Van Dinh Pagoda

• Spiritual and social value: The pagoda was founded and built long ago on the edge of the village to meet the religious and spiritual needs of residents in the low-lying flooded plains. The compassionate teachings of the Buddha were integrated and taught to encourage goodness, eliminate evil, and cultivate humane character for villagers over many generations.

• Historical value in resistance wars: During the nine-year resistance war against the French colonialists, the pagoda was a secret operating base for Viet Minh cadres, a place for activities and meetings of the Commune People's Committee and local guerrillas, who dug secret tunnels there. During the resistance war against the Americans to save the country, the pagoda grounds were a site for safely receiving many central agencies and departments from inside and outside the province for evacuation.

• Sculptural art value: Although the round statues in the Buddha hall are not very large in scale, the ancient statue system at Van Dinh Pagoda was crafted extremely meticulously and exquisitely in the 19th-20th centuries. Each wood-carved statue carries its own distinct expressive beauty, embodying both Buddhist conventions and profoundly expressing the characteristic folk craftsmanship of the Ung Hoa land.

• Natural landscape: The pagoda is located in the east of the village on a raised mound, enclosed by a connected chain of ancient ponds (Ma Nhat Pond, Ma Nhi Pond, Pagoda Pond, Quan Pond), giving it a quiet and solemn atmosphere. The pagoda faces southwest toward the village ("the pagoda faces the village"), reflecting the ancestors' wish to pray that the compassionate Buddhas watch over and protect the villagers.

• Arrangement of the Buddha hall: The altars are arranged in solemn tiers from high to low from the outside inward:

  • Front hall (Worship hall): Statues of the Dharma Protectors Khuyen Thien (guarding the right) and Trung Ac (on the left) riding lions are placed. Outside, an altar is arranged Duc Ong (Lord Anathapindika as a civil mandarin wearing a winged hat and a red face) and an altar Thánh Tăng (wearing a seven-Buddha crown and preaching the Dharma to bring salvation) symmetrically on both sides.

  • Upper Hall: The highest tier is a set of statues Buddhas of the Three Times seated in the lotus position with the meditation mudra (85 cm high); the next tier is a statue Amitabha wearing a softly draped kasaya robe revealing the swastika symbol on the chest (133 cm high), together with two standing Bodhisattvas attending; the lower tier holds a statue Shakyamuni Holding a Flower whose right hand holds a lotus branch raised high (165 cm high), next to the statues of Ananda and Mahakasyapa; next is a statue Cundi Avalokiteśvara (with twelve pairs of hands holding Dharma treasures radiating evenly) placed between the statues of the plump, prosperous Maitreya Buddha and an ascetic statue Tuyet Son with prominent sinews and bones. At the bottom is the statue of the Jade Emperor wearing a Binh Thien crown, together with Nam Tao, Bac Dau and Nine Dragons throne carved nine dragon heads spraying water to bathe the infant Shakyamuni statue, which points one hand to the sky and one hand to the earth.

  • Secondary altars: On both sides are altars of Guanyin seated on a mountain; behind them, the system of worship statues in the Patriarch House (Patriarch Bodhidharma) and the Mother House (Three Palaces of Holy Mothers) is solemnly arranged.

The inventory records of the Relic Management Board note that the system of artifacts at the pagoda is very diverse, including:

• Precious metal antiquities: 01 ancient bronze bell cast in the 11th year of Thanh Thai (1899). The bell is 87 cm high; its handle is carved with a pair of stylized dragons bearing the bell's weight, and the bell body is engraved with a Chinese-character inscription recording the merits of the clan. In addition, there is 01 set of bronze worship tripods and 01 pair of bronze cranes.

• Wooden objects and paper materials: 07 ancient lacquered and gilded horizontal plaques, 08 pairs of Chinese-character couplets inlaid with mother-of-pearl, 07 red-lacquered and gold-gilded valance doors with relief-carved themes Two dragons adoring the moon, Four Sacred Creatures, Four Seasons, 01 set of lim wood altar cabinets, 04 carved wooden candles, 10 antique wooden offering trays.

• Han-Nom documents: 01 ancient stone stele by the famous scholar Doctor Duong Lam who directly compiled and penned the chronicle of the temple and pagoda restoration.

• Ceramic and earthenware objects: 02 antique blue-painted ceramic jars, 02 pairs of antique ceramic vases, and a set of ritual incense bowls (notably preserving 01 ancient Tho Ha ceramic incense bowl exquisite dragon-and-cloud motifs).

Based on the extract diagram of the cadastral map drawn in 2003 (Sheet No. 03, scale 1/1000) and the 2006 inter-agency consensus minutes, the legal corridor of the relic site is clearly zoned to prohibit encroachment:

• Zone 1 (Inviolable zone - Red):

  • Scope: Comprising the entire core of the inner temple complex, main temple, Ancestor Hall, Mother Goddess Hall, tomb stupa, and brick yard.

  • Area: 4,000 $m^2$ located on land plot symbol $64^A$.

  • Boundaries: All four sides—East, West, South, and North—of land plot $64^A$ are enclosed and closely adjoining the temple land plot $64^B$ (see map details in file bản đồ di tích cụm_2.pdf).

• Zone 2 (Construction adjustment zone, landscape protection - Green):

  • Scope: Surrounding and closely adjoining Zone I, it is the ecological protection area of ponds, lakes, and trees.

  • Area: 4,040.6 $m^2$ located on land plot No. $64^B$.

  • Adjacent boundaries: To the East: pond/lake; to the West: village road axis; to the South: village road axis and pond; to the North: ancient pond/lake.

• All acts of encroachment, construction of residential houses, or unauthorized removal of ritual movable properties outside the demarcated boundaries of the two above-mentioned land plots are strictly prohibited and handled in accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritage. All projects for restoration and embellishment of auxiliary works must be approved by specialized agencies.