Tay Phuong Pagoda is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam with unique architecture and rare sculptures by contemporary artisans. This is also a sacred and peaceful place, attracting many Buddhists to come here to worship Buddha.
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General information about Tay Phuong Pagoda
The Tay Phuong pagoda is known as the second oldest pagoda in Vietnam (after Dau Pagoda in Bac Ninh). According to historical records, in 1632, pagoda was built on Cau Lau mountain, about 35km south-west of Hanoi, with a large-scale layout including a 3-room upper hall and a 20-room rear hall. Between 1657 and 1682, Lord Trinh Lac demolished the old pagoda and rebuilt a new one. In 1794, Tay Phuong Pagoda underwent a complete major renovation, and then retained its majestic and magnificent shape and architecture until today.
The entrance fee to the pagoda for both domestic and international visitors is 10,000 VND/person, excluding parking fees. In addition, as far as I know, Tay Phuong Pagoda also applies no entrance fee on cultural heritage day November 23, 30th, 1st, 2nd, 3rd of Lunar New Year.
Tay Phuong Pagoda Festival is held on the 6th day of the 3rd lunar month, but it takes place many days before with many cultural activities imbued with the characteristics of the region, such as tug of war, wrestling, cockfighting, water puppetry, play folk music… along with solemn Buddhist worship rituals creating an atmosphere, not only on the scale of the village festival but also expanding to many other regions.
In 2014, the Government officially recognized Tay Phuong Pagoda in Hanoi (Tay Phuong Co Tu) as a special National Monument for its architectural and artistic value.
Unique architecture of Tay Phuong Pagoda
Tay Phuong Pagoda is currently a complex of units, including the following items: Lower Tam Quan, Upper Tam Quan, Son Than Shrine, Tien Duong, Trung Duong, Thuong Dien, Nha To, Nha Mau and Nha Khach.
Around the pagoda are extremely sophisticated carvings of lotus flowers, chrysanthemums, dragons, phoenixes, and tigers. This is a masterpiece from the hands of talented artisans in Chang Son village – a famous long-standing carpentry village.
Tam Quan (Triple-gate)
The architectural complex of Tay Phuong Pagoda starts at the foot of Cau Lau mountain, with the first construction being Lower Tam Quan. From Lower Tam Quan, one must climb 247 laterite steps to reach Upper Tam Quan.
Tam Quan is a gate with 3 doors, of which the middle door is the largest and widest. Tam Quan symbolizes the “three ways of seeing” of Buddhism, including “hữu quan”, “không quan” and “trung quan”, representing the form (false), the void (anitya) and the middle of both.
Son Than temple
Son Than (Mountain God) temple is located on the left side of the pagoda, separate from the main pagoda area. The temple plays the role of both a place to worship the Mountain God and a Duc Ong – Mr. Anathapindika, an extremely wealthy merchant and famous for generously support the Buddha and his monastic community throughout his life and became known as the Buddha’s greatest patron.
An altar inside Son Than temple
Main Pagoda
The Main pagoda is the main part of the entire Tay Phuong complex. The pagoda is located on the top of Cau Lau mountain, including the Front Hall, Middle Hall and Upper Hall. All three have a wooden frame architectural structure with overlapping beams, two floors and eight roofs.
Inside Front hall of Tay Phuong pagoda
The Front Hall and Upper Hall have 5 compartments, 2 wings with 6 sets of roof trusses, while the Middle Hall is shortened in width, with only 3 compartments, 2 wings, 4 sets of trusses, but the Upper Hall has a much higher roof.
The roof of the Front Hall and Upper Hall are the same size and 1m high, while the Middle Hall is larger, 1.40m high. Because the roof of the roof of the Middle Hall is higher, although the roofs of all three buildings are the same height, the roof of the middle building is much higher, so when looking at the whole temple, we see that the Middle Hall is much higher. The front of the main hall has wooden panel doors in the three middle compartments, the two sides are built with bricks without plaster.
The main Tay Phuong pagoda has many special features in terms of wooden frame structure, roof, roof system, and decorative motifs on the wooden architecture. To fully appreciate the beauty of the pagoda in general, the architecture of the main pagoda in particular, certainly no article can fully describe it, hoping that visitors from all over the world, pilgrims who come to admire it in person can fully appreciate the beauty of this item.
To House – Mau House – Khach House
The To and Mau House is built in the style of 3 compartments and 2 wings, the inside worships the Mother God, the two wings at the gables are closed with wooden.
On the four pillars here, the artisans carved the images of apricot trees, pine trees, chrysanthemums, and bamboo, interwoven with the themes of plum trees, bamboo, chrysanthemums, pine trees, and deer, in a style similar to the art of the Main Pagoda.
The Khach House is located on the right side of the Main Pagoda. This item has only been restored in recent years, but still adheres to traditional architecture and is in harmony with the architectural style of all Western units.
The house consists of 7 rooms, structured in the style of gable walls, roofed with tiles, and two gradually sloping gables. The rafters are in the style of smooth, sharp-edged rafters.
Buddha Statues
The highlight of the Tay Phuong pagoda for visitors is the system of statues, with rare masterpieces in the art of religious sculpture. Typical are the statues of Tuyet Son, the 18 Arhats, Bat Bo Kim Cuong, dating from the 18th century. In addition, there are many other famous statues, dating from the 19th century, which are also extremely impressive.
The Tuyet Son Statue
Tay Phuong Pagoda is a unique architectural work, ranked first among pagodas in Vietnam, with a combination of traditional architectural style and natural habitat space, therefore, its aesthetic and artistic value, together with the Buddha statues in the pagoda, deserves to make Tay Phuong the “the best ancient pagoda”.
For that reason, in 2014, the Government recognized Tay Phuong pagoda as a special National Monument for its architectural and artistic value.
Source: collected by An
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