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The Vietnam
Guinness Book Centre (Vietbooks) has recognised ten more
records of Vietnamese Buddhism, most of which have a cultural
aspect and a lengthy history.
The centre is
due to announce its new recognition at a ceremony in Ho Chi
Minh City Thursday evening to mark the 2550th
birthday of Lord Buddha, on the fifteenth day of the fourth
lunar month, or May 12 this year.
 1. The most
ancient pagoda
is Phap Van,
or Dau Pagoda in Thanh Khuong commune, Thuan Thanh district,
Bac Ninh province, some 30 kilometres from Hanoi.
Built in the
third century in Luy Lau, the most ancient Buddhist centre in
Vietnam, the pagoda is dedicated to Phap Van (Cloud), one of
the four powers of the Buddhist doctrine – together with Phap
Vu, or Rain; Phap Loi, or Thunder; and Phap Dien, or
Lightning.
Considered
one of the most famous Buddhist temples in the north, Phap Van
Pagoda was recognised as a national heritage by the Vietnam
Ministry of Culture and Information.
 2. The pagoda
with the most distinguished architecture
is Chua Mot Cot
(One Pillar Pagoda), also known as Lien Hoa Dai (Lotus-shaped
temple), in Hanoi.
Built in 1049
on a four-metre-high stone pillar, measured at 1.2 metres in
diametre, the pagoda’s history is connected with the legend of
King Ly Thai Tong who in a dream saw the Goddess of Mercy
sitting in a lotus-shaped throne handed a child to the king.
The queen
later got pregnant and King Ly Thai Tong ordered to build a
pagoda with the shape similar to what he dreamed for
commemoration.
 3. The pagoda
storing the greatest number of artistic Buddhist statues
is
Sung Nghiem Tu, or Mia Pagoda, in Son Tay municipality in
northern Ha Tay province.
It was built
during the Tran dynasty (1225-1406). In 1632, the wife of Lord
Trinh Trang, Lady Nguyen Tri Rong, also called Lady Mia, had
the pagoda rebuilt and renamed.
The pagoda
has 287 worshipping statues with 174 made from baked clay.
Among them are famous sculptures like the statue of Tuyet Son
(the Buddha in the Himalayas), the statues of the Eight Vajra
deities, known as Bat Bo Kim Cuong, the Mitreya Buddha,
and the Goddess of Mercy, known as Quan Am Thi Kinh.
The pagoda
preserves many ancient artifacts like the great bell made in
1743, the bronze gong made in 1846, and Lady Mia stone tables,
set up in 1632.
4. The
largest Buddha stone statue built under the Ly Dynasty
stands at
 Van Phuc, or Phat Tich Pagoda on the side of Lan Kha Mountain
in Tien Du district of northern Bac Ninh province.
The pagoda
was built between the 7th and 10th
centuries and upgraded under the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225).
It currently
keeps many statues and sculptures made under the Ly Dynasty,
including a 1.85-metre-high statue of Lord Buddha sitting on a
lotus-shaped throne, and 10 two-metre-high stone statues of
lions, elephants, buffaloes, horses and rhinos.
5. The
largest thousand-handed and thousand-eyed Guanyin wooden
statue
can be found
at the But Thap Pagoda in northern Bac Ninh province.
 Work on the
statue began in 1656 and took several years for completion.
Described as
a sculptural masterpiece of Vietnam, the statue is 2.35 metres
tall, including its pedestal, with 11 heads and 14 layers of
789 arms with an eye in each palm forming a circle 2.2 m in
diametre.
Forty-two
more arms encircle the waist, making various gestures of the
hands. The goddess is sitting on a lotus lifted up by dragons.
6. The oldest
thousand-handed and thousand-eyed Guanyin is at Thanh
An Pagoda in Hanoi.
It has 42
major arms and 610 subordinate arms and is 2.31 metres,
including its pedestal. The goddess is sitting on a lotus
lifted by a dragon and two muscled arms.
Archaeologists say the statue was build under the Mac Dynasty
in the 15th-16th century.
7. The
tallest and heaviest Sakyamuni Buddha bronze statue
is at the
Trang An Culture and Tourism Park in Hanoi.
The statue,
which weights 100 tons and is 10 metres high, was cast in
Thuong Dong hamlet, Yen Tien commune of northern Nam Dinh
province to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang
Long-Hanoi.
8. The
largest bell
is placed at
Co Le Pagoda in Truc Ninh district of northern Nam Dinh
province.
Cast in 1936,
the 9,000kg bell is measured at 4.2 metres tall and 2.2 metres
in diametre. The bell was hidden under a lake during the war
and was moved to its former place in 1954.
In 1997, Co
Le Pagoda built a three-story bell tower, 14.5 metres high, to
place this bell and a 300kg bell cast under the Le Dynasty in
the 15th-18th centuries.
9. The oldest
bell
is now at the
Ha Tay Provincial Museum. It was discovered in 1986 by a
resident in My Duong village, Thanh Mai commune, of northern
Ha Tay province, while he dig up soil for making bricks.
The Thanh
Mai, as the bell was named, weights 36kg, and is 60cm high.
Its top, measured at 28cm in diametre, is ornamented with
designs of clouds and 12 ancient coins.
Words
engraved into the body of the bell show that it was cast in
the Year of the Tiger in 798.
10. The
largest Nhu Y ball
was placed at
the Lan Pagoda, or Truc Lam-Yen Tu monastery on April 16,
2005.
 Called Qua
cau Nhu Y bao an Phat (the ball of desire to repay Lord
Buddha for his favors), was made from a large ruby stone from
the An Nhon Mine in central Binh Dinh province.
It took Ha
Quang Co. nearly two years to complete work on the Nhu Y ball
with diametre of 1,590 metres, which weights 6.5 tons and is
placed on a four-ton stone pedestal.
The ball is
placed in the middle of an octagonal water tank with eight
jets of water.
(Thanh Nien
newspaper) |
