, built in 1305, that resembles a three-tiered lotus flower. The pedestal and the first level are constructed of engraved grey stone, while the other levels are built of brick. On top of the conical tower is a stone shaped like a pen.
The tower has a total of 14 floors, and the upper floors all have arched doors facing four directions. The stone altar is placed in the heart of the tower’s first floor, adorned with stylized lotus petals. The tower is decorated simply yet very beautifully, with winding patterns and spectacular dragons playing with clouds. Although the tower weighs some 700 tons, it has surprisingly stood steady on sunken land for over seven centuries.
Located in the middle of a lowland area with an ancient temple roof and lush old trees, Pho Minh Tower has stood for centuries, creating a majestic, otherworldly landscape. Pho Minh Pagoda and Tower, together with Thien Truong Temple (worshiping the Tran Emperors) and Co Trach Temple (worshiping Tran Hung Dao), form a site of relics that is not only valuable in the arts but also of great historical significance.
Source: collected by An
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