Admire 18 hundred-year-old 'treasures' in an ancient temple in Can Tho

Long Quang ancient pagoda in Can Tho city, in addition to its ancient appearance, also attracts tourists with a set of 18 Arhats made of precious wood that are hundreds of years old.

Long Quang ancient pagoda in Can Tho city, in addition to its ancient appearance, also attracts tourists with a set of 18 Arhats made of precious wood that are hundreds of years old.

Long Quang Pagoda (Long Hoa ward, Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city) is a national monument that owns and worships about 50 very valuable wooden Buddha statues, the most prominent of which are the set of 18 Arhats.

With an age of nearly 100 years, this set of wooden Buddha statues increasingly affirms its aesthetic and historical value.

Long Quang Pagoda in Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city

Long Quang Pagoda was established in 1824 (Minh Mang's fifth reign) by Venerable Lieu Hue, nicknamed Vo Van Quyen. Initially, the pagoda was a thatched hermitage. In 1835, the Venerable built it into a pagoda and named it Long Truong Tu. By 1875, Venerable Quang Hien became the abbot. He restored it and changed its name to Long Quang Tu.

During the resistance wars against the French and Americans, the ancient Long Quang pagoda was a place to nurture, protect and shelter revolutionary soldiers. Up to now, the pagoda has had 7 generations of abbots, the current incumbent is Venerable Thich Binh Tam. The temple has undergone many restorations.

In 1993, Long Quang Pagoda was ranked as a national historical and cultural relic. This is a place to educate revolutionary traditions, and also a place for people to come and worship.

Arhats are made of sandalwood

Talking about the precious Buddha statues that have been kept and worshiped in the pagoda for more than 100 years, Venerable Thich Quang Chuong, in charge of the main hall of Long Quang Pagoda, said that the wood to make the Buddha statues was transported from Hue to Can Tho. .

"The wood used to make Buddha statues is sandalwood, transported by waterway from Hue. In 1922, Venerable Tu Quang (abbot of the pagoda) brought in workers to carve 50 Buddha statues, which took about a year to complete," Dai said. Venerable Thich Quang Chuong said.

The Buddha statues in Long Quang Pagoda are carved from solid sandalwood and gilded with high artistic value. In particular, each Arhat statue is 80cm high..

Each Arhat has its own facial expression expressing emotions, with different standing and sitting postures on an animal, holding treasures in its hands.

The wooden statue set is meant to help people erase past mistakes and move towards good things

The 18 Arhats in Long Quang Pagoda are carved wearing robes, not wearing robes or wearing robes holding bowls. In their hands, each person holds a different treasure, symbolizing virtue, virtue or the means by which they attained fruition.

Statues of 18 Arhats have facial expressions expressing their own emotions, with different standing and sitting postures on an animal, holding treasures in their hands. Some have pensive, distant eyes, some are fierce, some are happy, some are in a sleeping position...

The wooden statue set is meant to help people erase past mistakes and move towards good things. Long Quang Pagoda is not only a place of worship of Buddha but also a spiritual tourist attraction of Can Tho.

Mr. Huynh Duy Tan used a camera to take pictures of the Arhats

Mr. Huynh Duy Tan (living in Can Tho City) said that he likes to learn about culture and history, so he went to Long Quang Pagoda to admire the Buddha statue.

"18 Arhats with each distinct charisma, meticulous lines and carvings. This proves that the ancient artisans were highly skilled, demonstrating rare talent," Mr. Duy Tan said and said that many people come to Long Quang Pagoda to do meritorious deeds and pray for peace for their families.

"This is a very sacred temple. Coming here, I find some peace and calmness in my soul when encountering difficulties in life," he shared.

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Update day : 18/10/2023