Mysterious That Son: Bui Tang Chu saves the white tiger

Since the time of opening up the Southern land, the That Son region (An Giang) was a wild and desolate mountainous area, with miasma, full of tigers, leopards, wild animals... This is a land that has given birth to many myths and legends with spiritual and mysterious colors, and at the same time has many historical figures whose lives and careers have become thrilling legends linking the practice of establishing religion with the reclamation and establishment of villages.

Located in Thoi Son Ward, An Giang Province, Thoi Son Communal House is a familiar spiritual destination for Buu Son Ky Huong followers and tourists.

Originally a small pagoda, built by the Abbot and Mr. Dinh Tay for religious practice. Later, the local people changed it to Xuan Son communal house. In 1890, the two villages of Hung Thoi and Xuan Son merged into Thoi Son village, so the name of the communal house also changed.

White Tiger Temple

PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

Old traces of Thoi Son rice fields

According to documents, in 1849, an epidemic broke out in Tong Son village (An Giang). Mr. Doan Van Huyen (also known as Doan Minh Huyen, 1807 - 1856) preached a new religion based on the theory of "Maitreya saves the world", using spells to prevent the disease. At that time, the Nguyen Dynasty forced him to go to Tay An pagoda (Sam Mountain) to be controlled. Convinced by Venerable Hai Tinh (1786 - 1875), Doan Van Huyen took refuge in the lay Buddhist order (lay Buddhists shave their heads at the pagoda), then went to reclaim land and set up a farm on Ket mountain.

The book Dai Nam Thuc Luc recorded that in the fifth year of Tu Duc (1852), along the Vinh Te canal, the An Dien team (plantation team of An Giang province) was established. According to researcher Truong Ngoc Tuong, the An Dien team could be a group of disciples of Master Doan Minh Huyen who exploited two fields in Ket mountain. The outer field, the master assigned to two men, Bui Van Than (Monk Master Bui Thien Su) and Bui Van Tay (Dinh Tay), to command the disciples to exploit. The inner field, the master assigned to Quan Co Tran Van Thanh to command.

In 1854, Kinh Luoc Su Nguyen Tri Phuong went to the South to carry out the plan to build plantations to reclaim land and establish hamlets in the form of combined economy and national defense, focusing on the Vinh Te canal area. At that time, Tran Van Thanh's group from the inner field office established Hung Thoi village, Bui Van Than and Bui Van Tay's group from the outer field office established Xuan Son village. These two villages were both in Chau Phu commune, Tay Xuyen district, Tuy Bien prefecture, An Giang province.

The cemetery of Zen Master Bui Tang Chu

PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

According to the description of Vuong Kim and Dao Hung in the book Buddha Thay Tay An (published in 1953), when Buddha Thay came to Thoi Son to set up a rice field camp, the population was still sparse. To get to the rice field camp, one had to walk along the road from Sam Mountain to Nha Bang for about 10 kilometers, then from Nha Bang to the rice field camp was a winding path in the forest, at the foot of the mountain, there were many wild animals. At the Thoi Son rice field camp, Buddha Thay raised two buffaloes named Sam and Set. The strange thing was that only he could control these two buffaloes, the people called them "Mr. Thunder, Mr. Set".

Later, when the two monks Tang Chu and Dinh Tay passed away, the farm was expanded into a temple (later changed to a communal house). In front of it was a lotus pond and a row of poplar trees. In 1941, the temple was restored to its grandeur, but on December 23, Binh Tuat year (1946), the temple was set on fire by French soldiers...

Tomb of Zen Master Bui Tang Chu

PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

The Monk and the King of the Jungle

No one knew the real name of Zen Master Bui Van Than (1802 - 1883) before, because the tombstone only said Zen Master Bui Tang Chu. According to authors Vuong Kim and Dao Hung, the reason people called him Tang Chu was because he was the first person to be assigned by Buddha Thay Tay An to be the master and take care of the fields in Thoi Son. As a great disciple of Buddha Thay, Tang Chu attained supernatural powers, so in addition to giving talismans to cure people's illnesses, he also had the ability to subdue fierce tigers in the mountains and forests.

The story goes that, at that time, the Nui Ket forest was famous for its fierce tigers. But since the day he was ordered by Buddha Thay to guard the Thoi Son fields, the wild animals feared him like the king of the jungle. One day at dusk, Buddha Thay returned from a long trip. When he got close to the cave, he saw a white tiger sitting on the altar. When Buddha Thay approached, the tiger opened its mouth. Seeing that, he asked: "Wow, what's wrong with you that you're so skinny? Did you come to ask for medicine?". As he spoke, Buddha Thay stepped inside and called: "Where's the monk? Come see what's wrong with you that you're sitting there like that?".

Hearing the call, the Zen Master ran from behind to where the white tiger was sitting and asked: "What are you doing sitting here? Why are you so thin?" The tiger opened its mouth and looked up at the Zen Master. "Do you have a bone stuck in your throat?", the Zen Master asked. The tiger wagged its tail and nodded. The Zen Master said: "If you have a bone stuck in your throat, lower your head." After saying that, he swung his arm and punched the white tiger three times on the neck. Immediately, a large bone flew out of the tiger's mouth.

Thoi Son Communal House

PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

Thoi Son communal house gate

PHOTO: HOANG PHUONG

At that time, Buddha Thay stepped out and said to the white tiger: "From now on, I forbid you from disturbing my followers on the mountain or in the forest in the That Son area anymore, do you understand?". The tiger bowed its head and left. A few days later, the tiger carried a wild boar to repay the monk's kindness.

One time, a fierce tiger from Ba Doi Om mountain came to cause trouble. The villagers were afraid of it and called it Mr. Ham and came to ask for help from Tang Chu. Tang Chu called the white tiger. The white tiger led a pack of tigers to chase "Mr. Ham", injuring it and causing it to fall down the mountain. Later, Tang Chu and Mr. Dinh Tay built a small temple at Thoi Son communal house to worship the white tiger. That temple still exists today.

Presently, the tomb of Mr. Tang Chu is located in a dense garden, about 100 meters from Thoi Son communal house, in front of which is a large lotus pond. The entrance gate has a signboard with the words "Tomb of Zen Master Bui Tang Chu", on the back of the signboard is a sculpture of him taming a white tiger. The surrounding tomb is built in a square shape, with parallel sentences in Vietnamese on both sides: "Building a foundation to return to the ancient land/ Renewing the tomb for prosperity in the future". (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/that-son-huyen-bi-bui-tang-chu-cuu-cop-bach-185250930204315527.htm