Thien Lam Pagoda Public Art

Similar to the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva festival in Ngu Hanh Son, Da Nang, Tay Ninh also has a festival, also known as Khanh Dan Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara on 3 days: 17 to 19 February lunar calendar (March 16-18, 2025). This is the biggest traditional festival of the year at Thien Lam Pagoda - Go Ken. This year, in addition to the usual program, there is also a bronze casting ceremony of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

Dragons around Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

Because the festival is long, the temple pays special attention to the art of decoration - throughout the entire campus, down to every detail. Everywhere in the temple yard, you can see models, clusters of lanterns, and ornamental flowers for people to admire or rest. But the most special are the public works of art attached to the existing monuments.

Public art is a type of art associated with outdoor public spaces, including monuments often found in parks and historical and cultural relics. Here, these art clusters are images of the four sacred animals, associated with pre-existing monuments such as the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, the statue of Avalokiteshvara, etc., as well as the four mountain gods around the Bodhi tree in front of the temple yard.

On both sides of the statue of Sakyamuni, there are a pair of phoenixes made mainly from orchids and familiar leaves. In front of the statue, there is a statue of a turtle (quy) 7 meters long, about 5 meters wide, mainly made from water coconut fruit. The corn extends to divide the pieces of the turtle shell.

The most special are probably the dragon and unicorn statues next to the stone statue of Quan The Am on Ba Mountain, as well as the statues of mountain gods on both sides. The statue is nearly 5 meters long, made entirely of areca nuts, pandan leaves, onions, radishes, garlic and chili.

Yet it is still majestic and mighty, as if it is carrying the gods. In the middle is a set of statues with 7 dragons gathered around the Buddha; of which, the 2 pairs above can move. Especially cute are the pair of fish transforming into dragons placed in front of the incense burner. All are made from leaves, fruits, and vegetables that are very familiar to human life.

Buddha statue.

There is another form of public art, but it only appears in the flower float parade, starting at 5:30 p.m. on February 18 (lunar calendar) from Go Ken Pagoda. Each flower float is also a mobile work of art, crafted from southern flowers and leaves.

All have contributed to making the Quan The Am Bodhisattva birthday celebration at Thien Lam Pagoda more special and imbued with traditional folk identity.

NGUYEN

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/nghe-thuat-cong-cong-chua-thien-lam-go-ken-a187877.html