“Whoever trades in hundreds of trades/September fourteenth, they will return to Ong’s festival” is a verse about the Co Le pagoda festival (literal name is Quang Than Tu). Located in Co Le town, Truc Ninh district, Nam Dinh province, Co Le pagoda was built in the 12th century, a special national historical and cultural relic, famous landscape of the European Delta region. Red River Delta.
Co Le Pagoda in Truc Ninh District, Nam Dinh Province
This year’s Co Le Pagoda Festival takes place from September 13 to 15 of the lunar calendar with traditional cultural and religious activities: the procession of the ancestors of the 5 gates of Co Le village to the temple, the traditional swimming ceremony, the performances of the heart sutras and folk games…
The legend of “Nam Thien Tam Tam Thanh To”
Co Le pagoda was built on a square ground, nearly 10 acres in width in the north, charming landscape and surrounding area. surrounded by small rivers and lakes. The sacred temple not only worships Buddha, but also worships a saint, Zen Master Nguyen Minh Khong, who once cured King Ly Than Tong from a serious illness.
According to the inscription of Co Le pagoda, the pagoda was built in the 12th century under Ly Than Ton dynasty, in addition to worshiping Buddha, it also worshiped the Holy Father Nguyen Minh Khong. The Holy Father Nguyen Minh Khong was born in the early 12th century, in the village of Dien Xa, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province. In his youth, he specialized in fishing for his father, at the age of 29 he ordained as a Buddha. He was “Van – Tu – Tuc Minh Tam, see the nature of the universe”, and he is also a famous physician who cured King Ly Than Ton from incurable disease and was named “Ly Trieu” by the king. National Master”.
He and Zen Master Giac Hai and Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh bonded as brothers to the West Region (Northern India), studying the magic of “Three no smugglers” to obtain “Precepts – Concentration – Tue Vien that integrates the sublime Saints and travels to the moon” . The three Zen masters, after attaining the six divine powers, returned to their country, the Holy Father Tu Dao Hanh abbot of Sai Son Pagoda, the Holy Patriarch Nguyen Minh Khong abbot of Than Quang Pagoda, Duc Giac Hai Zen Master abbot of Dien Phuc Pagoda. Since then, the three Zen masters have become “Nam Thien Tam Vi Thanh An”.
Folk legend has it that, then Zen master Minh Khong crossed Tong Quyen bronze to cast “An Nam Tu Ky” (4 precious treasures of Vietnam) including: Buddha statue more than 4 meters high in Quynh Lam pagoda, Dong Nai province. Trieu, Quang Ninh; Qui Dien bell weighs 1000kg in Luc Dau Giang, Pha Lai (Hai Duong); The 9-storey “Bao Thien” tower in Hanoi; Pho Minh Peak weighs 1000kg in Tuc Mac, Nam Dinh city (Nam Dinh province).
According to folklore, on the way to transport the above “terrible” copper to mint the above treasures, Zen Master Minh Khong encountered many difficulties and challenges. According to folklore, there were times when the wind was strong and the waves were too strong to call a boat to carry copper, and with his extraordinary talent, Minh Khong used a conical hat as a boat to safely transport the bronze to cast treasures. Remembering his merits and virtues, every year the villagers of Co Le hold a traditional festival and propagate the legend of the Holy Ancestor Minh Khong.
Uniquely, the sacred temple has the shape of a cathedral
Co Le Pagoda was built by National Master Minh Khong in the 12th century of the Ly Dynasty. Experiencing the ups and downs of history and time, ancient vestiges have been faded and abandoned. In 1902, Venerable Pham Quang Tuyen, a Zen master with lofty morals, a erudite intellectual, with a talent in pagoda architecture, was assigned to the temple’s abbot. He devoted himself to calling the followers, from all over the world, to spend money and money to rebuild the temple.
During the following period, Most Venerable Pham Quang Tuyen reconstructed the entire temple building into architectural groups with separate artistic values but still integrated with the overall landscape, bearing the style of “Zen door on the ground”. national culture, East combined with the West”. When presiding over the construction of the pagoda, it is said that monk Pham Quang Tuyen did not need any design drawings, did not need a bit of modern materials such as cement and steel, but only bricks, lime, mortar, honey. salt, paper and the efforts of the people to build the temple has both modern and ancient architecture.
That is the reason why Co Le pagoda has both the solemn majesty of a thousand years of history and the modern look of a Catholic cathedral with gothic architecture. (Gothic) of Europe. From a distance, the pagoda looks like a church, but if you look closely, it is a temple because of the two huge dragons in front and other decorative motifs. With the unique architecture of Co Le Pagoda, it shows that Venerable Pham Quang Tuyen is a very talented master architect.
Following in the footsteps of Venerable Pham Quang Tuyen, Most Venerable Pham The Long and successive generations of abbots have completed additional small works, creating more magnificence for the temple.
According to the current observation, in front of the pagoda is the 32-meter-high Cuu Pham Lien Hoa tower, with 8 sides, built in 1927, restored in 2001. The base of the tower is placed on the back of a large turtle, its head facing the pagoda. . The turtle is located in the middle of a square lake, the four corners are four large fake mountains, covered with four elephants as big as real elephants. In the heart of the tower, there are stairs including 98 spiral steps to the top. Legend has it that Buddhists, pilgrims up to this 98th step, touch the statue on the top of the tower, life will always be lucky.
Next to the tower is a three-span Curved Bridge spanning Chu Tich Lake (also known as Nui Lake). The ancient brick bridge leads to Trinh Pagoda, also known as the Buddhist Assembly Hall. Trinh pagoda was built in 1936 and restored in 2001. In the sacred Trinh pagoda there is a statue of the thousand-armed Quan Am Buddha, in front of Trinh pagoda yard there are 2 giant bronze urns.
To the left of Trinh pagoda is Linh Quang Tu temple, built in 1937, to worship Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan and two doctors of the Dao surname from Co Le village, namely Ban Longan Dao Su Mo and the third Doctor who borders Dao Toan Mo. To the right of Trinh pagoda is Khanh Quang Phu, built in 1937, and is the place to worship the Tam Toa Thanh Mau.
Behind Trinh pagoda is a large lake, in the middle of the lake is a bell weighing 9000kg called Dai Hong Chung. The bell is 4.2m high, 2.2m in diameter, 8cm thick. This is one of the biggest bells in Vietnam. The bell’s mouth has a lotus-shaped pattern, the body has floral motifs, rivers and some letters in Confucian characters. Legend has it that when inviting Dai Hong Chung, the whole province of Nam Dinh and a few neighboring areas will hear the ringing of bells.
It is known that Dai Hong Chung was cast in the early years of the 19th century, under the abbot Pham Quang Tuyen. During the bell casting process, out of respect for the sacred temple, many devotees and Buddhists made merit of the rings, rings, and gold dissolved in it. When the giant bell had just been cast, the resistance war broke out, the people in the area, in anticipation of the enemy’s destruction, soaked the bell in the lake. In 1954, the bell was salvaged and placed on a stone pedestal for tourists to visit since then.
In the temple, there is also a 4m high eucalyptus wooden statue of Buddha painted gilded with eucalyptus wood, placed on a high floor, you have to follow many stairs on both sides to reach the place where the Buddha statues are located. Behind the Buddha statue is an altar with a statue of Nguyen Minh Khong. From the Buddha’s temple, there are corridors around to the back connecting the guest house and the ancestral house where the statue of Venerable Pham Quang Tuyen – the “architect” of Co Le pagoda work.
Traditional temple with heroic revolutionary history
Not only a cultural and spiritual address, Co Le Pagoda is also a revolutionary historical relic. During the resistance wars against the French and Americans, many monks said goodbye to the Zen gate and went to war. In particular, on February 27, 1947, at the sacred temple, under the chairmanship of Most Venerable Pham The Long, the Nam Dinh Provincial Buddhist Association for National Salvation, along with the local authorities and believers held a meeting to do so. Vow ceremony for 27 monks to take off their robes and go to the front to defend the Fatherland. Most Venerable Pham The Long himself was a revolutionary activist, he later held the position of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, term VII.
The idea that “Buddhist Dharma is inseparable from the world’s dharma” has been instilled in the blood of generations of monks at this temple, contributing to bringing Buddhism to life in the hearts of the nation, always accompanying the nation. Although they are monks, the monks here are not far from the world, still deeply concerned about the fate of the country. Then, during the resistance war against the US and the campaign to defend the country’s border, the Co Le pagoda school also organized for seven monks to follow in the same footsteps, bid farewell to the Zen gate and go to the front to fight the enemy to save the country. One of the magnanimous vows of the monks is also recorded as follows:
“Take off your robes, put on your robes,
draw your sword, take up your gun, put down your sword, and
go out to wash revenge and save the country
For the sake of forgetting to donate blood.” .
Treasures of rare cultural artifacts
There are many rare cultural and historical artifacts in Co Le pagoda. In addition to the largest Dai Hong Chung in the country, behind the ancestral church there is a steeple consisting of 3 floors and 4 sides, called Kim Chung Bao Cac. This steeple is 13m40 high, built in 1997. The second floor of this steeple hangs a large bronze bell, 4m20 high, 2m03 wide, weighing 9,000kg. The bell was cast in 2003. The 3rd floor hangs another bronze bell cast from Le Canh Thinh’s period, weighing 300kg. Behind the bell tower is the temple’s ancestral tomb, with the tomb of Venerable Pham The Long.
Co Le Pagoda also has a statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, 4.20m high, sitting on a lotus flower in the Zen posture, behind a halo of sacred light; a bell of the Tay Son era, dated Canh Thinh 7 (1799); a bronze bell weighing more than 9 tons cast in 1936; a plain bronze drum from the Ly dynasty; a double-sided divine flag inscribed: “Nam Thien Thanh To” and “Ly Dynasty Quoc Su”; Four boats are used for swimming competition in the traditional festival.
Source: Baophapluat.vn
Source: Collected internet.