The temple’s history dates back to the 13th century, was started in the reign of King Tran Thanh Tong, monk Huyen Quang, after he attained poinsettia and then returned from the mandarin office, returned to practice here (Book of But Thap Pagoda – Bui Van Tien, also mentioned about this pagoda). The abbot of the temple under the Tran Dynasty was Zen Master Huyen Quang, Truc Lam the third patriarch).
Over time, the pagoda has been restored and embellished many times. But the biggest restoration period was at the beginning of the 17th century AD, during the Le – Trinh dynasties. At that time, the abbot of the pagoda was the monk Cheet Chech (From 1633-1644), and his disciple was Zen Master Minh Hanh (From 1633-1659) restored the entire temple with a large scale, architectural style. “Daughter of Thanh Vuong Trinh Trang” and made a great contribution of money and fortune to the empress dowager – Dieu Vien, Trinh Thi Ngoc Truc (Daughter of Thanh Vuong Trinh Trang) and Princess Le Thi Ngoc Duyen Legal name Dieu Tue and Princess Trinh Thi Ngoc Co (These people were later built temples to worship, sculpted statues placed in the pagoda, worshiped at But Thap pagoda to this day). This restoration period lasted from 1644 to The new pagoda was completed in 1647 and the word name is “Ninh Phuc Zen Monastery”.
In the early 18th century, But Thap pagoda was repaired on a larger scale than before. The stele “Ninh Phuc meditation self-biography” and “Khanh Luu bi Ky” erected in Vinh Thinh 10 (1714) record that “the temple was repaired by officials, spared thousands of gold to buy all good wood, and was restored by the people. The village contributed and invited workers to build and repair, With magnificent shrines, spacious temples, adorned with a world of Luu Ly”. Compared to before, the pagoda has a separate row of houses at the back of the Buddha hall, the scale is much larger. In 1876, when King Tu Duc visited here, he saw a giant tower, so he called it But Thap pagoda since then.
The architectural complex of But Thap pagoda stands out among the immense rice fields. The pagoda turns to the South, which is the direction of wisdom and wisdom in Buddhist philosophy. The outermost is the three gates, followed by the steeple of 2 floors and 8 roofs. The central area consists of 7 houses, all horizontal and parallel, arranged on a vertical axis – Shinto road. Inside the inner temple, located between two rows of corridors (each row consists of 26 compartments) are 7 buildings that are connected from the outside in, including: Tien Duong, Thieu Huong, Thuong Dien, squeezed between Thuong Dien and Tich Thien Am. The stone bridge crosses the lotus lake (4m long bridge with 3 curved spans. The bridge is paved with green stone, the two sides of the bridge have 12 stone reliefs carved with elaborate and sophisticated birds and flowers). Court of Tich Thien Am, as the name means, contains good things. In Tich Thien Am, there is a nine-level lotus building – a wooden tower, 9 floors, 8 sides, The 9 lotuses represent the 9 levels of Buddhist practice and fruition. Then came the Trung house, the shrine hall and finally the back hall, the total length is more than 100m. Behind the Hau Duong house is a row of stone towers, including the 5-storey Ton Duc stone tower, 11m high, where the remains of Zen master Minh Hanh, the second ancestor of the pagoda, are located. To the left of the pagoda, there is the church of the first ancestor, Cheem Chem, and the eight-sided Bao Nghiem stone tower, 5 floors high, 13m high, is the burial place of Zen master Cheem Chem. On both sides of the outer end, along the front hall are two stele houses. Each architectural work of this temple is a skillful work of art with decorative motifs made of rich and diverse materials such as stone, wood, and brick. It represents the harmonious combination between architecture and natural environment. Overall, the temple is arranged symmetrically and closely in the central area.
In particular, in the system of ancient statues of But Thap pagoda, an ancient treasure must be mentioned, which is considered unique in Vietnam. That is the Buddha image “Thien Thu Thien Thu Thien Nhan – thousand eyes, thousand hands”. The statue is 3.7m high, 2.1m wide, has 11 heads, 46 large hands and 954 small arms, different lengths and short, blooming like a halo. This is considered a masterpiece of Buddha statue and contemporary statuary art. The statue is placed on a lotus and dragon team, with a relaxed and religious posture.
The special and unique thing of the temple that nowhere else in our country can be found is the tall, majestic stone stupa, rising to the blue sky, named Bao Nghiem tower, which stands out in the middle of the region. vast plains. Bao Nghiem Tower is like a giant pen, reaching straight up to the high and empty sky. The tower is 13.05m high, 5 floors with a top part built of blue stone, 5 corners of 5 floors have 5 small bells, around the tower is decorated with vivid and unique patterns. The heart of the tower has a circular cavity with a diameter of 2.29m. The bottom floor of this tower has 13 stone carvings, mainly of animals. The tower shows the great stone-matching skills and sculptural art of the ancient Vietnamese workers. Behind is the 11m-high Ton Duc tower, where the relics of Zen master Minh Hanh, the second ancestor of the temple, are located. The tower was built in the middle of the 17th century, all four sides of the tower are sealed with stone. Recently, in the heart of the tower, people have just found 2 ancient bronze books, written/engraved Buddhist scriptures. Several centuries have passed, but what remains at But Thap Pagoda shows that this is one of the influential Buddhist centers in the ancient Kinh Bac region, and is one of the few temples that has remained quite intact. complete block of ancient architecture, worshiping objects and statues of our country.
Experiencing many ups and downs in history, But Thap Pagoda has always been protected, preserved and embellished, becoming more and more beautiful, becoming one of the famous spiritual tourist attractions in the Bac Ninh – Kinh Bac region. Every year, people in the region and tourists near and far always remember and return to attend the temple festival, which is held on March 24 (lunar calendar). But Thap Pagoda Festival is held in the excitement and devotion of visitors every time they come to the temple.
With typical values ​​of history, culture and art of architecture and sculpture. But Thap Pagoda has been ranked and recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports as a national cultural heritage relic since April 28, 1962. In 2013, the Prime Minister granted a certificate of special national relic ranking and the Buddha statue “Thien Thu Thien Nhan – Thousand eyes and thousand hands” was granted a certificate and recognized as a national treasure.
Source: Collected internet.