Cao Pagoda (Dinh Son Tu)

According to the Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh had the surname Tu, his secular name was Lo, son of the official Do Sat Tu Vinh, his mother was Tang Thi Loan, and he was from An Lang village, Vinh Thuan district, now Lang village, Dong Da district, Hanoi.
From childhood, the Zen master showed unusually intelligent actions. Later he left home to study the Way, then together with Venerable Giac Hai and Khong Lo went to Tay Thien (India) to seek the Dharma. After returning, the Zen master planted his staff at Sai Mountain and practiced day and night. When he awakened to the mind seal, he preached, taught, gathered herbs to help people, and organized games for the people such as shuttlecock kicking, wrestling, water puppetry, etc. Therefore, the people admired and respected him and called him by the intimate, close term “Thay” (Teacher).

Cao Pagoda (Dinh Son Tu) is part of the Thay Pagoda relic complex. Leaving the Thay Pagoda area (Thien Phuc Tu), crossing Nhat Tien Bridge leads to the system of caves, pagodas, and temples on the mountain. This place expresses the diversity and harmony of Buddhist natural landscape architecture with other religions and beliefs. It begins with a moss-covered gate bearing the lines: “Non-dual Dharma Gate” (there are many Buddha gates, but only one Dharma gate), “No going without returning; one gate after another” (visitors just walk straight through many layers of gates without looking back). From here, the landscape space appears and disappears, real and virtual, evoking many thoughts and emotions in the hearts of visitors.

Going halfway up the mountain, through winding paths and steep rocks amid dense vegetation, you reach Cao Pagoda (also called Dinh Son Pagoda), where Buddha is worshipped and Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh is venerated in absentia. Behind the pagoda is Phat Tich Cave, or Am Hien Thuy, and Thanh Hoa Cave, associated with the legend of Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh shedding his body, leaving a hollow mark on the rock wall. Thanh Hoa Cave is said to preserve the footprints and head of Tu Dao Hanh when he left his body; this is a phenomenon of Buddhist transformation in folk belief, intended to create faith in Buddhism among the broad masses.

Cao Pagoda has a small architectural scale with structures: a bell tower, the main pagoda (front hall and upper hall), and auxiliary works. Through the entrance gate is the pagoda courtyard. Outside is a three-bay bell tower close to the steep mountainside. The bell tower is built with two tiers of roofs covered with mui tiles, gable walls, and corner posts at the roof ridge ends. Inside hangs the bell “Thien Phuc thon Dinh Son Tu hong chung”, 1.21 m high, cast in the Tay Son Canh Thinh 4 era (1796).

From the bell tower, cross the courtyard into the main pagoda. The pagoda has a Dinh-shaped floor plan. The three-bay front hall has gable walls. The roof trusses have four rows of columns. The roof is covered with mui tiles. The upper hall is a three-bay longitudinal building connected to the front hall at the central bay. The roof trusses in the pagoda are simply made, smoothly planed and tightly fitted.

Today, the pagoda still preserves many valuable ancient artifacts, such as a set of Ten Halls paintings painted in mineral colors on wooden panels in the late 18th-century artistic style, a mai nha stone stele carved directly on the rock wall at Thanh Hoa Cave, Buddha statues, etc.