Close-up of the National Treasure at Tay Phuong Pagoda in serious disrepair
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 10:27 AM (GMT+7)
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has just signed a decision approving the task of planning the preservation, renovation and restoration of the Tay Phuong Pagoda National Special Relic. Currently, many items at the pagoda are seriously degraded.
Tay Phuong Pagoda (Yen village, Thach Xa commune, Thach That district) is 40 km northwest of Hanoi center and is a place where masterpieces of Vietnamese Buddhist sculptures of the 18th century are gathered. Located on the top of Cau Lau mountain, Tay Phuong Pagoda is surrounded by fertile plains, mountains and rivers - a beautiful location associated with Eastern feng shui concepts. In 2014, the pagoda was recognized as a special national monument for its architectural and artistic value.
Tay Phuong Pagoda has 3 buildings arranged in the shape of the letter tam, including Thuong, Trung, Ha Pagodas. The pagoda is currently a complex of units, including: Tam quan ha, Tam quan thuong, Son Than temple, Tien duong, Trung duong, Thuong dien, To house, Mau house and guest house.
To get to the temple, visitors need to climb over 200 mossy laterite steps.
Over hundreds of years of history, many items of the pagoda were damaged by termites, part of the tiled roof of the Lower Pagoda was tilted, and after each rain it leaked. The pagoda is famous not only for its ancient legends and history but also for its landscape because it is located on the top of Cau Lau Mountain.
Tay Phuong Pagoda has a massive system of statues, with rare masterpieces in the art of religious sculpture. The pagoda owns 64 statues with precious reliefs, 16 statues of Patriarchs, a set of Three Buddha statues, a set of 18 Arhats with the emotions of joy, anger, love, and hate. It can be affirmed that Tay Phuong is a museum of Vietnamese Buddhist statues. This is considered a place that gathers masterpieces of Vietnamese Buddhist sculptures of the 18th century. In 2015, the Tay Phuong Pagoda Buddhist statue set of the Tay Son period, dating from the end of the 18th century, was recognized as a National Treasure.
According to Dan Tri reporters in early March, dozens of ancient statues in the pagoda were cracked and no longer intact, and many of the statues' red paint was peeling off.
The set of 18 Arhat statues was described by poet Huy Can in the poem "Arhats of Tay Phuong Pagoda". The poem was published more than 60 years ago (1960) and has been taught to high school students.
An official of Tay Phuong Pagoda said that many Buddha statues in the pagoda have peeled off their gilded paint, the roof tiles are crooked, the pillars, doors, and wooden Buddha statues are eroded... In recent years, many authorities have come to the pagoda to survey and assess the state of deterioration in order to come up with a plan for restoration.
Termite bait boxes are being placed in the area of Thuong and Trung pagodas, and holes have even been drilled in some wooden pillars of the pagodas to place termite killers, but they have not been effective. On February 22, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha signed Decision No. 190/QD-TTg approving the task of establishing a plan to preserve, restore and renovate the Tay Phuong Pagoda National Special Relic.
The Tay Phuong Pagoda Festival takes place on the 6th day of the 3rd lunar month and lasts until the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month, but before that, many cultural activities and folk games are organized such as tug of war, chess, wrestling, cockfighting, water puppetry, and Xu Doai singing, attracting not only domestic but also foreign tourists. In addition to praying for a peaceful and favorable new year, visitors also come to Tay Phuong Pagoda to enjoy the fresh, quiet air and find peace and serenity in their souls.
PV (According to Dan Tri)
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