The capital Hanoi is often mentioned as a land with rich cultural and historical heritage, famous for many scenic spots and sacred pagodas, temples and shrines. Tran Quoc Pagoda is more than a thousand years old, the oldest pagoda in the capital, with spiritual, historical and architectural beauty. This is considered one of the tourist destinations in Hanoi that cannot be missed.
General information of Tran Quoc Pagoda
Tran Quoc Pagoda is an ancient pagoda in Vietnam located at 46 Thanh Nien, Yen Phu ward, Tay Ho district, up to 1500 years old. The pagoda is located on a mound, looking from afar like a small island. Surrounding the pagoda is blue water, like a charming landscape painting.
According to historical records, Tran Quoc Pagoda was built during the Pre-Ly Dynasty, in the 6th century. Initially, the pagoda was called Khai Quoc (means National Founding), located on a field of land in Yen Hoa village, today’s Yen Phu village. In 1440, Emperor Le Thai Tong changed the pagoda’s name to An Quoc with the wish for a peaceful and long-lasting country.
During the reign of Emperor Le Kinh Tong, in 1615, the pagoda was moved to the Yen Phu dike area, rebuilt on the old foundation of Thuy Hoa Palace of the Ly Dynasty and Han Nguyen Palace of the Tran Dynasty. In 1639, Lord Trinh repaired the three-entrance gate and built corridors on the left and right sides. The pagoda was named Tran Quoc from the reign of Emperor Le Hy Tong.
At the beginning of the Nguyen Dynasty, the pagoda was embellished on a grand scale, expanding, casting bells and adding statues. In 1842, Emperor Thieu Tri changed the name of Tran Quoc pagoda to Tran Bac. However, people are still used to calling this pagoda by the name Tran Quoc and keep it to this day.
Through many historical upheavals, the pagoda is still protected, embellished, and preserves its architectural and cultural beauty. In 1962, Tran Quoc Pagoda was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a National Historical-Cultural Monument. For Vietnamese Buddhism, Tran Quoc Pagoda is truly a pride, a precious heritage possessing architectural, historical and cultural beauty. Up to now, this project is still one of the sacred Buddhist places, a famous spiritual destination of Hanoi, attracting a large number of tourists, monks, nuns, and Buddhists to worship.
Unique architecture of Tran Quoc Pagoda
As one of the most beautiful pagodas in the world, Tran Quoc Pagoda impresses visitors with its extremely unique ancient architecture. Although it has undergone many restorations, this pagoda still retains its pure Buddhist architectural and structural principles.
The pagoda has a 3 main parts: main sanctuary, forecourt hall and posterior hall. In addition, the Nine-Rank Lotus Flower or Stupa is also an interesting highlight in the overall project.
Stupa – Nine-level lotus flower
The lotus stupa was built between 1998 and 2003, creating a tower garden for the pagoda. The stupa has a total of 11 floors, an area of about 10.5 m². Inside, there is an Amitabha Buddha statue made from precious stones and about 66 other statues.
Above the stupa, there is a 9-storey lotus (Nine-grade lotus flower) cast from precious stones. The stupa of Tran Quoc Pagoda is considered a work of bold aesthetics, retaining the softness and flexibility of the overall architecture while adding majesty and splendor.
The ancient towers surrounding the stupa (18th century) also have equally sophisticated architecture.
Forecourt hall
After visiting the stupa, you can stop by to worship Buddha at forecourt hall. The Forecourt hall of the pagoda was built in the west, with the two corridors on both sides are the upper palace and an incense burning house.
The front hall is where many statues of Buddha and Lord Guan (Guan Yu) are placed. Among them, the most prominent is the wooden statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, painted in red and gilded with gold. This is also the most beautiful statue of Nirvana in Vietnam. In addition, in the Forecourt hall there are many other precious bronze Buddha statues.
The main shrine
Behind the forecourt hall, there is a bell tower built into a 3-room house, built of wood and a fish-scale red tile roof, creating an ancient look. To the right of the bell tower is the shrine for ancestor, to the left is a place storing steles.
Tran Quoc Pagoda currently still stores 14 steles. On these steles are engraved poems by famous doctors at that time.
The stele retains the historical mark of the pagoda, carrying the long-standing cultural value of Hanoi.
In front of the upper palace of Tran Quoc Pagoda, there is a large incense burner for people to burn incense here. Tran Quoc Pagoda is still the most sacred temple for Vietnamese Buddhists to this day.
Bodhi tree
Referring to Tran Quoc Tu, people will immediately remember the large Bodhi tree taken as cutting of the original tree in Bodh Gaya, India under which the Buddha sat and achieved enlightenment around 25 centuries ago. The gift was made in 1959, marking the visit of the Indian president Rajendra Prasad.
The Bodhi tree of Tran Quoc Pagoda has many spiritual meanings, symbolizing Buddha’s wisdom, his kindness and altruism towards sentient beings. Every year, many people come to pray and perform ceremonies in front of this precious Bodhi tree. After nearly 60 years since it was given by Mr. Rajendra Prasad, the tree is still lush and provides shade throughout a corner of the temple.
The worshipers who come inside the pagoda to pray can come anytime they want. However, it is especially popular during the 1st month of the Vietnamese calendar. They pray in many small and large shrines all around Tran Quoc Pagoda.
Source: collected by An
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