IMPRESSIVE SPIRITUAL WORKS
According to Venerable Thich Minh Phuoc, Abbot of Lien Hoa Pagoda, in 2016, during a charity trip to Xuan Dong Commune, Cho Gao District, Tien Giang Province (now Dong Thap Province), he saw the location of Xuan Dong Commune located next to Tien River and especially had the story of Vam Ky Hon from the time when King Gia Long was being pursued by Tay Son army, people and horses had just crossed the river when an otter came out to erase the marks on the beach, later the otter was given the title of General by the King.
peace
From this story, he intended to return here to build a pagoda with the highlight being the statue of Mother Nam Hai standing tall, looking out to Tien River to bless fishermen's boats to travel safely.
The temple was officially established in 2016 with the name Lien Hoa Buddhist Recitation Hall. In 2017, Venerable Thich Minh Phuoc built a large statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara with a height of 33 m.
The construction took more than a year to complete and was inaugurated on April 15, 2018. The project was made possible thanks to donations from many philanthropists and Buddhists near and far.
Continuing the spiritual projects, in 2019, the main hall of Lien Hoa Pagoda began construction. The main hall (2nd floor) was built under two 15 m high statues of Buddha Sakyamuni and Buddha Da Bao, the sitting posture is also a unique highlight of the pagoda, creating a majestic and meaningful architectural complex. The first floor is the Patriarchal Hall, the ground floor is the monks' house and the public living area.
At the same time, with the support of Buddhists, Venerable Thich Minh Phuoc bought more land to expand the temple area and built a garden of Eighteen Arhat statues and a garden of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara statues for the 12 zodiac animals.
Reconstructing the Great Statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and 32 incarnations of Bodhisattva in front of the temple yard; all of these statues are made of beautiful non-water stone. The Venerable proceeded to build the Statue of Buddha Sakyamuni entering Nirvana to enrich the spiritual space.
In 2022, Lien Hoa Buddhist Temple was renamed Lien Hoa Pagoda and people often call it Nam Hai Tien Giang Mother Pagoda, meeting the increasing needs of Buddhists for study and practice.
ATTRACTIVE TOURIST DESTINATION
Since its inauguration, the statue of Mother Nam Hai has become a destination attracting many tourists and Buddhists to pray for peace, worship and find peace of mind, especially on full moon days and major holidays.
In particular, during the recent Lunar New Year, the pagoda welcomed more than 50,000 visitors to visit and burn incense, with more than 20,000 people on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month alone. On major holidays, there were days when the pagoda welcomed more than 10,000 visitors to offer incense.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong, a resident of Trung An ward, shared: “Although there are many pagodas in Trung An ward, my family often goes to Lien Hoa pagoda. Here, the campus is spacious, on the banks of the cool Tien River, there are many great Buddha statues and especially the majestic statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. We come to pray for peace and relax after stressful working days.”
Mr. Tran Van Minh, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, also shared: “The first time I came to Lien Hoa Pagoda, I was impressed by the solemn beauty of the statue of Mother Nam Hai.
I chose early morning to visit, at this time the gentle sunlight and cool breezes from the Tien River created an extremely peaceful scene. Standing at the foot of the statue, looking out at the vast river, I felt my heart so light and peaceful.
The road to Lien Hoa Pagoda is not as difficult as before. The distance from My Tho center to the pagoda is about 10 km, the road is clear and convenient for all means of transport.
In addition to developing into a typical spiritual destination, Lien Hoa Pagoda also actively carries out large-scale social security activities. With the wish of "serving sentient beings is making offerings to Buddhas", since its establishment, Lien Hoa Pagoda has supported the funding to complete nearly 300 bridges in Cho Gao district, Tien Giang province in the past, not only helping people travel more conveniently, but also contributing significantly to promoting trade and developing the economy of the river region, demonstrating the practical contribution of the pagoda to community life.
In particular, from the beginning of 2025 until now, the pagoda has carried out charity programs, serving social security with a total value of over 2.2 billion VND, with some typical activities such as: Giving 1,000 gifts to people affected by floods in Thai Nguyen and Lang Son, each gift worth 500,000 VND in cash; supporting the construction and repair of houses for 18 poor households to help people overcome the consequences of the flood, stabilize their lives...
“In the next few days, I plan to continue to go to some localities in the Central Highlands to support about 1,000 gifts, with a budget of 500 million VND for people affected by the recent storms and floods, with the hope of sharing some of the difficulties with my compatriots so that they can soon stabilize their lives,” Venerable Thich Minh Phuoc added.
It can be said that from the wild land, Lien Hoa Pagoda emerged majestically and has now become a unique cultural and spiritual highlight in the West. This is not only a place for tourists and Buddhists to burn incense, to place their faith in peace and good things, but also a living symbol of the spirit of "good life, good religion".
Lien Hoa Pagoda is not only a place of worship, but also actively contributes to social security activities and local economic development, spreading compassion and protection, bringing true peace to people in the river region.
TUAN LAM - HOAI THU
Source: https://baodongthap.vn/chua-lien-hoa-ben-bo-song-tien-a233803.html
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