|
 Nhan Dan – A
ceremony was held yesterday to start the restoration of Tran
Quoc, one of the oldest pagodas of Hanoi, located on an
islet of West Lake.
An amount of
VND 15 billion (around US $800,000), raised from people,
will be spent for the restoration.
The project
is expected to finish just in time to celebrate the 1000th
anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.
Tran Quoc
Pagoda is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam and a
cultural symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism. It is said that
the pagoda was built under the reign of King Ly Nam De
(544-548) under its original name of Khai Quoc (National
Founder). It was originally built on the bank of West Lake
and the Red River. In the time of King Le Kinh Tong
(1600-1618), the pagoda was removed to the Kim Ngu (Golden
Fish) Islet due to the river bank crumbling and was renamed
Tran Quoc (National Defence).
Behind the
worshipping shrine is the Buddhist trinity followed by
corridors, ten shrines and the belfry. In the pagoda, there
are many valuable statues, such as the red lacstatue
trimmed with gold of Sakyamouni Buddha's Parinirvana and
many ancient stelae with the old- one made in 1639 by
Doctoral Law- Nguyen Xuan Chinh recording the pagoda's
history.
In 1959, on
his visit to Vietnam, Indian Prime Minister Razendia Prasat
offered the Pagoda a bodhi tree as a gift. The plant was
grafted from the holy Bodhi tree where Sakyamuni sat in Zen
(meditation) position 25 centuries ago. Now the Bodhi tree
is green and luxuriant, shading part of the pagoda's yard.
As a
religious relic among the spectacular scenery, Tran Quoc
Pagoda is a favourite stop-over of many foreign visitors and
pilgrims.
(Source from
Vietnam Tourism) |
