Giai Oan Temple

Yen Tu is a complex of historical monuments preserving many vestiges and anecdotes of Buddhist history and culture through the feudal dynasties of our country. Giai Oan Pagoda is one of the legendary temples that preserves a beautiful but also very tragic anecdote about the life of a virtuous king of the Tran Dynasty - Buddha Emperor Tran Nhan Tong has become a monk in this sacred land. .

Giai Oan Pagoda - works of art, ancient sculptures

External architecture

The architecture of Giai Oan pagoda is an ancient sculpture of great cultural and artistic value, inheriting the artistic quintessence through the feudal dynasties of the country. The pagoda is built in the shape of the letter "Ding", the pillar structure, reinforced concrete beams are especially strong. The roof is tiled, in the middle of the roof there is an inscription in Chinese characters "Giai Oan Soul Tu" (ie Giai Oan pagoda). The two sides of the roof and the head of the blade are sculpted with the shape of a dragon coiling with winding clouds, looking extremely flexible and soft. From a distance, it looked like a dragon curled up in the clouds.

Sculpture inside

The pagoda wall is built of red bricks without plaster, the temple yard is built of Bat Trang bricks. The door is closed with ironwood, the structure is in the style of "Upstairs and lowers". All are carved with very delicate patterns, below the river are carved patterns "Long, Ly, Quy, Phuong", "Tung, Cuc, Truc, Mai", the four corners have the pattern "Phuc Thu" (son). bat), implying to bring luck, blessing. In front of the entrance to the pagoda, there is an incense floor 3,2m high, 1,8m long, 0,8m wide supported by 4 pillars. The 2-storey curved roof is carved with ancient patterns.

Main space of Giai Oan Pagoda

The main space in the temple is decorated according to Vietnamese pagodas and Mahayana Buddhism. The pagoda has 3 main areas: the front street, the main palace of the Mother Palace and the To Church.

Road money

The left side worships Ban Duc Ong, Protector of Goodness, and right side worships Protector Ban Duc Thanh Hien. The upper shrine is decorated with 7 levels: the top level is Tam The Buddha; the second level is Amitabha Tam Ton including statues of Amitabha in the middle, Quan Am Bodhisattva and Dai The Chi Bodhisattva on both sides; the third level is the statue of Snow Mountain in the middle, Bodhisattva and Medicine King Bodhisattva on both sides; the fourth level is Buddha Shakyamuni preaching in the middle, Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva on both sides; the fifth level is Quan Am Standard De (Quan Am Thien Thu Thien Nhan); the sixth level is Tam To Truc Lam; The seventh level is the Nirvana Buddha and the Kowloon throne.

The Model Palace itself

It is the palace that worships Duc Nguyen Thanh Thien Cam Hoang Thai Queen (who is the mother of Buddha Emperor Tran Nhan Tong) and this is also the only temple to worship this lady. The left side worships Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan (Quoc Truong of Buddha Emperor Tran Nhan Tong). Also on the right is the altar to worship the Tam Toa Holy Mother according to traditional Vietnamese beliefs and culture.

Church of the Ancestors

It is divided into 5 pavilions designed in the shape of the word "Nhat" to worship the Statues of Bodhidharma, Tam To Truc Lam and the abbot of the pagoda. The roof is tiled with comedy nose tiles, the doors are also made of ironwood and all are carved with the four precious patterns "Tung, Cuc, Truc, Mai".

Origin of the formation of Giai Oan pagoda

Legend of the name

According to recorded stories, when King Tran Nhan Tong abdicated the throne, he went to the mountain to become a monk. The next king, Tran Anh Tong, mercifully did not want his father to become a monk, so he silently sent beautiful women to serve and intervene. But with a sincere heart, Tran Nhan Tong allowed the palace maids to return to the court or return to their old hometown to do business. But also to show loyalty to the king, that number of concubines and beauties threw themselves into the Yen Tu stream to commit suicide.

Among them, there were a few lucky survivors who were granted land by King Tran, farmland and support to build houses at the foot of the mountain to live, and gradually established a village named Nam Mau village. And the number of palace maidens who died in the stream, the king had set up an altar to sacrifice to clear their souls.

The process of formation and construction

At the place of worshiping the souls of the palace maidens, the people built a pagoda named Giai Oan pagoda and the stream where the palace maids also bore that name as an incense to commemorate the maidens who were faithful to the king. , with water.

Since then, the image of the pagoda and Giai Oan stream as a boundary between daily life and religious practice, a historical mark marking the birth and development of Truc Lam Zen School. At the same time, it also shows the kind heart, loving the people like the son of King Tran, opening a humane and very noble truth, towards the sustainable development of the country.

Experiencing many historical events, the old temple was destroyed and badly damaged. But it is said that the temple is very sacred and is very revered by the people, so in the years 1994 - 1997, monk Thich Dieu Nhu and the Yen Tu management board mobilized the state budget and the merits of the local people. Buddhists from all over the world to rebuild the temple based on the foundation of the old temple.

Moving on Giai Oan Pagoda

Located at the gateway to the center of Yen Tu historical relic site and national forest. From Giai Oan pagoda, visitors can go by cable car or walk about 1.630m with a steep slope Tang Tung, Pearl, Tower To go to Hoa Yen pagoda Buddha worship and pilgrimage to the upper mountain One Mai Pagoda, Bao Sai Temple, Van Tieu Pagoda, Statue of An Ky Sinh, Tell Statue of Buddha Emperor Tran Nhan Tong, Buddha Stele, Heaven Gate and Dong Pagoda.

Right in front of Giai Oan stream pagoda, the stream is clear, calm and very gentle. In the temple all year round the smoke of incense. In particular, the scenery here is very pure and charming, lifting the footsteps of travelers like Buddha who always seeks to cherish and protect people. There is a poet Vu Xuan Hong when he came here, it was a scene of love and exported into poetry:

I pray that life is less unfair
So posterity built the temple
Heaven and earth dance with sunshine and rain
People's lives are fortunate to lose ups and downs
Remember the saying that Buddha is in the mind
Compassionate Wisdom Miracle Unfair