Close-up of the National Treasure at Tay Phuong Pagoda in serious disrepair

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, a special national 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, where the 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 the Upper, Middle and Lower Pagodas. The current pagoda is a complex of units, including: Lower Tam Quan, Upper Tam Quan, Son Than Temple, Front Hall, Middle Hall, Upper Hall, Ancestor House, Mother House and Guest House.

To get to the temple, visitors need to climb more than 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 antiquity through 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 religious sculpture. The pagoda owns 64 statues with precious reliefs, 16 statues of Patriarchs, a set of Three Buddhas, a set of 18 Arhats with 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 where masterpieces of Vietnamese Buddhist sculptures of the 18th century are gathered. In 2015, the set of Buddhist statues of Tay Phuong Pagoda from the Tay Son period, dating from the late 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, with many of the statues' red paint 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 written 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 worn away... 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 repair.

Termite bait boxes are being placed in the area of ​​Thuong and Trung pagodas, and holes have even been drilled at 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 for the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the Tay Phuong Pagoda National Special Monument.

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, there are many cultural activities and folk games organized such as tug of war, chess, wrestling, cockfighting, water puppetry, and Xu Doai singing, etc., 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)

Source: https://danviet.vn/can-canh-bao-vat-quoc-gia-tai-chua-tay-phuong-xuong-cap-nghiem-trong-20240312102640452.htm