Dong Gia Pagoda

DONG GIA PAGODA

Dong Gia Pagoda is located in Lai Yen village, Son Dong commune, Hanoi city, an ancient land known as a 'land of spiritual energy and talented people,' which was originally settled by residents of Tien Liet village (Tien Yen commune) who migrated there early on. Thanks to the advantage of a large, aquatic-rich pond, local people developed the practice of gathering crabs and snails, giving rise to the folk names 'Dong Oc' or 'Ke Oc.' Over many centuries, Lai Yen has possessed a long-standing system of cultural institutions such as Kinh Thien Dai shrine, Nha Phuc Pagoda, and stone tombs from the Le-Trinh period; it is also the homeland of many eminent scholars and talented people who made great contributions to the nation's history.

Dong Gia Pagoda (whose Sino-Vietnamese name is Thien Phuc Thien Tu) is said to have been built during the Ly dynasty on a small scale in the 'Nhi' character layout, consisting of a Front Hall and an Upper Hall. The pagoda is associated with its sacredness, four ancient Dracontomelon duperreanum trees, and two elaborately carved wooden reliefs teaching people to do good that drifted there after a great flood. By the 1960s-1970s, the pagoda had collapsed and deteriorated, so local people moved most of the Buddha statues and reliefs to Nha Phuc Pagoda; at present, the pagoda keeps only two statues (Amitabha and Duc Ong) and one remaining relief. The pagoda currently has no resident monk, and incense offering and worship are maintained by local people on the 15th and 1st days of the lunar month and during the traditional Tet holiday.

Dong Gia Pagoda faces south toward a large lake, exuding a quiet, solemn atmosphere with its perennial trees, although its grounds have been narrowed and have not been restored. The pagoda's architecture has a Dinh character layout, including the Tam Bao hall. The Front Hall is a three-bay veranda with a lean-to roof, opening three doors, and still retains Le Trung Hung-era chrysanthemum-pattern tiles; the Upper Hall is a four-bay longitudinal house with gabled walls closed at the ends, a roof with fish-tail tiles, using a wooden frame structure of stacked beams and a transom rafter resting on the wall without decoration. Through historical changes, the artifacts at the site are very few and lacking in many respects compared with the standards of pagodas in the Northern Delta. The worship statue system consists only of an Amitabha Buddha statue (central bay) and a Duc Ong statue (right bay) of early date, along with some simple small worship items such as candlesticks, water stands, flower trays, and incense bowls.