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Location: Duc La Pagoda is located in Tri
Yen Commune, Yen Dung District, Bac Giang Province.
Characteristics: Duc La Pagoda was built in the 12th century, was a
centre of the Truc Lam Trinity (King Tran Nhan Tong, Phap Loa and Huyen Quang
monks) who opened a school of Buddhist preaching and established the Truc Lam
religious sect.
From the Bac Giang City, a crooked red soil trail runs off Route 13, just past
Tan An Commune, let to Duc La Pagoda, also known as Vinh Nghiem Tu (80km north
of Hanoi). The pagoda is situated in an area of rolling hills. In the background
is the Co Tien Mountain range and to the left are the batiks of the Luc River.
Further away is the Thuong River which converges with the Luc River to form the
Phuong Nhon Junction. In front of the pagoda are vast rice-fields dotted with
villages and hamlets hidden behind green bamboo groves. Looming in the distance
is the 99 Nham Bien Mountain range, wrapped in a poetic and mystical air. The
main architecture of the pagoda lies on a south-west axis and is composed of
four principal areas. The first area includes the Pagodas of Ho, Thieu Huong and
Buddhist. The interior of the Ho Pagoda is adorned with many statues; at the two
gables there are two Thap Dien niches, two colossi as high as the roof, as well
as statues of Thien Wong, Dia Tang and Long Than. The Thien Huong Palace is
splendidly decorated with three horizontal panels and a gilded door; the first
compartment is for bonzes to say prayers, the second is for the display of
Buddha statues and statues of Arhats. The Buddhist Temple is a world of Buddha
statues bearing many architectural imprints of the Le Dynasty. A brick yard
separates the second area from the first and is an ancestral shrine built in a
simple architectural style with wooden planks and cloud - like decorations. The
panel is inscribed with the words "Truc Lam ho thuong" (A rendez-vous of the
Truc Lam Trinity) in Chinese characters and is seen above the three statues of
the Truc Lam Trinity. The third area is the two-roofed bell tower and the fourth
is the second ancestral shrine hosting two statues symbolic of the art of
sculpture in the Nguyen Dynasty. Over 700 years have elapsed but all four
architectural structures remain intact. Duc La Pagoda remains a major training
centre of Buddhism with wooden shelves for the printing of Buddhist sutras still
conserved as evidence of the important role of the pagoda. The local authorities
and people have maintained the complex well, making the area an eternal
sanctuary of the Vinh Nghiem Buddhist sect.
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