Hương Lam Pagoda

Commonly known as Hương Lam Pagoda (Hương Lam Tự), Đại Đồng 1 village, Thạch Thất commune - Hanoi, about 35 km from central Hanoi, with convenient access by motorized vehicles. City-level Historical-Cultural Relic under Decision No. 2465/QĐ-UBND dated November 26, 2003.

Hương Lam Pagoda has the Sino-Vietnamese name Hương Lam Tự and is located on a plot in the middle of Hương Lam village, surrounded by residential houses. The main pagoda is structured in the “chữ nhị” plan, including a Front Hall and an Upper Sanctuary, with the Ancestor Hall on the right side. In addition, the pagoda has a gate system, courtyards, and a fruit-tree garden. The Front Hall of Hương Lam Pagoda consists of three main bays and two side bays, built with brick walls and closed gable ends. The two central roof trusses are made in the giá chiêng kẻ chuyền style, and the two side trusses are made in the thượng chồng rường hạ kẻ style. The Upper Sanctuary consists of two longitudinal compartments and is built in the tiền đao hậu đốc style. The roof-supporting trusses in the Upper Sanctuary follow two styles on a plan with four rows of columns; the first truss is made in the thượng ván mê style decorated with two dragons flanking the moon, with a hollow chồng rường lower part, and the second truss is made in the chồng rường style. In the Upper Sanctuary, at the highest position is the set of Tam Thế Thường Trụ Diệu Pháp Thân; this statue set includes three figures of similar size and pose, 76 cm high, 28 cm across the shoulders, and 56 cm across the thighs, seated in the lotus position on lotus thrones. The second tier is the Di Đà Tam Tôn statue set; these statues have a date and style similar to the three Tam Thế statues, 81 cm high, 33 cm across the shoulders, 56 cm across the knees, with a lotus base 24 cm high. On either side are Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, depicted standing, 90 cm high and 26 cm across the shoulders. The third tier is the Jade Emperor and four attendant statues; the fourth tier is Nam Tào and Bắc Đẩu in the form of civil mandarins holding registers of birth and death. The last tier is the Cửu Long canopy carved in an arched style, with a statue of the newborn Shakyamuni standing on a lotus base in the center of the Cửu Long canopy, bare-chested. To the right of the Upper Sanctuary is Cundi Avalokitesvara; to the left is the Child-giving Guanyin statue depicting a woman holding an infant; on the two sides of the Upper Sanctuary are the Ten Courts of Hell statues, five on each side; the Earth God and Giám Trai statues are placed at the outermost sides of the Upper Sanctuary. Over its existence, Hương Lam Pagoda has preserved many valuable relics, notably one bell dating to the fifth year of Minh Mệnh (1824), 95 cm high and 49 cm in diameter. Hương Lam Pagoda was established to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the majority of the people of Hương Lam village, praying for good fortune, human health, and harmony for crops and livestock, toward “truth - goodness - beauty.”