Luu Ly Pagoda - A place to educate kindness

Like many Vietnamese village pagodas, Luu Ly Pagoda (Mac Ha village, Cong Ly commune, Ly Nhan district), despite going through many changes over time, is still a place where "Buddhism is maintained in the world". Following the Church's principles, the religious and belief activities at the pagoda all focus on educating people on kindness and humanity according to the motto "Buddhism accompanies the nation".

Village cultural activity point

Luu Ly Pagoda was formerly a small pagoda with pure Vietnamese features, built on high land, gathering spirituality and fortune, close and closely associated with the lives of local people.

None of the villagers in Mac Ha village know for sure when the pagoda was built. In their minds, they only clearly know about the existence of a small pagoda, hidden under the green trees on the main road of the village and commune.

In 2009, after the abbot of the pagoda passed away, Venerable Thich Giac Nguyen and Venerable Thich Thanh Huy returned to the pagoda, took on Buddhist duties, repaired and built the pagoda, and met the religious needs of local people.

Because the old temple was degraded and many items were damaged, the villagers and the temple met and agreed to rebuild on the old temple's foundation.

In 2015, the pagoda was officially inaugurated and Venerable Thich Giac Nguyen was appointed abbot of the pagoda by the Standing Committee of the Provincial Buddhist Sangha.

With high prestige and responsibility, Venerable Thich Giac Nguyen has guided Buddhist followers and local people to organize religious activities well in accordance with the law.

Venerable Thich Giac Nguyen shared: “With the philosophy of upholding Buddhism and the tradition of protecting the nation and the people, the pagoda, together with Buddhists and the people, have joined hands and hearts to build the pagoda into a place for cultural and community activities of the villagers. Through the activities of belief, religion, charity and social security organized by the pagoda, it has attracted the participation of many Buddhists and the people, contributing to enriching and deepening the traditional cultural and ethical values of the nation. The main viewpoint of the pagoda is still towards the goal of Buddhism accompanying the nation.”

After many years of construction with the efforts and wishes of Buddhists and people from near and far, Luu Ly Pagoda has become a place for cultural, religious, spiritual activities, religious solidarity, and promoting the traditional cultural values of Vietnamese Buddhism.

The activities of the pagoda have had positive impacts on social life, further cultivating cultural and ethical traditions for all classes of people. Thanks to that, Luu Ly Pagoda has always received the attention and support of the Party Committee and local authorities in promoting the people's freedom of belief and religion, creating conditions for the people and the abbot of the pagoda to practice a true monastic life, religious activities within the framework of the law, and fulfilling Buddhist duties.

Spreading the good values of Buddhism through charity work...

Since 2015, Luu Ly Pagoda has truly become a destination for religious activities and beliefs of people and Buddhists near and far. Under the guidance of the pagoda, Buddhists have performed Buddhist activities in accordance with the principles and purposes of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, including social charity work.

Venerable Thich Giac Nguyen, abbot of Luu Ly Pagoda, shared: “A while after the inauguration of the new pagoda, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. Demonstrating the spirit of compassion and relief of suffering of Buddhism and the morality of mutual love and mutual assistance of the nation, the pagoda mobilized Buddhists and people to join hands and contribute with the government and mass organizations in the local political system to fight the epidemic. Buddhists actively contributed agricultural products and food to supply concentrated quarantine areas, epidemic control checkpoints, and people in the South... in the spirit of solidarity and mutual love.”

Remember, during the Covid-19 outbreak, Cong Ly commune was considered a "hot spot" of Ly Nhan district. Luu Ly pagoda gate was built with an epidemic control checkpoint, which existed for a period of time. To contribute to the effective operation of the checkpoint, the pagoda organized services for the forces guarding the checkpoint, and propagated Buddhists to be seriously aware of epidemic prevention and responsibility to the community. Many Buddhists of the pagoda said: During the Covid-19 epidemic prevention period, many fruit trees and lemongrass were planted in the pagoda grounds. One evening in 2021, they received a phone call from the abbot asking the people and Buddhists in the village to come to the pagoda to harvest 7 hectares of lemongrass to bring to the South for people to fight the epidemic.

The next day, over 200 people were present at the pagoda to participate in the lemongrass harvest, and at the same time receive agricultural products and food brought by Buddhists and people in the village and commune to support, loading them onto trucks, each truck carrying dozens of tons of goods, ready to go.

It is expected that the journey from here to the South will have to go through many quarantine checkpoints and ticket control stations. The trucks carrying agricultural products and food to send to the people of the South may encounter difficulties, so the temple has asked the local government to help with the travel procedures.

The temple said that many doctors, medical staff, and Buddhists who knew the monk there called to ask for support with these things to distribute to people to prevent and fight the epidemic, so it was necessary to go immediately, the goods arrived to the people in the epidemic area as soon as possible, the work could not be delayed.

Those were long trips, while in the province, the pagoda has made a vow to call on Buddhists in possible circumstances to continue donating food and agricultural products to support concentrated quarantine areas and epidemic control checkpoints.

Venerable Thich Giac Nguyen said: “At that time, Cong Ly was considered a hot spot for the epidemic. The Buddhists of the pagoda had lived in the quarantine area, so they understood the difficulties and shortages of people in other epidemic areas and were willing to share and help. One day, they brought tons of food, vegetables, and fruits to the pagoda to gather and bring to places where people in epidemic and quarantine areas needed them. I was very touched by the spirit of mutual love and support of the people and Buddhists here!”

During that time, the pagoda also organized many charity trips to the highlands and remote areas of Ha Giang and Dien Bien provinces. This journey was attended by a large number of union members and young people. Each trip created a widespread spread of the spirit of charity for the community, bringing love and sharing to difficult circumstances. Many of these people were members of the summer retreats held at the pagoda.

To continue to accompany the development, preserve and promote the national Buddhist cultural values, and nurture the souls and character of the people, the pagoda and the people of Mac Ha village annually organize the pagoda festival on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month. The festival brings to the people and Buddhists near and far a peaceful spirit, religious faith and the wish for a full, complete, happy and kind life. The festival is also an opportunity to educate people on love for their homeland, the awareness of remembering the source of drinking water, and guiding people's good hearts.

Other pictures of the temple:

In the vast space of the temple, a system of Buddha statues made of white stone is placed under the green trees, creating a feeling of peace, tranquility, and closeness to nature.