Bai Dinh Pagoda: A spiritual journey in Vietnam.
Bai Dinh Pagoda, located in Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh, is well-known as the most popular and largest Buddhist complexes in Vietnam. It attracts not only domestic people but also international tourists whenever they come to Ninh Binh. Bai Dinh Pagoda is set up by breathtaking limestone mountains, lush valleys and rivers. It provides a serene backdrop for spiritual reflection and exploration of Vietnamese history and culture.
Let’s see what we can do if we go there!
- Location.
First of all, Bai Dinh Pagoda is located at the western gateway of Hoa Lu ancient capital relic area, on Highway 38B, in Gia Sinh commune – Gia Vien – Ninh Binh, 15 km from Ninh Binh city, 95 km from Hanoi. Bai Dinh Pagoda is located in the north of the Trang An world heritage complex.
Spanning over 500 hectares, it consists of two sections: The ancient pagodas and the larger one, Bai Dinh Pagoda, which was founded in 2010. The whole area showcases the rich religious tradition of Vietnamese Buddhism. By being influenced with the spirit, the landscape is created to show the natural and peaceful views for tourists.
- History.
More than 1,000 years ago, the three feudal dynasties of Dinh, Le and Ly were all very interested and considered Buddhism as the national religion, so they built many ancient pagodas, including Bai Dinh pagoda located on the Trang mountain range. The pagoda has a history dating back to the Dinh Dynasty but still has many architectural details and antiques bearing the strong impression of the Ly Dynasty.
The pagoda is located on a land that fully converges the spiritual elements of outstanding people according to Vietnamese folk beliefs. This is the land where Kings, Saints, and Gods are born. Bai Dinh ancient pagoda mountain was once the place where Emperor Dinh Tien set up an altar to pray for good weather and wind. King Quang Trung chose to hold a flag offering ceremony to encourage soldiers before going to Thang Long to destroy the Qing army.
By 1997, Bai Dinh Pagoda was recognized as a national historical-cultural-revolutionary relic. With such special and sacred things, the pagoda welcomes a large number of tourists and Buddhists to visit every year. If you have the opportunity, come and feel this land of masterpieces.
3. Visit routines.
To start the journey, you need to go from the base of the mountain and make the way up through several temples and courtyards. Then, you are able to see the entrance of Bai Dinh Pagoda, which opens to a long path with 500 stone statues of Arhats. Each of them has unique facial expressions that make you not ignore the beauty of this road, you will see the Tam The Hall which has three massive Buddha statues. They mean past, present and future, and all of them are over 7 meters high and weigh about 50 tons.
Moreover, you need to explore the Phap Chu temple, then, you have to visit Bao Thap, which is another key highlight in this tour, by climbing to enjoy the gorgeous and panoramic views of mountains and rice fields. On the way up, you will encounter more and more statues, altars, intricately carved sculptures depicting plenty of scenes from Buddhist lore. And do not forget to see both sections of Bai Dinh, although the ancient pagoda is smaller, it is significant and worth visiting once when you come to Ninh Binh. It is located higher up on the mountain, which obviously has a stunning view to see the whole city there.
4. Historic relics.
Bright cave, dark cave
Although the cave is about 25 meters deep and 15 meters wide, it still has enough natural light. Inside is where the Buddha statue is located and going all the way to the end of the cave, you can turn to the sacred Cao Son temple. In the middle there is also a natural water well that keeps the air cool. Here, mothers and fairies are worshiped.
Temple of Saint Nguyen
Inside the Bai Dinh pagoda complex, there is a temple with a structure in the first and second style. This is the place to worship Zen master – famous physician Nguyen Minh Khong to commemorate and remember his merits. The Zen master was the one who accidentally discovered a beautiful cave and built a temple to worship Buddha.
In addition, he is also a famous physician who cures diseases and saves people. Not only that, he also researched and understood the origins of Dong Son civilization in ancient Vietnamese times with the aim of restoring the traditional bronze casting craft that had disappeared.
- Temple of God Cao Son
The temple to worship the god Cao Son was built with its back against the mountain, with a corridor separating it from the valley in front. Since ancient times, when building the capital Hoa Lu, Emperor Dinh Tien built 3 temples to worship the gods guarding the 3 citadels and the god Cao Son guarding the gateway to the western citadel. So if you have the opportunity to come to Bai Dinh Pagoda, you must stop by Cao Son god to commemorate him.
- Mother Goddess Cave
Continuing your journey, go to see Saint Mother Lieu Hanh – who is both a saint and a benefactor. The Mother Goddess Cave has 7 small interconnected caves. In the middle of the cave there is “one pillar of the sky” created from hanging stalactites. Furthermore, the cave also emits magical sounds like a symphony from a stone organ.
- Ngoc Well
Legend has it that Zen Master Nguyen Minh Khong took water from this well to make medicine for the king and people. Looking down from above, you will see a jade green water surface surrounded by green trees in the middle of a large campus.
5. Advice when visiting
For seasoning, the best time to visit the scenic area and Bai Dinh ancient pagoda complex is around January to March of the lunar calendar. On January 6 every year, the pagoda holds the Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival, so you can combine visiting and participating in the Festival. In addition, if you have the opportunity and love the quiet space, go to the temple on any weekday.
Besides, because it is a sacred place when visiting the temple, you need to pay attention to a few things such as:
- You should dress politely, choose comfortable clothes suitable for traveling a lot.
- Depending on the weather conditions, you should bring a spare umbrella.
- On crowded occasions, theft will occur, so you need to be careful.
- Wake up early to visit more attractions that you want and limit delaying the timeline
- Respect local customs when you go there even though local people are really friendly and smile when they see you.
For any further support and information, please visit us tranganecorestresort.com or Trang An Ecorest Resort & Spa. See you soon.
Hoai Linh
(Image source: internet)
