Visit Tieu Pagoda - Thien Tam

        Tieu Pagoda (Source: Internet).

According to recorded history, Tieu Pagoda is the place where Ly Cong Uan was reincarnated and raised by National Master Ly Van Hanh, educated and matured after becoming a king who had merits in establishing the Ly dynasty and Dai Viet civilization.

Thai To, surnamed Nguyen (Ly), European Co Phap Lo Bac Giang; His mother is Pham Thi, on February 12, 5th year of Thai Binh year (974), the king was born. When he was a child, he was smart, temperament, generous, studied at Luc To pagoda, monk Van Hanh saw it strange and said: This is an extraordinary person who will grow up to be able to save the country, and be a wise man. master of the world.

Based on historical books and folk legends, it can be considered that Tieu Pagoda dates back to the Early Le Dynasty. By the Ly dynasty, it was one of the major Buddhist centers, where the abbot of Zen Master Ly Van Hanh, who had the merit of raising Ly Cong Uan to grow up.

Tieu Pagoda has many works such as: Cam Tuyen Institute, Tien Linh Lau, Tien Duong, Thuong Dien, Hau Duong … Besides to the Southeast, there is also Truong Lieu pagoda.

Under Le Trung Hung, Tieu Pagoda was restored and expanded on a large scale in the style of a hundred-room pagoda, so it was also called a “hundred-room” pagoda. In the Nguyen Dynasty, during the reign of King Bao Dai, the pagoda continued to be restored and recorded on the first sentence of the Tam Bao court.

During the years of the war against the US, the enemy bombed and destroyed almost completely the Tieu pagoda, leaving only a few Buddha statues and worshiping objects. Truong Lieu pagoda was also destroyed, leaving only three statues of Tam The, a statue of Lord and a bronze bell named “Truong Lieu Tu Chung” pagoda cast in the 3rd year of Thieu reign (1843). The current architecture of Tieu Pagoda is the architecture of the restoration and embellishment.

The pagoda includes buildings: Tam Bao, Ancestral house, guest house, steeple and ancillary works. The Three Jewels Court was built with a wooden frame, carved and decorated with stylized flowers and leaves. The ancestral house has a roof in the style of a match stack. At the Patriarch’s house, there is an ancient statue of Zen Master Van Hanh and a throne with the inscription “Ly Dynasty entered the prime minister Ly Van Hanh Zen master god”.

In addition to the main works, Tieu Pagoda also has a number of auxiliary works such as guest houses, monks, etc. In particular, Tieu Pagoda also preserves 14 ancient towers of famous monks who used to be abbots here. In addition, on the top of Tieu mountain, there is a statue of Zen master Ly Van Hanh about 5m high.

Tieu Pagoda still preserves a number of valuable antiques from the Le and Nguyen dynasties, reflecting on the Ly dynasties as follows: 15 beautifully carved wooden Buddha statues, 01 statue of Zen master Ly Van Hanh, 01 stone stele with the name “Ly Gia Linh Thach” dated “Canh Thinh Nguyen Nien” (1793) records the background and merits of Ly Cong Uan, 01 bronze bell of Truong Lieu pagoda, dating from Thieu Tri” (1843), 01 stone stele named “Cong Dien Bi Bi” dating from Bao Dai 3 (1923) and many parallel sentences, poetry, oracle…

Visitors to the Tieu pagoda (Thien Tam pagoda) relic is to find the vivid childhood history of Ly Cong Uan, the wise king who openly founded the Ly dynasty and Dai Viet nation. About Tieu Pagoda is about an ancient land with many mysteries associated with the history and culture of the land of Bac Ninh – Kinh Bac and of the Vietnamese people.