Thien Loc Pagoda – The Pagoda Given By God Of Khanh Hoa Province

Thien Loc Pagoda is located deep in a quiet and romantic countryside, with winding road and green bamboo clusters. In front of the pagoda are a semi-circular shaped lotus pond and the statue of Guan Yin Bodhisattva with a gentle and tolerant face.

Overview of Thien Loc Pagoda

Thien Loc Pagoda is located in Phu An Nam village, Dien An commune, Dien Khanh district, Khanh Hoa province. This is a beautiful ancient pagoda of nearly three hundred-year-old, a scenic place for spiritual cultural activities. Every year there are thousands of domestic and foreign visitors who take Tours in Vietnam to visit here.

If you follow the guide of Vietnam package Tours, you will find that the pagoda was built on a rather nice position, facing the south, looking at the mountain of Chin Khuc (also known as Hoang Ngu Mountain); beside the pagoda is the only river in the rainy season called Can (Dry) river.

On the premises of the pagoda, there is a temple worshiping a blue stone statue of Yoni and Linga (the genitals of men and women). This is an ancient stone tablet of Cham people left with an area of about 1m2.

After many ups and downs, the pagoda has been restored many times. Therefore, It is difficult to determine the exact date of construction of the pagoda.

The artifacts which are present in the pagoda and the ancestral tablet of ancient senior monks show that the pagoda was built nearly three centuries ago. In the pagoda, there is also a great bell and a small one which are antiquities of the Trinh-Nguyen dynasty. On the Great Bell, there are inscribed “Thien Loc Thien Mon Tu” (the full name of the pagoda). In the small one, there is also inscription “Nam Dinh Suu, nhi nguyet, nhi thap nhat” (The Ox year, second month, date 20), so it could be built on 20 in the second month of Dinh Suu lunar year.

The legend of the pagoda

If you search Vietnam Tourist Information, you will find the mysterious story of the pagoda.

In the village, there is a widow, habitually called Ba Sau, earning the living specializing in silkworms. On a cool fall night with bright moon, there were four men who came to her house and asked for her help. The house didn’t have enough room for four people, so they borrowed four hammocks and slept in the yard.

In the next morning, Ba Sau waked up, came to the well to wash her face. However, she did not see four men but four big snakes. She greatly screamed and became unconscious on the ground due to her fear. When she regained her consciousness, she saw four guests sitting there and said: “Do not be afraid. We are Dragons under the water. We come up the mountain to get wood for our Dragon King. Your favor, we will not forget”.

Then they left.

One month later, it was heavy rain day by day, the water rose and flooded her house. At night, suddenly four men appeared, entered and said: “We will bring these wood to Palace under the water. We come here to thank you”.

Then they disappeared.

In the next morning, there was a wooden raft on the threshold of Ms. Sau. She knew that it was the Dragon King’s gift. Near to her house, there is a Zen master who built a small leaves temple to lead a religious life. She brought all this wood to the Zen master to set up the pagoda. Therefore, the pagoda was named Thien Loc (the gift of the god) and the Zen master was the Patriarch of Pagoda. When she died, local people built a temple to worship her.

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