Dong Lan Pagoda

Dong Lan Pagoda

Dong Lan Pagoda located in Hung Dao commune (City) is a pagoda with a long history, built during the Le - Mac dynasties. The pagoda was recognized as a provincial cultural and historical relic in 1997. Dong Lan Pagoda is located on Dong Lan mound (Doong Lan in Tay language), in the northwest of Cao Bang city. The origin of the name "Dong Lan" has many hypotheses, associated with historical stories through many periods such as the story of Thuc Phan organizing the contest "Nine lords fighting for the king" (there are many other place names associated with this story such as : Tong Chup field, banyan tree in Cao Binh, stone clogs in Ban Thanh, upturned boat in Khau Lua). Dong Lan is the place where the lord went to get the bronze drums. He came back tired and fell asleep. Rats bit the drum strings. The drums rolled down the hill and echoed throughout the whole area. The other lords thought the lord who went to get the drums had won, so they abandoned the competition, so no one won. . Tong Lan is a rolling drum, called Dong Lan. There is a hypothesis that Dong Lan is a pagoda located on the Lan hill. During the Ly Dynasty (late 11th century), Dong Lan Pagoda was built to worship Buddha. From the year of Tan Hoi, the 19th Canh Thong era of the Mac Dynasty, the Queen of the Mac Dynasty ordered the pagoda to be built in the shape of a nail, with corridors and a back hall on both sides, and a monk's room. Behind the pagoda is Ly palace of the Mac dynasty. The pagoda is a place for queens and princesses to chant Buddhist scriptures. Before the pagoda was built, at Dong Lan mound there was a temple worshiping Tran Quy and Tran Kien. According to "Cao Bang Thuc Luc" there are many detailed records about the origins and special talents of brothers Tran Quy and Tran Kien. Their father, Tran Trieu, married a fairy wife, so his two sons were blessed with many miracles. When they reached adulthood, their fairy mother had to return to heaven, and their father also went to the mountains to study the way of immortals. The two brothers Tran Quy and Tran Kien remembered their parents' advice and carried swords around the area to search for monsters. , eliminating harm to the people. Remembering the merits of the two young men, the people built a spring-autumn temple to worship. These two, throughout the dynasties, were all ordained. During the Le Dynasty, Tran Kien was appointed Cai Cong Dai Vuong, a lower-class minister; Tran Quy is Dong Lan Dai Vuong, a middle class god. Experiencing historical events, Dong Lan Pagoda was destroyed and severely damaged many times, then repaired. In the year of Thieu Tri (1841-1847) of the Nguyen Dynasty, the pagoda was completely rebuilt. The place to worship Tran Quy - Tran Kien is separately worshiped in a small temple next to the corridor on the right side of the pagoda, while Buddha is worshiped in the main hall. During the resistance war against the French, in 1950, the pagoda was once again destroyed. In addition, according to information provided by some elderly people in Hung Dao commune, previously in the pagoda there was an incense bowl to worship Thach Sanh. This is a character in the legend of the Tay people. Thach Sanh killed the ogres, protecting the peaceful life of the people. On January 15, 1997, the pagoda was granted a Provincial Cultural Historical Relic Certificate by the Provincial People's Committee. In 2004, the pagoda was funded by the state to invest in renovating the three jewels, adding many Buddha statues, and renovating the pagoda grounds. However, the original architecture of the temple is no longer retained intact. Artifacts such as bells, Buddha statues, parallel sentences, etc., can no longer be kept from the past. Only artifacts will be given to Buddhists later. Dong Lan Pagoda currently has quite a large campus. The three-entrance gate is built firmly and solemnly. Looking from the outside you see the words "Compassion", looking from the inside you see the words "Happiness and forgiveness". The pagoda consists of a main church with 5 front halls and a main hall. There is also an ancestral church (3 compartments). The pagoda's roof is tiled and decorated with two dragons flanking the moon. From the pagoda yard, you have to go through 9 steps to reach the first architectural layer, which is the front hall (worship house). The doors are all built in an arch shape. The front hall is spacious, high and airy, with 5 compartments. In the middle is an altar with a thousand-eyed and thousand-armed Guan Yin Buddha statue. The space on the right is the altar to worship Saint Tran Quy - Tran Kien and the statue of Monsignor. The space on the left is the altar for Thach Sanh. Between the altar and the main hall there is a transit gap which is a space used to get light. The main hall (three jewels space) has two layers of altars. The highest layer adjacent to the pagoda's roof contains three Buddhas of the Three Worlds, symbolizing Buddhas belonging to three lifetimes: past, present, and future. Three Tam The Buddhas of the same size and shape are placed on a lotus throne. The second altar layer has 3 statues in the same row called Amitabha Tam Ton. Sitting in the middle is a fairly large carved Amitabha Buddha statue. On both sides are statues of Bodhisattvas and monks, arranged in rows from low to high, majestic and solemn. In the temple yard, there is a 3m high white marble statue of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva holding a vase of nectar in his hand. Behind the main church is the Mother Goddess Temple with three altars: Thanh Mau (main hall), Son Trang, and Tran Trieu. Above the main shrine there is the image of a pair of Thanh and White Snakes crossing horizontally. The pagoda festival is held on the 8th day of the first lunar month every year with many activities: chanting sutras, reciting Buddha's name, shaking hexagrams to pray for good fortune, praying for fortune, burning incense to pick fortune, organizing folk games..., attracting visitors from all over. Go to a crowded festival. Source Electronic information portal of Hoa An district, Cao Bang province.

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