Shaolin in Hue

Shaolin Temple of Hue, now Tay Thien Pagoda

The only thing is, unlike China, when people hear about Shaolin Temple in China, they immediately think of a great martial arts sect, the subject and inspiration of many martial arts novels and films. On the contrary, Shaolin Temple in Hue is famous for its educational tradition, the cradle of training talented monks, the place that produces "dragons and elephants" not only for Hue Buddhism but also for the whole country's Buddhism.

The temple we are talking about is Tay Thien - a temple with a history of over a hundred years, located in Thuy Xuan ward, Hue city (now Thuan Hoa district), only about 500m southeast of Nam Giao altar.

New road to Tay Thien from alley 47 Minh Mang

To get to Tay Thien, visitors can go up Nam Giao, then follow Tam Thai street along the eastern citadel of this relic to the south, near the end of the citadel you will see a cement signboard of Tay Thien Ancestral Temple erected on the side of the road, follow the arrows and go a short distance to reach it. This was a popular path in the past. Later, many houses were built, the road leading to the temple became narrow, the temple opened a new path from the right side of Tam Quan, crossed the tomb area in front and turned right, connecting to Minh Mang street through alley 47, the beginning of Lim bridge slope. This path is spacious, smooth and paved with concrete, so many people choose it today.

According to historical records, the pagoda was founded by Venerable Thanh Ninh Tam Tinh in 1902. At first, it was just a thatched hut, named Shaolin Monastery by the Venerable. In 1904, it was changed to Shaolin Temple. In 1911, the pagoda was once again renamed Tay Thien Phat Cung. The current name of To Tay Thien Pagoda or To Dinh Tay Thien only appeared in 1933, after the pagoda was granted the signboard "Sac Tu Tay Thien Di Da Tu" by the King.

Vietnam Buddhist University in Hue organizes the 4th Bachelor of Buddhist Studies graduation exam

In addition to being a place of worship and practicing Buddhist activities as seen in many other pagodas, educational activities are the most special and profound mark in Tay Thien - the first, largest and most organized center for training and educating talented monks in Central Vietnam in the first decades of the 20th century. That was on September 19, At Hoi year (October 16, 1935), the An Nam Buddhist Association and the abbot established and opened Tay Thien Buddhist Academy . The academy has all 3 levels of education: Elementary, Intermediate and College; gathering all Elementary and Intermediate Buddhist classes from Van Phuoc, Truc Lam, Tuong Van, Bao Quoc pagodas... here. Participating in teaching are national master Phuoc Hue, monks Giac Tien, Giac Hanh, Giac Bon... The director is Venerable Tam Khoan; Deputy Directors include monks Tu Quang, Giac Hanh, Tri Thu... Teaching non-canonical knowledge are famous laymen such as Le Dinh Tham, Nguyen Khoa Toan, Cao Xuan Huy, Cao Xuan Sang,...

The first batch of bachelors of Vietnam Buddhist University in Hue

Exactly one year after the opening day, Tay Thien Academy was upgraded and renamed Xuan Kinh Dai Phat Hoc Trang . Buddhist monks from all 17 provinces in the Central region from Thanh Hoa to Binh Thuan came to study in great numbers; there were over 50 university students alone. Buddhist monks from the Academy were a timely and valuable source of human resources for the Buddhist revival movement at that time, not only in Hue and the Central region but also for Buddhism in the country.

In the mid-1940s, in order to further expand its scale, the An Nam Buddhist Association built the Kim Son Great Monastery in Luu Bao village (Huong Ho - Huong Tra (old), now Hue City) and moved the academy from Tay Thien here. Unfortunately, later, due to the French colonialists' ambition to invade our country again, the Kim Son Great Monastery was occupied as a rebel camp after a rather short period of existence.

Network of inheritance

Since 1955, due to historical changes, Buddhist educational activities in Hue have tended to shrink in both scale and level, mainly retreating to classes at pagodas and monasteries. However, with a solid tradition and foundation, after the country's reunification (1975), especially when the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha was established (1981), Hue Buddhist educational activities have gradually been restored and have become increasingly strong, organized and professional.

Vietnam Buddhist University in Hue opens entrance exam for course VI (2011-2015)

In 1997, the birth of the Vietnam Buddhist Academy (VBA) in Hue can be considered a memorable milestone of Hue Buddhist education, a worthy successor to the tradition of Tay Thien Buddhist Academy and the later Kim Son Buddhist Academy. The VBA in Hue is one of four VBAs in the country (including the Hanoi Buddhist Academy, Ho Chi Minh City Buddhist Academy, and the Khmer Southern Buddhist Academy). After nearly 30 years of establishment and development, the VBA in Hue has trained 15 Bachelor's courses and 4 Master's courses. After graduating from the Academy, some monks and nuns continued their studies; others have taken on Buddhist affairs of the church at all levels from central to local with many remarkable achievements.

Indian Ambassador to Vietnam next to the Bodhi tree planted as a souvenir during his visit and working session at the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Hue

At the end of last year (November 2024), for the first time, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Hue organized a Council to defend doctoral dissertation outlines and began to guide graduate students to carry out their dissertations. This was another memorable milestone of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Hue in the activities of educating and training talented monks.

Poet Nguyen Khoa Diem and guests visit the "Archive & Research Center"

Besides education, the Vietnam Buddhist University in Hue also has many other outstanding activities such as scientific research; establishing an "Archive and Research Center" and has collected a significant amount of books, documents, and rare artifacts, promising to be a worthy destination for tourists, Buddhists, and academics to visit and research. In recent years, the Academy has also established and expanded international exchanges and relations with many universities and Buddhist educational organizations in other countries... With many achievements, the Vietnam Buddhist University in Hue is aiming to become and is gradually becoming a center for Vietnamese Buddhist higher education in the Central region, multidisciplinary, multifunctional, on par with other universities in the country, the region, and internationally.

Hien An