Visiting Quan Su Pagoda - Hanoi: Finding Peace In The Soul

If you want to go on a pilgrimage in Hanoi, you should start from Quan Su Pagoda - a place that is hundreds of years old, a favorite destination for both tourists and locals. Hãy nghe Trần Thuỳ Thanh Xuân (Đồng Nai) một travel blogger nổi tiếng bật mí .

The capital Hanoi is one of the famous places with hundreds of years old sacred pagodas, communal houses, and temples. Each spiritual construction in this land, whether big or small, has its own history and unique architecture, originating from thousands of years of civilization, attracting many people to visit and learn. One of the famous pagodas in Hanoi is Quan Su Pagoda, an ancient temple located right in the center of Hanoi and is also a major pilgrimage site for many monks, Buddhists, and visitors when traveling to Hanoi. Let's take a walk around the capital Hanoi and stop to explore Quan Su Pagoda!

1. Introduction to Quan Su Pagoda - Hanoi

Established around the 14th - 15th centuries, Quan Su Pagoda is not only one of the most famous ancient temples in Hanoi, but also the central office of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha since its establishment in 1981. "Quan Su" means the residence of the envoy, originating from the history of the pagoda's formation.

The easily recognizable feature of Quan Su Pagoda lies in the pagoda's name and parallel sentences written in the national language. This is quite rare because normally, the names and parallel sentences in pagodas are usually in Chinese characters. For nearly half a century, Quan Su Pagoda has been regularly chosen as the venue for important events of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the world, conferences and seminars organized by religious research institutes as well as social science academies in the country and abroad, to promote the study of Buddhism and the influence of the Buddhist thought of the Tran Dynasty on Vietnamese national culture.

Image source: Collected

2. Directions to Quan Su Pagoda

Quan Su Pagoda is currently located at 73 Quan Su Street, Tran Hung Dao Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City. Previously, this area belonged to An Tap Village, Co Vu Ward, Tien Nghiem Commune (later changed to Vinh Xuong Commune), Tho Xuong District, Thang Long Citadel. Quan Su Pagoda is located right in the center of Hanoi City, only about 1km from Hoan Kiem Lake.

Image source: Collected

You can use personal or public transportation to get to Quan Su Pagoda, all are convenient and easy. If you go by car or motorbike, from Hoan Kiem Lake, follow Le Thai To Street towards Ba Trieu Street. When you reach the intersection with Tran Hung Dao, turn right and continue until you reach the roundabout of Lao Dong Square, then turn onto Quan Su Street, go about 150m more to reach Quan Su Pagoda. You can park your car at a nearby parking lot and then walk to the pagoda. For those of you traveling by bus, you can choose routes: 01, 32, 40 with stops very close to Quan Su Pagoda.

Another interesting sightseeing experience for you is to experience the Hop-on Hop-off sightseeing buses in Hanoi. The bus route will take you through famous temples and pagodas in Hanoi such as Quan Thanh Temple, Tran Quoc Pagoda, One Pillar Pagoda, and of course, Quan Su Pagoda. Although you can completely drive yourself to Quan Su Pagoda, if this is your first time traveling to Hanoi, or traveling in a large group, it is best to rent a private car with a driver to save money and be safer.

3. History of Quan Su Pagoda

According to the La Thanh Co Tich Bay collection compiled by Dr. Tran Ba Lam in 1787, around the 14th century, under the reign of King Tran Du Tong, the court built a building to receive envoys from the southern countries (Champa, Van Tuong, and Ai Lao) who came to Thang Long to pay tribute. Because the envoys were all devout Buddhists, the king built an additional pagoda right at the public house so that they could perform rituals during their stay here, and named it Quan Su Pagoda. Later, the Le Trung Hung Dynasty still maintained this tradition.

On the other hand, the book Hoang Le Nhat Thong Chi recorded that Quan Su Pagoda was built during the reign of King Le The Tong, that is, around the 15th century. Time has erased the traces of the public house, but Quan Su Pagoda still exists to this day. In the article engraved on the stele in the pagoda erected in 1855, Dr. Le Duy Trung mentioned that during the reign of King Gia Long, when Thang Long became Bac Thanh and the Nguyen Dynasty moved to Phu Xuan to establish a new capital, Quan Su Pagoda also became a place of worship for the soldiers of Hau Quan garrison.

Image source: Collected

In 1822, the pagoda was renovated to serve as a place of worship and worship for the soldiers at this garrison. When the soldiers at this garrison withdrew, the pagoda was returned to the villagers, and the new abbot renovated and built more corridors, painted statues, and cast bells.

In 1934, Quan Su Pagoda became the headquarters of the Northern Buddhist Association, now the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, after the association was established right at the pagoda.

In 1942, Venerable Master Vinh Nghiem approved the design of architects Nguyen Ngoc Ngoan and Nguyen Xuan Tung to rebuild Quan Su Pagoda as we see today.

In 1951, the Buddhist Congress of the three regions of North - Central - South established the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. On this occasion, Venerable Thich To Lien, abbot of Quan Su Pagoda, presented the Congress with the world Buddhist flag that he brought back from Colombo. Afterwards, the Congress approved the adoption of this flag as the Vietnamese Buddhist flag and had the flag flown for the first time in the sky of Hanoi, right at the Quan Su Pagoda campus.

Since 1990, the Vietnam Buddhist Research Institute under the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has also set up an office at Quan Su Pagoda to serve the needs of monks, nuns and Buddhists in the Northern region to learn about Buddhism.

4. Architecture of Quan Su Pagoda

After many renovations and constructions, today, Quan Su Pagoda includes the following items: the gate, the main hall, the library, the guest house, the monks' rooms and the lecture hall. The overall structure of Quan Su Pagoda is a combination of the architectural quintessence of the great pagodas of the North, following the "inner public, outer national" layout. Each door frame is made of precious wood, creating an ancient look for the pagoda.

The gate has 3 roofs, in the middle is the bell tower. From the outside, Quan Su Pagoda has a strong communal house style of the Northern midland delta with a red fish-scale tiled dome. From the gate, go through a brick-paved yard to reach 11 steps leading to the main hall. The main hall is built in a square shape, including 2 floors, surrounded by a corridor. The Tam Bao Palace is located on the 2nd floor, and the lower floor is for moisture protection.

Image source: Collected

The Buddha Hall is solemnly decorated with large, splendidly gilded statues placed on each step. The highest level inside is the altar of the Three Buddhas of the Three Worlds. Next is Amitabha Buddha in the middle, with Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta on either side. The next level worships Sakyamuni Buddha in the middle, with Venerable Ananda and Kasyapa on either side. On the lowest level, on the outermost side, is the Nine Dragons Seat placed between the statues of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha.

On the right side of the main hall is the altar of Ly Quoc Su, namely Zen Master Nguyen Minh Khong, and his two attendants; on the left side of the main hall is the altar of Duc Ong, Chau Suong, and Quan Binh. On the side of Dai Hung Bao Dien is the Ancestor Temple, where the Great Ancestors of Vietnamese Buddhism were worshiped. Although it was built a long time ago, Quan Su Pagoda has always maintained the Dharma and does not worship the Mother Goddess and the Three-Four Palaces, which are not Buddhist.

After being restored and upgraded, the main and auxiliary buildings were built high and spacious with a yellow lime layer. On both sides and behind the temple yard are the library, guest house, monk rooms, and lecture hall. The back hall is connected to the main hall via an open-air staircase on the middle floor. Quan Su Pagoda is a place that stores many Buddhist documents and books and is one of the largest centers for Buddhist research, teaching and dissemination in Vietnam.

5. Quan Su Pagoda Festival

On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, or on holidays and Tet, Buddhists and visitors often gather at Quan Su Pagoda to pray for peace, health, luck, and prosperity for themselves and their families. In addition, every year, Quan Su Pagoda also organizes activities to celebrate Buddha's Birthday, the Three Jewels Refuge Ceremony, and the Mong Son Thi Thuc Ceremony.

On each occasion of Buddha's Birthday, monks, nuns, and Buddhists participate in the procession of flower cars, the Buddha's relics, attend the Three Jewels Refuge Ceremony, release animals to pray for peace, national prosperity, and many other meaningful activities. Quan Su Pagoda also regularly organizes a ceremony to pray for the souls of small creatures on Vu Lan occasion, to commemorate heroic martyrs, those who died due to natural disasters, floods, and traffic accidents.

Image source: Collected

Whether you are a tourist visiting Hanoi or living in this city, take some time to visit Quan Su Pagoda to enjoy the peaceful, ancient space and find some peace in the midst of the hustle and bustle of modern life.