Thai Khe Pagoda (Thien Quang Temple)

The main architectural structure of Thai Khe Pagoda has a plan in the shape of the character Dinh, including the Front Hall and the Upper Hall. In addition, there are other auxiliary structures such as the Nghi Mon, the Quan Am Pavilion, the Mother Goddess House, and the Patriarch House.

The Nghi Mon is a shared structure of the Thai Khe communal house and pagoda relic complex. The Nghi Mon is built in the four-pillar style, with three gates; the main gate is of the large pillar-bieu type, with a four-phoenix image molded on top and unicorn-in-attendance images molded at the four corners below. The recessed panels are molded with the Four Sacred Creatures. On the pillar-bieu columns are molded couplets praising the merits of the village Tutelary God.

Connecting the large pillar-bieu with the small pillar-bieu is a wall/enclosure wall, forming side gates; on the gate wall is built a false roof in the two-tier roof style with curved dao ends, and the roof is decorated with images of the sun, dragon heads, and phoenixes. The communal house gate has been recently rebuilt; although it does not have much historical value, it still carries important significance in the overall structure of the communal house and pagoda relic complex.

The Three Jewels Hall includes the Front Hall and Upper Hall; this is the main structure of the pagoda, the largest in scale, and the place where many Buddha statues are arranged. The foundation of the Three Jewels Hall is higher than the courtyard, and the veranda has three steps, paved with Bat bricks in the Cong-shaped bond. The Front Hall consists of five bays; its frame structure was recently rebuilt with reinforced concrete, while the roof-supporting truss system is made of wood. The wooden frame consists of five rows of column bases (three front rows and two rear rows, of which the front veranda column row is made of stone). Although the frame is made of reinforced concrete, the method of construction and the shape of the trusses are similar to traditional wooden architecture. The roof truss is made in the chong ruong style, with the ruong pieces stacked on one another through dau ke. The front and rear side trusses are made in the ke ngoi style. The veranda is made in the ke suot style. The roof of the Front Hall has one tier and two roofs, in the style of a blind-gable wall with tay ngai. At the two ends of the roof ridge are molded ridge finials; the ridge border is attached with lemon-flower bricks; on the tay ngai are molded images of the Four Sacred Creatures. The front enclosure is made with a folding door system; above is a row of turned-wood bars to admit light and ventilate the interior. The two side gable walls are built of brick and plastered with mortar.

The Upper Hall consists of three bays; its frame structure includes four rows of column bases (two rows of main columns and two rows of military columns). The roof truss is made in the van me and gia chieng chong ruong style. The roof truss is in the chong ruong style, and the side truss is in the ke ngoi style. The roof system is made in the one-tier, two-roof style, with a blind-gable wall. The roof is covered with di tiles; the roof is not decorated with images, only molded with edge lines.

* In the Upper Hall of Thai Khe Pagoda, the statues are divided into 6 layers:

- The top layer of statues is the set of the Three Worlds, the eternal, wonderful Dharma bodies, seated in the lotus position on lotus pedestals, with their hands forming mudras placed in their laps; that is, the three thousand Buddhas of the three kalpas: the Past associated with the Great Adornment Kalpa; the Present associated with the Auspicious Kalpa; and the Future associated with the Star Kalpa. Among the three Three Worlds statues here, the central statue of the Three Worlds of the Auspicious Kalpa has a different form from the two Three Worlds statues beside it and sits in the highest position. All three statues are 83-85 cm tall, 27 cm across the shoulders, and 55 cm across the knees. The Three Worlds of the Auspicious Kalpa is carved in a seated position on a lotus pedestal, with two layers of upturned petals in 20th-century artistic style. Below the lotus pedestal is a rectangular statue base, left plain and only lacquered red. The Buddha statue is in the preaching pose, with hands clasped together. The statue's robe consists of two layers: the inner layer is tied in a knot in front of the belly, and the outer cloak is carved with angular ridges. The hair is in snail-shell curls built up in a high mass, the face is round and full, the eyes are half-closed, and the ears are large.

- The second layer of statues is the Amitabha Trinity, consisting of a large Amitabha Buddha seated on a lotus throne, with his hands forming a mudra placed in his lap. On both sides are placed the Maitreya statue and the Snow Mountain statue.

- The third layer of statues in the Buddha Hall is the statue of Cundi Avalokitesvara seated on a lotus throne. The statue has six pairs of hands in various mudra positions to save sentient beings. The main pair of hands forms the Cundi mudra; it is called the statue of Cundi Avalokitesvara. On both sides are attendant statues.

- The fourth layer is the statue of the Jade Emperor together with Nam Tao and Bac Dau.

- The bottom row is the Nine Dragons throne. In the center is placed the statue of the infant Shakyamuni, carved with one hand pointing to the sky and one hand pointing to the earth, with the Buddhist story “Above heaven and below earth, I alone am honored,” in the artistic style of the Nguyen dynasty.

* The side bays outside the Front Hall are where the statues of the Dharma Protectors - Encouraging Goodness and Punishing Evil - are located. The statues are quite large and carry the meaning of encouraging goodness and punishing evil in order to protect the Buddha Dharma; they are carved in the style of warriors, wearing armor, with hats on their heads, one holding a jewel and the other holding a weapon, in a standing position. The Encouraging Goodness statue is painted with a white face, has a gentle expression, and holds a jewel of good heart. The Dharma Protector Punishing Evil statue is painted with a red face, has a fierce divine expression, slanting eyes, thick eyebrows, and holds a weapon as if warning people to stay away from the path leading to all evil. The image of the Dharma Protector in Buddhism has the full name Ho Phap Vi Da Ton Thien Bodhisattva. These are good deities who vow to protect the Buddha Dharma, good deities who voluntarily support Buddhism.

 In the right side bay is placed the statue of the Holy Monk, carved as the image of a monk wearing a seven-leaf Buddha hat, usually sitting with his legs hanging down, his left hand holding a cup of ambrosia or turned upward in his lap, and his right hand in the gesture of preaching salvation or forming the Abhaya mudra or Auspicious mudra. In the right side aisle of the Front Hall is also placed the statue of Ksitigarbha standing on a lotus pedestal.

In the left side bay of the Front Hall is placed the statue of Duc Ong, seated on a throne with his legs hanging down on a pedestal, in the form of a civil mandarin wearing a fly-wing hat, with a red face. 

Above the columns hang horizontal plaques and parallel couplets; these artifacts have also only been brought into use in recent years, contributing to enriching the system of worship objects at the pagoda.

The Mother House is located to the right of the Front Hall, consists of 3 bays, is small in scale, and is divided into different spaces: the three bays on the right serve as a place of worship for Son Trang, the bay on the left houses the altar of Quan Tran Trieu, and the central bay houses the altar of the Three Holy Mothers.

The floor is higher than the front yard and paved with Bat Mach bricks in the Cong character pattern. The frame structure consists of 5 rows of column feet (3 front, 2 rear), but the central column row is omitted to expand the interior space. The entire Mother House includes 4 trusses, of which the roof truss in the central bay is of the gia chie - ke ngoi type, and the roof trusses in the side bays are of the chong ruong type. The side trusses of the central bay are all made in the ke ngoi style, and the side bays are made as con me. The front veranda is made in the ke style, and the rear veranda is made with diagonal braces. On the roof trusses and side trusses of the side bays, patterns of con trien motifs are carved, combined with la lat leaves. The roof system is made as one story with two roofs, similar to the Front Hall.

The Ancestor House is behind the Tam Bao (Three Jewels Hall). The architecture consists of 5 bays, of which the three central bays are used for worship and the two gable bays are used as monks' rooms. The interior arrangement of the Ancestor House is simple: the central bay has a worship platform with a statue of Bodhidharma, the right bay worships images of the Buddha, and the left bay worships the statue of the pagoda's Patriarch. Along the central column rows hang curtains, horizontal plaques, and gilded lacquered couplets.

The architectural structure of the Ancestor House is similar to that of the Mother House, with the omission of a column row, the qua giang resting on the enclosing wall, the roof truss of the gia chie - ke ngoi type, the side truss of the ke ngoi type, and the veranda made with diagonal braces. The roof truss system consists of one story with two roofs, covered with di tiles.

Although Thai Khe Pagoda no longer retains the architectural appearance of its initial construction, together with Thai Khe Communal House, it is a historical and cultural relic located in a land with a rich history and strong patriotic and revolutionary traditions. This place has become the center of the village's cultural and spiritual activities, educating generations living today in the spirit of love for their homeland. Over time, the relic has accumulated profound historical, cultural, scientific, and aesthetic values, bearing the characteristics of the region. Currently, the presence of architectural items, the system of artifacts, and cultural activities related to the relic has contributed to preserving and promoting the beautiful traditional cultural values of the locality.

The remaining physical traces in Thai Khe Communal House show that the communal house and pagoda were built quite early, but during its existence, Thai Khe Pagoda was destroyed during the scorched-earth resistance. To date, the architectural works have undergone many repairs and renovations, but many historical and cultural values are still preserved. The pagoda has become the center of cultural activities for the community, a place to preserve and safeguard the traditional cultural values of the locality, and also a place to educate and guide people toward good things in life.

Thai Khe Pagoda (Thien Quang Tu) worships the Buddha according to the Mahayana tradition; in addition, the pagoda also worships Ancestors and Mother Goddesses and is the center of cultural activities of the community, a place to preserve and safeguard the traditional cultural values of the locality, and also a place to educate and guide people toward good things in life. The presence of the pagoda is an indispensable symbol of every village, expressing the aspiration for a peaceful and tranquil life of every working person in the countryside. It can be said that Thai Khe Pagoda, as built and renovated, is a purely Vietnamese pagoda, evidence of the existence and development of Buddhism in the faith of the local people. Visiting the pagoda, people can worship the system of Buddha statues, incarnations of historical figures in the Buddhist world, thereby “encouraging good - punishing evil,” educating people in humanity and righteousness, seeking truth - goodness - beauty to cultivate the mind and accumulate virtue, becoming good and useful people for society. On Buddhist holidays and festivals, people come to the pagoda to perform rituals, expressing the fine filial piety of the Vietnamese people.

After many restorations and repairs, Thai Khe Pagoda still retains an architectural complex bearing traditional artistic style. Although the system of artifacts has only recently been brought into worship, it includes many types and materials such as woodwork, bronze, ceramics, etc., increasing the richness of the Vietnamese people's worship object system.