Located on the left bank of Duong river (in Phu Dong commune, Gia Lam district, Hanoi), Kien So pagoda has long been known by Buddhists as an ancient and sacred temple. The pagoda is located next to Giong temple, where the famous Giong festival takes place.
The birthplace of the Vo Ngon Thong sect
Currently, the legend about the construction period of Kien So pagoda is still controversial. Legend has it that the temple was built by a local rich man because of his devotion to Buddhism. The rich man then invited a monk named Lap Duc to the abbot. Not long after, in the year of the Rat (820), Zen master Vo Ngon Thong moved from Guangzhou (China) to Vietnam and practiced at the temple until he passed away.
According to the documents left behind, Zen master Vo Ngon Thong, surnamed Trinh, from Guangzhou, left home to practice Buddhism from a young age. His personality is quiet, quiet, but very intelligent and quick to perceive, so people call him Vo Ngon Thong. Up to now, there are still many legends surrounding this monk when he went to and in Vietnam. The story goes that, when he came to practice at the temple, for several years in a row, every day apart from two meals of porridge, this monk devoted all his time to religious practice.
Every day, the monk turned his face to the wall to meditate without saying a word. People didn’t know, so they didn’t pay attention to him. Only Lap Duc knows that the monk is not an ordinary person, so he keeps the ceremony every day and takes care of him wholeheartedly. Thanks to the hearts of the Buddhists of the South, he imparted the mind Dharma and practice methods. The master changed the Dharma name for Lap Duc to Cam Thanh. From there, a very famous line of meditation in the history of Vietnamese Buddhism was born. The monk passed away in 826, when he was a monk at Kien So temple for 6 years.
The disciples then cremated and collected the monk’s remains into the tower to worship at Tien Du mountain (now, this mountain belongs to Tien Du district, Bac Ninh province). Since its introduction into Vietnam, this line of meditation has grown very strongly, being believed by all classes from kings to poor people. This Zen line had a great influence on the cultural and ideological life during the 4 dynasties Dinh, Le, Ly, and Tran and contributed to the appearance of Vietnamese culture.
The main hall of Kien So pagoda.
In the development process of more than 4 centuries, Vo Ngon Thong Zen sect has been transmitted for 17 generations with great masters with famous names in history such as: Da Bao, Vien Chieu, Ly Thai Tong, Man Giac, Khong Lo… These are all highly enlightened monks, famous in history not only in the field of Buddhism, but also in the political field. Moreover, this Zen sect, together with the Thao Duong sect and the Tì-Ni-Da-Luu-Chi sect, became the three largest Zen sects in Vietnam during 6 centuries (from the 7th to the 14th centuries). It was this Zen sect that was the basis, the foundation of which later became the famous Truc Lam Zen sect.
After more than a thousand years of history, posterity can no longer remember the original name of the pagoda. History books also do not record specifically, so no one knows when the name Kien So came from. It is explained that the name Kien So is the original meeting place. Meaning, this temple was the original meeting place between Monk Vo Ngon Thong and Monk Lap Duc; It also means that the Vo Ngon Thong Zen lineage originally flourished and developed in Vietnam from here.
The place of Buddhist practice of the early king of the Ly dynasty
According to the ancient bibliographies, in childhood, Ly Cong Uan practiced at Co Phap pagoda (now living in Tu Son town, Bac Ninh province), then studied Buddhism with Zen master Van Hanh and was taught by this monk. accompanied by small words. With an intelligent nature, eager to learn, this future king often went to Kien So temple to study and practice meditation. The temple’s abbot at that time, monk Da Bao, recognized his unusual character and said that in the future he would definitely become the king of a realm.
Currently, Kien So Pagoda still preserves many legends about this famous king. People still tell each other the story of the king being chased and helped by the temple. The current abbot of the pagoda, Thich Dam Chuyen, said: “In the pre-Le era, there was an oracle in the folklore saying that a person surnamed Ly, with the word Vuong at his feet, would definitely replace the house in the future. Pear. Therefore, King Le at that time gave people a very strict search and tried to kill Ly Cong Uan. To escape the chase, Ly Cong Uan had to hide in Kien So pagoda.
Khanh stone
The abbot of the temple at that time, monk Da Bao, dug a large tunnel in the ground. Then, the monk built a water tank on top to deceive the pursuing army. Ly Cong Uan hid there and rarely got to the surface. When the military officers came searching, the monks used the excuse that this Zen lineage must be silent (no words), so no matter what the soldiers asked, the monk did not speak. Therefore, Ly Cong Uan escaped from the accident. One night, while Ly Cong Uan was sleeping in the cellar, he dreamed that a god appeared, claiming to be Thanh Giong, the village’s lord, and commanded an oracle. Ly Cong Uan knew that it would become a big deal in the future, so he tried to wait for his time. After achieving great career, Ly Cong Uan did not forget what year the temple protected him as well as the year the saint reported his dream, so he provided money, restored and expanded the spacious and superficial pagoda. At the same time,
Accordingly, the name Kien So pagoda is also explained as the initial love relationship of the founding king of the Ly dynasty with the temple with many memories of difficult times. That was also the relationship between Master Da Bao and Ly Cong Uan later. When moving the capital to Thang Long, monk Da Bao was often invited to the sutra to discuss national affairs. It can be said that Venerable Van Hanh and Monk Da Bao are the two most influential monks in the thought of the first king of the Ly dynasty.
Statue of Zen master Vo Ngon Thong worshiped in the temple.
The ups and downs of the ancient temple
Experiencing historical time with the ups and downs of the era, the temple also had a turbulent fate and changed a lot. Currently, the pagoda has the traditional ancient architecture of the Northern pagodas and the campus is quite superficial, with a three-way gate with 5 overlapping roofs. In front of the temple is a large lotus pond, surrounding the entrance to the main temple. To the left of the pagoda is a stone altar dating back more than 400 years. It is also the only artifact left with time that has not been damaged or stolen. Currently, Kien So Pagoda not only worships Buddha but also the Three Religions. Through the introduction of the abbot of the temple, we learned that in addition to worshiping Buddha, the temple also worships Confucius (representing Confucianism), Lao Tzu (representing Taoism), and Mother worship. However, worshiping Buddha is still the main thing.
The bell tower of Kien So pagoda
Visiting the temple, Buddhists no longer recognize the traces of a powerful old Zen sect, with many disciples studying. Perhaps, the statue of Vo Ngon Thong and two statues, one is King Ly Cong Uan, the other is Ly Cong Uan’s mother, as if there were remnants of a glorious period. Seeing this scene, every Buddhist must feel sad.
According to nun Thich Dam Chuyen, the pagoda has undergone many embellishments and restorations. During more than 40 years as abbot at the temple, monk Thich Dam Chuyen has also witnessed the repair of the temple. In 1971 of the last century, the historic flood in the North damaged many items of the pagoda. Many precious statues as well as a number of other important buildings were damaged and have not been restored until now. Not to mention the times of theft, the temple has also lost and damaged many precious statues.
Worrying thing
The most ominous thing is that the temple is unfortunately being forgotten in the minds of Buddhists. According to the abbot’s share, the number of visitors to the temple is less, the number of people who understand the origin of the temple is even less. Although, the pagoda has been classified as a national historical monument since 1975, but too few people know about this temple.
“There are guests who come to perform the ceremony but they themselves do not know the name of the temple. If they mention the name of the pagoda, they are all surprised to think that the temple is part of the Giong temple relic,” the abbot shared. The nun also said that every year on the occasion of Giong festival, many people come to perform ceremonies at Giong temple. Because of the convenience, they stopped to do the ceremony at the temple. The temple is mainly a place of worship for local people.
Source: Collected internet.