Dai Phung Pagoda (Tam Giao Tu)

Dai Phung Pagoda has the literary name “Tam Giao Tu”. This is an ancient pagoda; it still preserves a stele from the Mac dynasty, a bronze bell cast in the 8th year of Chinh Hoa (1687), a stone chime dated the 14th year of Gia Long (1915), a stele from the later Nguyen period, etc. A special feature of this pagoda is that its very name clearly shows the viewpoint of harmony among the Three Religions (Confucianism – Buddhism – Taoism), although in the worship content, the Buddhist element remains dominant. Tam Giao pagodas are a rather distinctive feature of the pagoda system of the Mac dynasty, and Dai Phung Pagoda is a typical case.

Notably, Dai Phung Pagoda is a pagoda of large scale compared with village pagodas in the area. This is also a rural area in a favorable location – near Phung town, Phung market, and in the fertile land of the Red River Delta. Dai Phung Pagoda is located on a spacious plot of land. In addition to the main architectural items such as the Tam Quan, Tien Duong, Thuong Dien, Ancestor House, Mother House, guest house, etc., around the pagoda there are also gardens of perennial trees, flower gardens, and ornamental plants, creating a quiet space – a Zen space, quite different from the noise and bustle of the town about a few hundred meters away.

The pagoda’s Tam Quan has three main entrances: Khong Quan, Gia Quan, and Trung Quan, built in two tiers, with the upper tier used for hanging bells; this item no longer retains traces of Le dynasty architecture as the date engraved on the bronze bell indicates. Nevertheless, the Tam Quan of Dai Phung Pagoda still preserves a system of large split-stone military columns, which have been naturally worn by hundreds of years of time.

The main pagoda is built in the Dinh-character plan, including a Tien Duong hall of 7 bays and 5 rows of wooden feet, with a roof frame of the “chong ruong con nhi” type. The architectural structure was made by the ancients using the method of smooth planing and tight joining, leaning toward durability and providing a spacious, airy space for Buddhists to perform rituals. Next are three bays of the Thuong Dien connected from the middle bay of the Tien Duong to form a layout commonly called by the people the “chuoi vo” type.

Notably, in the Thuong Dien of Dai Phung Pagoda there are 5 layers of statues: the topmost are three statues of the Three Ages (Tam The Thuong Tru Dieu Phap Than), dating from the 19th century. The second layer is the Nine Dragons and newborn Shakyamuni statue, made of bronze. On either side are Guanyin and Mahasthamaprapta statues (local people also call them the two figures Dieu Am and Dieu Thanh). Originally this Nine Dragon throne was placed at the end, in front of the Jade Emperor statue group, but recently it has been moved to its current position. The statues have a style of creation from the early 19th century.

The next layer is a large Amitabha Buddha statue seated on a lotus pedestal, flanked by Manjushri (riding a blue lion) and Samantabhadra (riding a white elephant). The next layer is the South Sea Guanyin statue with two attendant statues on either side. The South Sea Guanyin statue is made quite specially with the image of a sea demon supporting the statue below; on either side are two Bodhisattvas; the third layer is Cundi Guanyin; the fourth layer is the Jade Emperor statue, flanked by Nam Tao and Bac Dau; and the fifth layer is the Nine Dragon throne, with the newborn Shakyamuni statue. In particular, in the Thuong Dien there are two statues of Confucius (representing Confucianism) and Laozi (representing Taoism).

Dai Phung is a land near the capital, so Buddhism influenced this area very early. In this region, in the 6th century, Patriarch Zen Master Phap To came to reside at Linh Bao Tu Pagoda (Giang Xa village, Hoai Duc), and Ly Bi, at age 13 (later the founder of Van Xuan), was a novice monk at this pagoda. In the 12th century, Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh practiced at Thay Pagoda (Quoc Oai). Not far away, in this period there was Zen Master Nguyen Tri Bao, uncle of the famous figure To Hien Thanh, a native of Ha Mo village. Many princes and princesses of the Le – Trinh period also came to the Dan Phuong and Hoai Duc areas to contribute to restoring pagodas. In feudal times, Confucian learning in this area also developed; the entire district had 13 people who passed the highest imperial examinations (tiens si), and villages established Van Chi to record the names of local successful examinees as shining examples for later generations.