Visit Xeo Can Pagoda

Xeo Can Pagoda is one of the provincial historical and cultural relics, located in Vinh Hoa commune. Historically, Xeo Can Pagoda was a meeting place, a place to shelter revolutionary cadres, and a place to organize and prepare for anti-American and puppet demonstrations. Currently, this place is a place to educate the younger generation about patriotism; at the same time, it is a place for religious and cultural activities of many Buddhists in the area.

Leaders of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province, local leaders and Buddhists took a souvenir photo at Xeo Can Pagoda. Photo: THUY TIEN

Nurturing revolutionary cadres

Xeo Can Pagoda (also known as Sirivansa Pagoda) was built in 1962, at the intersection of the canal head with Xeo Can stream, where many Khmer people live. During the resistance war against the US to save the country, this place was the junction between the U Minh Thuong revolutionary base and the area occupied by the Saigon puppet government. To have a place for Khmer people to practice their religion, the Provincial Party Committee and the Khmer Movement Committee of Rach Gia province built Xeo Can Pagoda to meet the people's wishes, and at the same time create a solid revolutionary base in the strategic position of the U Minh Thuong region.

The pagoda was first built with trees and leaves. From 1964 to 1967, the pagoda was heavily damaged by bombs and bullets and was repaired many times by the locals and monks. In 1967, the pagoda was rebuilt with bricks and cement on a larger scale to serve as a place for activities of the Association of Patriotic Buddhist Monks and Nuns of Rach Gia Province...

Previously, Xeo Can was located on the Cai Lon River basin on the left bank, the junction between neighboring localities with the gateway to U Minh Thuong forest and to the adjacent localities of Bac Lieu province (present-day Ca Mau), Can Tho. During the resistance war against France and the US to save the country, Xeo Can canal was a strategic waterway. With its important location, a number of agencies of the Rach Gia Provincial Party Committee, Battalion 124 of Military Region IX, Rach Gia Provincial Military Command... were stationed here. From its establishment until the day the South was completely liberated, Xeo Can pagoda took place many important events. The pagoda was the place to shelter, communicate, and organize meetings of revolutionary cadres, monks in the Patriotic Monks and Nuns Solidarity Association, and the place to organize preparations for demonstrations against the US and puppet regimes...

The monks and Buddhists also participated in liaison, military operations, distributed leaflets and contributed rice and money to serve the resistance until the great victory in Spring 1975. Venerable Danh Hoang Nan - Deputy Abbot of Xeo Can Pagoda said: "Xeo Can Pagoda was formed in extremely difficult circumstances, was a place that contributed a lot of effort in the resistance war against foreign invaders, and was the base of the Association since the Association for Solidarity of Patriotic Monks and Nuns was first established...".

Connecting and transmitting traditional culture

After the complete liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, Xeo Can Pagoda was renovated and many new items were built. In 1984, the pagoda rebuilt the main hall and established the first pure precepts. The most recent renovation of the entire main hall and grounds was in 2019.

Xeo Can Pagoda has the typical architecture of Khmer Theravada Buddhist pagodas with a shimmering golden color standing out among the deep green of the trees. The pagoda grounds are large with 3 rows including: the main hall, Sala, 2 monks' dormitories and the working place of the pagoda's Board of Directors. Xeo Can Pagoda holds an important position in the lives of the Khmer people. Because it is not only a place containing spiritual and religious values ​​but also a center of cultural activities of the local community. In recent times, the Pagoda's Board of Directors has actively integrated propaganda of the Party's guidelines and policies and the State's policies and laws so that Buddhists can clearly understand and implement them well. "The custom of going to the pagoda on holidays and Tet is not only a purely religious activity but has become a long-standing cultural tradition and custom, with value passed down in the community. Coming to the pagoda, we not only participate in religious activities but also grasp the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws," said Mr. Danh Khuol.

In the flow of integration and development, the cultural heritages of the Khmer people have been intertwined. From there, the preservation of traditional cultural identity is becoming more and more important. The beauty of customs and practices crystallized over hundreds of years of the Khmer people can be found in traditional festivals such as Chol Chnam Thmay, Sene Dolta... On holidays and New Year, Xeo Can Pagoda organizes art programs and games for Khmer children and tourists to understand, appreciate, preserve and promote traditional cultural values. "With the responsibility and pride of being a pagoda that used to be a place to nurture, communicate and organize meetings of revolutionary cadres, we continue to build Xeo Can Pagoda into a center for religious activities, education and preservation, preserving the fine traditions of the Khmer people", said Venerable Danh Hoang Nan.

Narcissus

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/tham-chua-xeo-can-a462432.html