Special features of Dong But Pagoda - National Intangible Cultural Heritage

Before 1945, Dong But village belonged to Phuc Liep commune, Liep Mai commune (Chief commune), An Son district, Quoc Oai prefecture, Son Tay province. After the August Revolution, the government changed it to Phuc Liep commune, Quoc Oai district, Son Tay province, now Kieu Phu commune, Hanoi city.

Dong But Pagoda is named after the village in Dong But hamlet, known as the "Buddhist land", the birthplace of the Zen master of the Ly dynasty - Saint Tu Dao Hanh.

The most ancient temple in the Tich River region

Dong But Pagoda, whose Chinese name is Thien Su Tu, is about 23km from the center of Hanoi. The inscription on the bell cast in the 18th year of Gia Long (1819) shows that the pagoda was founded at the end of the Tran Dynasty, Dai Tri era (1341-1369). After many renovations, Dong But Pagoda has the architectural style of the late Le Dynasty and early Nguyen Dynasty.

In addition to the main pagoda, Dong But also has the Patriarch's house, the Mother Temple, the stele house, and the guest house. Unlike other village pagodas, in front of the pagoda there is a three-door gate and two pillars like in communal houses and temples... The two pillars have embossed lanterns, dragons and phoenixes on top of the pillars, and around the four square pillars are pairs of parallel sentences praising the Buddha and the pagoda.

The temple is decorated in the style of "Buddha in front, Saint in back." In the front is the worship of Buddha according to the Mahayana sect. In the back is the worship of Tu Dao Hanh - a monk who was honored as a saint. This is different from other temples in the area.

Dong But Pagoda has a ground plan and architectural layout in the shape of the letter "Cong", including 5 worship halls, 2 tube-shaped rooms and 3 upper halls with a seven-sided overlapping architecture. The walls of the worship hall, the central palace and the upper hall are all built of laterite, a durable wall-building material and also a "specialty" of the Doai region.

The worship hall of Dong But Pagoda is 5 rooms wide and 2 sides wide. The architectural structure of the trusses is in the style of "stacked beams and two beams." The remaining ends and the front rafters are embossed with dragons and stylized flowers and leaves, made entirely of ironwood. The worship hall is decorated with a statue of Duc Ong on the left, and a statue of Duc Thanh Hien on the right. An ancient bronze bell hangs on one side. Symmetrically in the middle of the worship hall are statues encouraging good and punishing evil. The spacious interior of the worship hall provides space for Buddhists to perform rituals.

The central palace is connected from the middle of the worshiping hall to the main hall, called the tube. The highest layer of statues is the three statues of Tam The. The second layer, in the middle, is the statue of Amitabha, on both sides are Avalokitesvara and Dai The Chi. The third layer is the statue of Tuyet Son, on both sides are the statues of Indra and Pham Vuong. The fourth layer is the statue of Maitreya, on both sides are the statues of maids. The fifth layer is the Cuu Long throne, on both sides are the statues of Nam Tao and Bac Dau. In the central palace, there is an altar with a dragon throne and a tablet of Zen master Tu Dao Hanh. On both sides of the wall, there are two reliefs carved with the Ten Kings of Hell.

The Tam Bao Palace has basic layers of statues such as: The Three Buddhas of the Three Worlds on the top floor. Next is the Amitabha Buddha layer. The third layer is the Nine Dragons layer with the statue of the infant Sakyamuni. The Worship Hall has large and 3m high statues of Dharma Protectors, Encouraging Goodness and Punishing Evil.

Statue of the Holy Compassionate One. (Source: Buddhist Studies Journal)

The main hall was built of laterite, the wooden part of ironwood, the roof covered with ancient ri tiles, with curved edges like a worship hall. The right side of the main hall worships the statues of the Father and Mother of Saint Tu Dao Hanh. The statue of Saint Tu Dao Hanh is placed in the shrine on the left side of the sanctuary and is one of the oldest statues in the pagoda, depicting Tu Dao Hanh in his youth, sitting in meditation, with an intelligent and determined face.

Dong But Pagoda is considered a large-scale and long-standing pagoda in the area of the Tich River in the old Quoc Oai district. According to folk legends, Dong But Pagoda has a close relationship with many large pagodas because they worship Tu Dao Hanh together such as Lang Pagoda (Chieu Thien Tu), Thay Pagoda (Thien Phuc Tu), Thay Pagoda, Keo Pagoda ( Thai Binh ),... and many communal houses, temples, shrines also worship Tu Dao Hanh or are related to him such as Quan Thanh Temple, Thuong Dinh Temple, Kim Giang Temple (worshiping Tu Vinh - father of Zen master Tu Dao Hanh).

A place that preserves many precious relics

Dong But Pagoda still preserves many precious relics of our ancestors, with many valuable Han Nom heritages.

Entering from the temple gate, on the left of the main temple is the stele house with 3 precious stone steles containing a lot of important information. Among them, the most prominent is the stone stele named "Ho Phap Tu Bi" (Stele inscription about the temple's Dharma Protector), erected on November 9, the 1st year of Minh Mang (1820), mentioning the history of the temple associated with the career of Saint Tu Dao Hanh.

The system of Buddha statues at Dong But Pagoda is quite complete, dating back to the 17th-18th century, carved from wood, gilded with silver, and arranged on the worship hall, the Tam Bao, the Thuong Dien, in the To house and the Mau house. In addition, there is a system of 3 statues of the three Buddhas, the birth of Sakyamuni... and many small wooden Buddha statues, dating back to the 19th century.

In addition, the pagoda also has three gilded terracotta statues dating from the 18th century, and horizontal lacquered boards "Thien su tu" (the pagoda's name) and "Tu co dan Thanh" (the foundation of the birth of a Saint).

The pagoda still preserves many rich artifacts such as 11 royal decrees, the earliest of which is from the 44th year of Canh Hung (1783), the 5th year of Quang Trung (1792), the rest are from the Nguyen Dynasty; a book of sacred records along with many scriptures and ancient books all talking about the legendary life and career of Saint Master Tu Dao Hanh.

Bronze Buddha Temple Bell. (Source: Buddhist Studies Journal)

There are also ancient incense bowls, ancient architectural materials and bronze bells dating from the 18th year of Gia Long (1819), a palanquin with two dragon thrones, a book of legends about Zen master Tu Dao Hanh, six parallel sentences and five ancient horizontal lacquered boards.

The Dong But Festival takes place from the 7th to the 10th of the third lunar month, three days later than the Thay Pagoda Festival. The festival is organized in two parts, the first is the ceremony, the second is the festival.

March 10 is the main festival day, in which the procession of Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh's palanquin from the pagoda to the Quan (built on the land called Vuon No) is a solemn and respectful ceremony but also very bustling and jubilant. This is also an occasion for people to remember the story and merits of the Zen Master that have been passed down from generations of ancestors.

Elders in Dong But village shared that according to the old village custom, only on the 10th day of the village festival will the shrine (rear shrine) be opened to carry the statue of Zen master - Saint Tu Dao Hanh to Quan Thanh on the way to Thay Pagoda. Only those elected by the village can open the shrine. The shrine is usually opened during the bathing ceremony on the occasion of the village festival. Until now, this custom is still carried out according to the traditional ritual.

At Dong But Pagoda, every year there are also death anniversaries for the family of Duc Thanh Tu. These are January 10th for Father's death anniversary, March 7th for Duc Thanh Tu's death anniversary, April 10th for Mother's death anniversary and September 26th for King Ly Than Tong's death anniversary. These death anniversaries are held at Dong But Pagoda by the abbot and the elders.

In addition, festivals such as the Thanh Hoang's birthday on the 12th of the 5th lunar month, the Thanh Hoang's death anniversary on the 10th of the 7th lunar month, Ha Dien's death anniversary on the 28th of the 10th lunar month, the Dai Khanh festival - Dinh day in the 2nd and 8th lunar months... are also a folk cultural activity towards the origin, remembering the merits of the Gods and Thanh Hoang for the people and praying for favorable weather, good crops.

Not only is it a center of religious activities and a pilgrimage site for the people, Dong But Pagoda is also a revolutionary base during the anti-French period, a place to send off children to their homeland. With the special values of Dong But Pagoda, the pagoda has been ranked as an architectural and artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) according to Decision No. 1460/QD-VH dated June 28, 1996.

On June 27, 2025, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung signed Decision No. 2227/QD-BVHTTDL, officially including the traditional festival of Dong But Pagoda (Kieu Phu commune, Hanoi city) in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kieu Phu commune leaders receive the Certificate for Dong But Pagoda Festival. (Photo: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism)

This is a worthy recognition of the spiritual, historical, cultural and community values that the Dong But Pagoda festival has preserved and promoted for generations.

From the sacred temple beside the ancient lotus pond, from the ringing bell in the heart of Dong But village, Dong But Pagoda is a place where the quintessence of local folk culture converges - a place connecting the past, present and future, a sacred place for people to turn to their ancestors and pray for national peace and prosperity.

The recognition of Dong But Pagoda Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage is not only a source of great pride for the people of Dong But village but also an important milestone in the journey of preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of Thang Long-Hanoi with its thousand years of civilization./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/net-dac-sac-chua-dong-but-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-post1061931.vnp