Xá Lợi Pagoda
Xá Lợi Pagoda | |
---|---|
Chùa Xá Lợi | |
Buddha | |
Location | |
Location | Hồ Chí Minh City |
Country | Vietnam |
Geographic coordinates | 10°46′41″N 106°41′12″E / 10.77806°N 106.68667°E |
Architecture | |
Completed | 1956 |
The Xá Lợi Pagoda (Vietnamese: Chùa Xá Lợi [saː˦˥ ləːj˨˩˨] SAW-LIE; chữ Hán: 舍利寺) is the largest pagoda in Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam. It was built in 1956 and was the headquarters of Buddhism in South Vietnam. The pagoda is located in District 3, Hồ Chí Minh City and lies on a plot of 5000 square metres. The name Xá Lợi is the Vietnamese translation for śarīra, a term used for relics of Buddhists.
The pagoda was best known for the
History
Construction
Construction began on 5 August 1956, according to the plans drawn up by the architects
Protests and raids in 1963
A
Thich Tinh Khiet, the 80-year-old Buddhist patriarch of Vietnam, was seized and taken to a military hospital on the outskirts of
Administrative function
The pagoda served as the headquarters of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association until 1981, and as its second office until May 1993.[1]
Site
The site includes a number of buildings, including the main ceremonial hall and the bell tower. The pagoda is separated from the street by a gated fence. Inside the fence is a popular Chinese-style statue of
Shrine
The statue of Gautama depicts the Buddha seated in meditation on a lotus blossom. He is wearing the garb of a monk. As usual, he is depicted with ears lengthened by the use of jewelry (indicating his royal origins), closely cropped curly hair (indicating renunciation of the worldly life), and a large protuberance on his head (indicating aptitude). Behind his head is a sun disc. This statue was crafted by sculptors from Biên Hòa, a city just north of Hồ Chí Minh City. It has been in its current state since 1969, when a gold coating was applied to it. In front of the statue of Gautama Buddha is the shrine dedicated to the relics of the Buddha, with the relics being held in a small stupa. Towards the front of the shrine is a small porcelain image of the "Laughing Buddha" Maitreya, the Buddha of the future. Between the small statue of Maitreya and the large statue of Gautama is a golden image of multi-armed Cundi (Chuan De) bodhisattva sitting in meditation on a lotus blossom. The bodhisattva's many hands grasp familiar attributes such as the sword, the wheel, and the trident. Elegant Chinese-style vases on either side of the shrine hold flowers of various colors.[citation needed]
Scenes from the life of Gautama Buddha
The walls of the main hall play host to a sequence of large panels depicting fourteen scenes from the life of the
- Queen Maya, the mother of the historical Buddha, dreams that an elephant with six tusks enters her through her right side.
- The young Siddhartha walks on open lotusflowers, pointing at the Heaven and the Earth.
- The elder Asita notes the auspicious marks on the body of the infant Siddhartha that indicate he will be a great secular or religious leader.
- Prince Siddhartha sees an old man and a sick man, leading him to ponder the devastation to the human body caused by old age and disease.
- The prince sees a corpse, and then a monk who is in perfect condition.
- Having decided to renounce the secular life and to lead a life of religion, the prince looks for the last time upon his family as they lie sleeping.
- Having left the royal city of Kapilavastu with his horse Kanthaka and horseman Channa, Siddhartha cuts off his long hair in order to symbolize his entry into the religious life.
- Three demon princesses representing ambition, anxiety, and voluptuousness try unsuccessfully to seduce the prince.
- Mara the king of demons and his minions attempt unsuccessfully to intimidate the prince by violence.
- Having attained Enlightenment, Gautama Buddha preaches the Four Noble Truthsto his first four disciples in the garden.
- A young woman falsely accuses the Buddha of getting her pregnant, as the Buddha makes the gesture of calling upon the Earth as a witness; the Buddha instructs another young woman.
- Elephants and other animals render hommage to Buddha; Buddha converts the venomous serpents.
- The Buddha converts Angulimala, an armed assassin.
- Lying on his side, the Buddha enters into nirvana.
Above the entrance, facing the shrine itself, is an especially big image of Gautama Buddha seated in meditation underneath a fig tree.
Bell tower
The bell tower of Xá Lợi Pagoda was opened in 1961. The tower stands 32 m, has seven stories, and is the highest bell tower in
References
- ^ a b c d e Thích Đồng Bổn (2001-06-28). "CHÙA XÁ LỢI: TRUYỀN THỐNG & ĐẶC ĐIỂM VĂN HÓA". Buddhism Today (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ Jones, p. 297.
- ^ Jacobs, p. 153.
- ^ a b "The Crackdown". Time. 30 August 1963. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
- ^ Hammer, p. 168.
- ^ Jones, p. 298.
Sources
- Hammer, Ellen J. (1987). A Death in November. E. P. Dutton. ISBN 0-525-24210-4.
- Jacobs, Seth (2006). Cold War Mandarin: Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam, 1950–1963. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-4447-8.
- Jones, Howard (2003). Death of a Generation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505286-2.
External links
- Media related to Xa Loi Pagoda at Wikimedia Commons