TRAN QUOC PAGODA IN HANOI

Tran Quoc Pagoda is one of the oldest pagoda in Hanoi and Vietnam. The pagoda is situated on a peninsula on southern side of West Lake, beside Thanh Nien Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. It had been the Buddhist center of Thang Long during Ly and Tran Dynasties. With the values of history and architecture, Tran Quoc Pagoda becomes famous Buddhist holy place for domestic and international visitors.

It was built from the Ly Nam De (541-547), called Khai Quoc. The pagoda was built in Yen Hoa village (later was changed for Yen Phu) by a dike next to the Red River.

Inside pagoda complex, a lotus stupa was built in 1998. The stupa is 11-storey, 15m high. Each level has 6 arched doorways in which put a statue of Buddha made of precious stone. On top is lotus tower that has nine floors. This stupa was opposit to a huge bodhi tree donated by the Indian president when he visited Hanoi in 1959. Venerable Thich Thanh Nha explains "the lotus represents the Buddha dignity because the lotus grows in mud but not is polluted. Bodhi is the cognitive, intellectual supreme.

With the value of the history and architecture, the temple was recognized as National Historic Culture in 1989. Tran Quoc Pagoda is not only the sacred place of Buddhism for a lot of Buddhists coming to worship but also the attraction for local and foreign tourists.

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