Diên Phúc Pagoda (Outer Pagoda)
Introduction
Diên Phúc Pagoda
(Diên Phúc Temple, Outer Pagoda)
Diên Phúc Pagoda is located in Rô village, Sơn Đồng commune, Hanoi city. The pagoda faces south and shares its outer gate with Thượng Temple.
The pagoda's three-entrance gate also serves as a bell tower and is situated next to the main road. It consists of 3 bays, 2 storeys, and 4 roofs in the overlapping-eave style, with a wooden frame set on brick pillars. The upper storey hangs a bell cast in the 3rd year of Thành Thái (1891) and a bronze gong cast in the 7th year of Minh Mệnh (1826).
The main pagoda is divided into two areas: the right area includes the Mother Goddess Hall, the Patriarch's House, the guest house, and monks' quarters; the left area is the ancient pagoda section with the Front Hall, Incense Burning Hall, and Upper Hall, structured in the shape of the character “Công”. The Front Hall is 7 bays wide, bearing interwoven marks of 17th- and 18th-century carvings (from the communal house in Phùng, purchased and brought here in 1942), with the highlight being a carving of a family of tigers gathering happily. Next are 3 bays of the Incense Burning Hall and 3 bays of the Upper Hall with a late Nguyễn-era frame, but still retaining carvings of tiger talismans and dragon-cloud motifs from the early 18th century on the lattice panel of the Upper Hall.
The pagoda preserves a rich system of Mahayana Buddhist statues lacquered and gilded (such as the Three Ages set, Amitabha Trinity, Shakyamuni, Ten Kings of Hell, Dharma Protectors, etc.). Most statues carry a late Nguyễn style; however, the Cundi Guanyin statue has an earlier style. There are also some old carved panels; the statue is 1.6 m tall, seated on a lotus pedestal, with a graceful posture, wearing a crown with raised lotus flowers, a necklace on the chest, and soft side locks falling to the shoulders.
The pagoda was ranked as an architectural and artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1986.
