Rung Pagoda

RUNG PAGODA (CANH LINH TEMPLE)

Rung Pagoda is located in Tien Le village, Son Dong commune, Hanoi city, and is an ancient pagoda with outstanding historical and artistic value for the locality. The site currently preserves many precious antiquities, such as a bronze bell from the Tay Son period (1797), a great plaque from the Minh Menh period (1836), and a system of stone steles and statues from the Nguyen period. During the resistance war against the Americans (1968–1973), the pagoda was once an evacuation and production site for the Tran Hung Dao Mechanical Factory and a base for activities of southern intelligence officers regrouped to the North, and it fortunately escaped a fierce bombing raid in 1972.

The pagoda has been restored many times, most extensively in 1997–1998, creating its current spacious and durable appearance. The site's architecture has a layout of 'front in the shape of the character Nhat, rear in the shape of the character Dinh', including an outer five-bay Tien Duong (Front Hall) worshipping Thousand-Hand Guanyin, a five-bay Tien Duong with wooden chong ruong con nhi structure, and a three-bay Thuong Dien (Upper Hall) connected perpendicularly at the rear, with finely carved cloud-scroll motifs. On either side of the Tam Bao are the Mau House worshipping the Three Holy Mothers and Saint Tran, and the To – Khach house serving religious activities.

As a center of traditional Mahayana Buddhism, the pagoda worships a rich system of statues such as the Three Worlds, Shakyamuni, Amitabha, Jade Emperor, Duc Ong, Holy Monk, Ten Kings of Hell, and Lady Tay Lang. The site also reflects the harmony between Buddhism and folk beliefs through the worship of Lady Tay Lang, Lady Dao, and the Three Holy Mothers.

Every year, the Rung Pagoda festival takes place on the 19th day of the second lunar month with vegetarian offerings to pray for national peace and public well-being, attracting a large number of local people and related clans. In addition to the main festival, the pagoda also maintains major ceremonies such as Thuong Nguyen, Buddha's Birthday, and Vu Lan, contributing to preserving and promoting the community's traditional spiritual cultural values.

Rung Pagoda was ranked as a historical, architectural, and artistic relic by the Hanoi City People's Committee in 2023.