Tay Ninh Holy See - the greatest religious work of Cao Dai religion

If other projects are designed by architects and built according to drawings, the Tay Ninh Holy See was built by His Holiness Pham Ho Phap not based on any papers or drawings but completely relying on workers.

If other projects are designed by architects and built according to drawings, the Tay Ninh Holy See was built by His Holiness Pham Ho Phap not based on any papers or drawings but completely relying on workers.

Tay Ninh Holy See. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

Tay Ninh Holy See, also known by the local people as the Holy Temple, is located on Pham Ho Phap street, Hoa Thanh town, Tay Ninh province.

Considered one of the greatest religious architectural works of the Cao Dai religion, Tay Ninh Holy See brings together unique architectural styles that attract thousands of visitors each year.

Tay Ninh Holy See - central worship facility of Cao Dai religion

While large projects are often designed by architects and built according to drawings..., Tay Ninh Holy See Cao Dai was built by His Holiness Pham Ho Phap not based on any papers or drawings but completely based on on the effort and hands of workers.

Started in 1933, completed in 1947 but not inaugurated until 1955, Tay Ninh Holy See was built by the people without any public expense, they did not even get married. Get married during construction to ensure enough yin and yang for the project. All theories about size and architecture were directed by His Holiness Ly Giao Tong Giang Co to the people to implement.

The campus of the Holy See's inner city is 1km2 wide. The composition of this work contains religious or mystical philosophical views. According to scriptures, the Holy See symbolizes the Bach Ngoc Kinh residing in the world. Some easily recognizable symbols such as the statue of Ho Phap, the statue of Mr. Thien... are made very meticulously and elaborately.

The fence surrounds the inner area of ​​the Holy See, with nearly 100 large and small architectural works such as the Holy See, religious agencies, Buu Thap... linked together. Wide roads connect these buildings.

Main gate to Tay Ninh Holy See. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

Basically, the Tay Ninh Holy See converges many unique architectures from many religious works in the world. This is also a work that clearly demonstrates the principles of Cao Dai Buddhism, which are: Three teachings return to the original, Phu Nhut Five Branches.

The Holy See has an actual size of 97.5m long and 22m wide, similar to the bell tower system in Catholic churches. In the middle, the Tay Ninh Holy See is designed with the Maitreya Buddha statue occupying the roof.

Long Ma Bai Su is the overall image of this religious architectural work. The appearance of Long Ma's head on the front of the Holy See looks straight to the West. Above are two towers of bells and drums rising high like two pairs of sharp horns. In the middle of the drum floor and the bell tower is a building with a ground floor called Tinh Tam Dai.

The second floor of the Holy See is called Phi Tuong Dai which resembles the forehead with two doors that are considered the two eyes of Long Ma. The Cuu Trung Dai area is the body, followed by Hiep Thien Dai. The tail of Long Ma is located at the end of the Holy Temple in the Ba Qua Dai area. This sacred religious building was built with bamboo-reinforced concrete, typical for Holy See buildings of the Cao Dai religion.

[Go to Da Lat to visit the largest Cao Dai temple in Vietnam]

The image of Tay Ninh Holy See also reminds visitors of the round shape of Heaven and the square shape of Earth. These are also theories about the universe in Confucianism.

The Bat Quai Dai of Tay Ninh Holy See has a similar shape to the Ba Qua Do of Dao Tien. On the roof of this detail there are also 3 Buddha statues. Inside the Tay Ninh Holy See was built with Nine Trung Dai with 9 levels from low to high.

Buddha statue sitting on a lotus throne and the Divine Eye symbol in front of Tay Ninh Holy See. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

The surrounding area of ​​the Holy See has 12 Tam Quan gates built in 3 different architectural styles. The main gate is Chanh Mon, the remaining 11 gates are numbered from 1 to 11.

Around the Holy See, there are a total of 112 round pillars supporting the porch in the hallway. The window frames decorated with lotus motifs support a frame of the Eye of Heaven, in the middle there is an equilateral triangle surrounding the wall of the Great Hall. There are a total of 23 lotus boxes shaped like heavenly eyes. The main entrance through Tinh Tam Dien has 6 side entrances and both sides have statues of Kim Mao Hau.

Unique festival at Tay Ninh Holy See

Originally the land where Cao Dai Buddhism was born, Tay Ninh has long become a holy place for tens of thousands of believers across the country with two of the most important festivals in local beliefs.

Worship Ceremony: Takes place on January 9 every year. This is one of the famous Tay Ninh Holy See festivals known to many locals and tourists. This is also a major festival of the year held at this project.

During the festival, thousands of people will be present outside the Tay Ninh Holy See to admire the unique beauty of the incense dragon. Besides, visitors can also witness the joyful and unique dances of unicorns, turtles, phoenixes, dragon horses...

The ethnic orchestra system is also performed in front of the Holy Temple and Bao An Tu, creating an extremely vibrant sound. After that, this orchestra will march through the East and West stands, creating an extremely vibrant scene.

Tourists visiting the Tay Ninh Holy See during the festival can also experience many booths displaying many historical models... With this activity, you will somewhat understand more about culture and values. Humanities of Vietnamese people and national traditions.

Ceremony of the Supreme Being. (Source: wikipedia)

Dieu Tri Cung Bird's Nest Festival: Held on the full moon day of the eighth lunar month, Tay Ninh Holy See's Bird's Nest Festival is one of the festivals that attracts a large number of participation from people and tourists.

The festival begins with a unique Dragon incense dance performance including Dragon, Lan, Quy, and Phung. Visitors coming here will be immersed in an extremely bustling space.

The Tay Ninh Holy See incense dragon dance is one of the unique activities at the ceremony, visitors should not miss it when they have the opportunity to visit this location. In addition, the collective vegetarian meal at Tay Ninh Holy See is also one of the unique activities at this Festival.

In the days leading up to the event, you will feel the bustle as people here prepare and repair roads and ornamental plants for the Festival.

The Ceremony part takes place with religious activities such as worshiping, procession of cotton floats, dancing Dragon incense, jade unicorn, tortoise, phoenix... The Buddha cotton procession is the biggest activity of this Festival. This is also a very elaborate performance by the parishioners here.

Some notes when visiting Tay Ninh Holy See: - The main ceremony time here is 12 noon. If you are preparing to participate in worship and worship at this location, you should balance your time. - You can visit this tourist destination at any time, however visitors will not be allowed to wear shoes inside. In addition, you should also walk softly and speak softly to ensure the sanctity of the spiritual tourist destination. - Visitors can enter the Great Hall from both sides of the door, however men enter through the right door, women enter through the left door. - Tourists coming here need to choose polite clothing, avoid wearing shorts, short skirts... to not affect the dignity of the Holy See./.


Tay Ninh Holy See (Long Hoa ward, Hoa Thanh town) is a unique religious architectural work. Tay Ninh Holy See is also called To Dinh, because this is the place of origin of Cao Dai religion, where the central agencies of the Cao Dai Church are located. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

Tay Ninh Holy See has the shape of a dragon horse lying majestically, its head facing the West with two horns reaching straight to the sky with a drum tower and a bell tower on both sides. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

Buddha statue sitting on a lotus throne and the Divine Eye symbol in front of Tay Ninh Holy See. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

Nghinh Phong Dai on the roof of the Holy See with a mosque-style dome. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

Main gate to Tay Ninh Holy See. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

Entrance gate of Tay Ninh Holy See. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

The Bagua Dai Tower is three stories high and has 8 sides following the Taoist bagua model. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

The Tam Thanh flag - the flag of the Cao Dai sect is hung in front of the Holy See during the sect's holidays. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

The columns on both sides of the Holy See have the appearance of Vietnamese pagoda architecture, the ventilation door is decorated with the Thien Nhan symbol, meaning "eye of Heaven," symbolizing God, the Supreme Being of the Cao Dai religion. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

The unique roof architecture of Tay Ninh Holy See is a blend of traditional Vietnamese architecture with the architecture of mosques and Taoist shrines. (Photo: Hong Dat/TTXVN)

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Source : Vietnamplus.vn

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