NEN PAGODA

Chua Pagoda with the pen name of "Đản Cơ tự" (Dan Co Temple) or "Cổ Sơn tự" (Co Son Temple) is located at 17 Chua Nen Lane, Lang Thuong Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi.

According to legend, Nen Pagoda originated from the old house of Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh's parents, where the God was born, hence it was called Dan Co. When the parents passed away, this place became a temple. When Tu Dao Hanh became a famous monk of the Ly dynasty, the temple became a Buddha pagoda. This legend is reflected in the content of ancient parallel sentences still kept in the pagoda.

Long Đỗ giáng Thần thuỳ vũ trụ.

Từ Cơ khải Thánh đối càn khôn.

Literally translated:

- The family of Dragon – a God descends on earth and cover the whole universe

- From a house of Tu family, a God was born with the merits that can be compared with the sky.

Thus, Dan Co Pagoda is a place of worshiping Buddha and worshiping the Father and Mother of Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh.

According to the book "Lĩnh Nam Chích Quái" by Vu Quynh and Kieu Phu, Tu Dao Hanh's father was Tu Vinh who was good at magic and promoted to the position of Tang Quan Do Sat in the Ly Dynasty. He often visited An Lang village and got married to the daughter of Lo family who named Loan and then he stayed here. After Tu Dao Hanh passed the Bach Lien examination, because of upsetting Dien Thanh Hau, Tu Vinh was beaten to death by the Zen Master Dai Dien using the magic and his dead body was thrown into the To Lich river. His body drifted to An Quyet bridge and when arrived at the front of Dien Thanh Hau's house, it stood up there for a whole day without going away. Dien Thanh Hau was so scared and told to Dai Dien and shouted, "A monk is not allowed to be angry for more than a day". After he finished his sentence, he saw the body collapse, and drifted away.

After his father passed away, Tu Dao Hanh went to find a religious teacher to avenge his father. And his mother went to live a religious life in Hoa Lang Pagoda (Dich Vong). Later, in order to commemorate the parents of Zen master Tu Dao Hanh, the feudal court conferred the title of the God of the Happiness (Phuc Than) to him and permitted the local people to set up a temple to worship. Every year, on the main festival of Lang Pagoda (March 7), the villagers often hold a solemn procession to bring the Zen master Tu Dao Hanh to visit his parents. After that, the “fighting between the Gods” between Tu Dao Hanh and Dai Dien to avenge his father is happened again at the festival.

The above records show that Dan Co Pagoda was formed since the Ly Dynasty (11th century) and exist until today. Material vestiges of the Revival Le dynasty are still remained through an ancient cabinet where the statues of the Holy Father, the Holy Mother are placed with the boards carved with the couple of dragons. At the beginning of the Nguyen Dynasty, An Lang villagers and the head monk sculpted a number of Buddha statues, the statues of the Holy Father, the Holy Mother and the founding head monks who passed away at the pagoda. The year of the Dog, during the reign of King Thanh Thai (1898), the bell named “Dan Co Tu Chung” (The bell of Dan Co Temple) and the stone chime named “Dan Thanh Co” were casted. By the 9th Bao Dai Year (1934), Dan Co Pagoda was repaired and restored with large scale to create the superficial architectural scale for the ancient pagoda.

In early 2005, Patriarch house, Mother Goddess House, Reception House, Tomb Garden and some other items were restored and embellished. In particular, the restoration of the ThreeJewel House was inaugurated on the occasion of the MillennialAnniversaryofThang Long - Hanoi in 2010.

Nen Pagoda was built in the South with many architectural units. Architectural items are arranged according to the depth of the relic, including: Three-Door gate, Left-Right corridor house, Front Hall, Main Hall, God Palace, Patriarch house, Mother Goddess House, Soul House, Monastery Area and auxiliary works items. The pagoda is surrounded with large green trees to create the separate and quiet space for the meditation place.

The Three-Door gate of the Pagoda is similar to the outer Three-Door gate of Lang pagoda with the shape of a four-pillar alter-curtain. The top of two main pillars is decorated with the patterns of the stylized cape-jasmin and two sides are covered with the pattern of young lions. The pillars are linked by the curved roof system to create the sense of flexibility and elegance. The top of the roofs is decorated with the pattern of the sun and the corners are decorated with stylized dragon.

Going through the Three-Door Gate, there is a 3-compartment architecture, built with gable walls, traditional tiled roof and red-brick floor. Two ends of this architecture is two back gates to the back of the pagoda.

The pagoda yard is very wide with many perennial trees, creating a more serene and quiet monument. On the two sides of the yard, there are two houses on the right and the left roofed with traditional tiles.

The main pagoda consists of the Front Hall with 5 compartments and 2 lean-tos. The Main Hall consists of 2 compartments. The Forbidden Palace is the place to worship the Holy Father and the Holy Mother in the back to create the whole architectural works an “工” shape. The Front Hall and the Main Hall are built in the form of the gable walls with traditional tiles. The middle is decorated with the horizontal lacquered board carved with 3 Chinese characters of “Đản Cơ tự” (Dan Co Temple). Two roof ends are decorated with the patterns of stylized dragon. The front of the pagoda is placed with Guanyin statue made of while stone who represents the salvation for sentient beings.

The load-bearing frame system includes sets of wooden beams in the style of “Upper structure with overlapping beams and tiered brackets, lower section with interlocking struts”, decorated with the patterns of seals, leaves, clouds on the ends and edges bearing the Nguyen Dynasty’s art style.

The Forbidden Palace has the “二” shaped structure including Front Hall and Harem of which each house consists of 3 compartments and 2 lean-tos. The frame set is made of wooden and designed in the style of “Upper section with tiered brackets, lower section with horizontal beams supporting the eaves” on 4 rows of columns. The front of Tiền Tế is the system of wooden doors in the style of “Bars on top and wooden flank at bottom”. Two side compartments hang Bells and Stone instruments. The middle compartment hangs the painting of “Ngộ hóa tồn thần” (it means meeting at this place and then turning into the God).

The Harem is located parallel to the Front Hall, which is the place to worship the Father and Mother of Tu Dao Hanh. The middle compartment still keeps Y môn (painting) carved with the name of the ancient pagoda of “Cổ Sơn tự” (Co Son Temple). Y môn (painting) is carved with different styles and patterns of dragons, horses, the four supernatural creatures. The dragon body is big and its fins are decorated with block patterns, broadswords flying from two dragon eyes. This is a beautiful Y môn (painting) that is still kept in the relic with the art dating from the late 18th century and early 19th century.

In between, there is still a Y Mon painting named after the ancient temple "Co Son Tu". Medicine subjects can touch the channel, puncture, touch the dragon, dragon and dragon. The body of the dragon is made of fat, the fins are floating, the thick and fat marks flying from the dragon's eyes. This is a quite beautiful Y Mon picture left in art bearing relics dating from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The middle compartment places the statues of the Holy Father – the Holy Mother of Tu Dao Hanh sitting on a big cabinet. The right compartment worships Great Elder and his two assistants. The left compartment worships Holy Sage and Diệm Nhiên – Đại Sỹ.

In addition to the main architecture, Nen Pagoda also has many architectural works such as Patriarch house, Mother Goddess House, Soul House, Monastery Area and the auxiliary works ... These are all constructed in traditional style, in harmony with the overall planning of the relic to create the appearance and spaciousness for the ancient pagoda.

Experiencing many ups and downs and changes of history, Nen Pagoda still retains a large amount of unique and rare objects that reflect the religious content of the relic such as: Copper bell, Copper stone chime, Stone stele, royal decrees and many horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences with the contents of praising the beauty of the relic, praising the land, praising the merit of the gods worshiped in the Pagoda, especially the two statues of the Holy Father, the Holy Mother placed in the Forbidden Palace. The statues are sitting on big cabinet in the meditation posture with two hands placed on thighs. Since when they were alive, they took refuge in the Buddha, therefore, their statues were made in the rule of Buddha statues with eyes in half-closed and looking down, straight nose, big ear running down shoulders etc. The statues have the dating from the nineteenth century.

The system of Buddha statues of the pagoda includes: Buddha statues, Ancestors’ statues, the holy mother statue which are created beautifully, elaborately and imbued with the 19th century sculptural art style. The statues of great value include the set of Three Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future, Amitabha, Maitreya, Four Bodhisattvas, and Four Heavenly Kings, etc. In general, the statues in Dan Co pagoda have the medium size with the dating mainly from the 19th century.

The system of objects at Nen Pagoda are relating to the God Thanh Lang which are similar to Lang Pagoda, Hoa Lang Pagoda, Tam Huyen Pagoda, Thay Pagoda etc. and they have together created the complex of unique relics in the West of the ancient capital of Thang Long. They are the evidences for the harmony between indigenous beliefs and Buddhism and the unique mark of the pagodas in the form of “Front worships Buddha, Back worships God” in the history of Vietnamese Buddhism under the Ly Dynasty. With such values, Nui Pagoda was classified as a national relic in 1992.