PHO GIAC PAGODA

The pagoda has the pen name of "Phổ Giác tự" (Pho Giac Temple) (Pho means populization and Giac means Enlightenment of the Buddha Dharma); In addition, the relic is also known as Tau Pagoda (because it was originally an elephant ship to train the elephant force for the court under the Le – Trinh Dynasty). The pagoda is currently located at 80 Ngo Si Lien Street, Van Mieu Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi City.

Initially, the pagoda was built by Hoan Kiem lake where belonged to the land of Huu Tuc, Tho Xuong district. In 1883, when the French colonialists occupied the pagoda land to build the City’s Major Building (now the People's Committee of Hanoi City), the pagoda was dismantled and moved to the land of the Imperial Medicine Institute in Later Le Period (at its location today) where belonged to Ngu Su village, Huu Nghiem, Tho Xuong district.

In addition to worshiping Buddha and worshiping the Goddess Mother according to tradition, Pho Giac Pagoda also worships Duke Phan Canh Diep who was a person with the talent in training fighting elephants in Le-Trinh Dynasty. Legend has it that Phan Canh Diep was born in Truong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province; and was the descendant of the 17th generation of the Taoist Vinh Quan Cong in Tien Le dynasty. In the year of the Horse, the 35th Canh Hung year (1774), during the reign of King Le Hien Tong, there had an elephant destroying the barn, running to the school to destroy violently. The Lord Trinh commanded that the one who was able to control the elephant would be rewarded. Phan Canh Diep responded to the order and quickly came to the school and jumped strongly on the elephant’s back and ordered the elephant to go ahead to Kinh Thien Palace. Lord Trinh was very happy, rewarded Phan Canh Diep, and promoted Phan Canh Diep to the position of Team Leader and he was conferred to Six-ranked Official. Later, Phan Canh Diep rode the elephant to fight against the enemy for many tomes, so he was conferred the title of Quận Công (Prince). However, he only received the title but did not serve in the court as a mandarin; instead, he entered the temple to live and worship Buddha.

In the stele built in the Year of the Tiger, 31st Canh Hung year (1770), there is a paragraph written: “Our country is strong. Our borders are protected with different army forces including elephant force. There are many different kinds of animals but the strongest and the most valuable one is the elephant which is used to protect our country border. However, it needs the talented people to train the animals. It is thanks to the credits of the Duke who is talented and ingenious and masters in skills to train the male elephants which are the most-difficult-to-tame ones in the South but he just uses his facial expressions and gestures to make the elephants follow him. Thanks to that, elephants can be used in the army to protect our country for thousands of years. His merit is as high as the Thai Son mountain… This stele is built to record into the stone for forever and ever worshipping etc.)”

Pho Giac Pagoda is a beautiful ancient temple which is famous for its serene and quiet landscape. Local people recounted that: Formerly, in the area of the Three-Door Gate, there were many ancient trees but they are almost cut down and there are only two weeping fig trees remained in the front gate of the pagoda. The current architectural works include: Three-Door Gate, Front Hall, Main Hall, Patriarch house, Mother Goddess House and the auxiliary items.

The Three-Door Gate of the Pagoda is constructed in the form of a mountain. Previously the Three-Door Gate had 3 gates but only one gate is remained today as the entrance to the pagoda. Compared to other pagodas, this is a very special Three-Door Gate which is built in the shape of a mountain as reminding the people to always look to the Buddha realm. From the Three-Door Gate to the pagoda, there is a large yard with Guanyin Tower on two sides, the stele house to commemorate the martyrs and tomb tower where place the tombs of deceased head monks of the pagoda.

The Front Hall consists of 7 compartments built in the style of a stack of matchboxes with two floors and 8 curved roofs which are flying to the sky. The pagoda is roofed with traditional tiles with the center caved with the curved letter board with three Chinese characters of “Phổ Giác tự" (Pho Giac Temple), two ends are decorated with the patterns of two stylized dragon-like creature. The front of the compartments is opened with the system of wooden doors with bars above to create the ventilation for the relic. The edges are carved with the patterns of the four supernatural creatures, the four seasons, lotus, diospyros decandra, leaves, geometry patterns. The beams are connected together in the style of “Thượng giá chiêng, hạ cốn” (Gong hanging frame in upper and sculptured wooden boards in lower) on four rows of columns and floor is treated with red bricks. Four sides in front, behind and two sides of the Front Hall is the corridor where can move to the adjacent architecture works quite conveniently.

The Front Hall is decorated with the statues of Encouraging Virtue, Repelling Evil, the Old Man, the Holy Monk, Phan Cảnh Điệp, the Father, and the Mother.

The Main Hall is an architecture built perpendicular to the Front Hall to form a “丁” shaped structure. This is the place where displays the layers of Buddha statues. At the top is a set of statues of the Three Buddhas, the second tier features the set of Amitabha Buddha and the Three Bodhisattvas, followed by the statues of the Three Holy Beings of the Flower Garland Sutra, Maitreya, Avalokiteshvara with the Thousand Arms and Eyes, Brahma, Indra, and the Nine Dragons. On both sides of the Main Hall are statues of the Ten Kings of Hell.

The Patriarch house consists of 5 compartments and 2 lean-tos built in the form of gable wall. The beams inside are connected in the form of “Thượng giá chiêng hạ kẻ ngồi”. The middle compartment worships Buddha Bodhidharma. Two side compartments worship the deceased head monks of the pagoda.

The Mother Goddess House consists of 6 compartments with the structure with beams in the form of “Chồng rường giá chiêng” (Overlaid beams and Gong hanging frame). Three middle compartments are used to worship the Mother Goddess and the remaining compartments serve the pagoda’s activities.

Experiencing many ups and downs of history, Pho Giac pagoda still retains a diverse and rich system of objects that illustrate the birth and existence of the relic. The most notable ones are the set of Three Buddhas statues, the statues of the Father, the Mother, and Phan Canh Diep with the typical art style of the 18th century which are considered as the standard of contemporary statuary art. Besides, there are 13 stone steles, 03 bronze bells with the dating from the Revival Le to the Nguyen Dynasty. In addition to historical, sculpture, art value, this is also the object of interest of many researchers, especially for the study of ancient texts and bibliographies.

Located in an area with many ​​historical - cultural relics, such as: Thang Long Medicine Temple, Ngoc Ho Pagoda, Tien Phuc Pagoda, Temple of Literature, etc. Pho Giac Pagoda has become an attractive destination for tourists who want to learn about the South-West land of the ancient capital of Thang Long, about the variety of religious and belief relics in contemporary social life. Pho Giac Pagoda was classified as a national relic in 1991.