An Ninh Pagoda

An Ninh Pagoda (Chùa An Ninh, 安寧寺), (temple name: Vĩnh Khánh Tự 永慶寺), popularly known as the Hundred-Bay Pagoda of the East (Chùa Trăm Gian xứ Đông), is located in Vạn Lộng hamlet, later renamed An Ninh village and then An Đông, in An Phú commune, Hải Phòng city. The pagoda dates back to the Trần dynasty, was renovated during the Lê and Nguyễn dynasties, and currently retains 85 bays, 37 wooden statues, hundreds of printed Buddhist sutras, and many valuable antiques. This is a large pagoda with architecture that remains fairly intact. Every year, on the 13th day of the 9th lunar month, the pagoda holds a festival.

An Ninh Pagoda was designated as a heritage site in 1990.

According to legend, the pagoda dates back to the Lý dynasty (around the 11th century). During the Trần dynasty, General Nguyễn Huy Tĩnh stationed troops at the pagoda to block the Yuan army advancing from the direction of the Bạch Đằng River towards Thăng Long. In the Lê dynasty, the pagoda was rebuilt on a large scale. At that time, a local man from the Nguyễn family, with the Buddhist name Diệu Quang, studied and practised the Trúc Lâm tradition and served as abbot at the pagoda. Every year, at the beginning of summer retreat, he opened classes to teach Buddhist sutras, attracting many monks and nuns to study. During the resistance wars against the French and Americans, the pagoda served as a revolutionary base, and later part of the pagoda became the headquarters of the commune People's Committee. When the commune built a new headquarters, the pagoda returned to being a cultural centre for the local people.

Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Xạ, 83 years old, from An Đoài hamlet, An Bình commune, shared: "The pagoda has been closely connected to the people of my homeland for generations, witnessing historical ups and downs. For each person, the pagoda is as familiar as the banyan tree and the village wharf, becoming our spiritual anchor."

Built on a large scale in the 17th century and renovated many times in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the pagoda's architecture bears the imprint of these eras. The main structures of the pagoda are arranged in an almost enclosed architectural complex. From the east, the entrance is marked by the bell tower with 5 closed bays, the 3 central bays are two-storeyed with curved roofs. The bell tower houses a bell cast in the 2nd year of Thành Thái (1890), 125 cm high. Two metres behind the bell tower is the front hall with 7 bays, 16 m long and 8 m wide, connected to the main hall (tam bảo) with 3 bays, 11 m long and 8 m wide, forming the shape of the letter 'Đinh' (丁).

Three sides of the main hall are bordered by a narrow courtyard. To the left of the main hall is the Mother Goddess house. To the left of the Mother Goddess house are two guest houses connected together, the outer one with 3 bays, the inner one with 5 bays. Behind the main hall is the Tứ Ân house with 7 bays, followed by the patriarchs' house. Behind the patriarchs' house is a courtyard 4 m wide, then the sanctuary house with 9 bays. Connecting the guest house to the sanctuary house is an 8-bay, 2-winged corridor. Behind the pagoda is a stupa garden with 10 stupas, 9 of which were built during the Nguyễn dynasty and 1 built in 2003. Facing a courtyard of over 1,000 m2 are the stupa house, monks' house, inner and outer hermitages, and many other auxiliary structures. Some of these structures have been partly destroyed, and the remainder have been altered.

Valuable Ancient Books

To this day, the Hundred-Bay Pagoda still preserves hundreds of valuable antiques such as Buddha statues dating to the Lê and Nguyễn dynasties, including statues of the Trúc Lâm Three Patriarchs, many large horizontal boards, parallel sentences, ancient incense burners, stone steles, and more.

Five out of seven sets of woodblocks for Buddhist sutras at the Hundred-Bay Pagoda remain intact.

In addition to rare antiques, the Hundred-Bay Pagoda is also famous for its woodblocks used for printing Buddhist sutras. The pagoda still preserves over 700 woodblocks for Buddhist sutras belonging to 7 different sutra collections. Of these 7 collections, 2—Di Đà Sớ Sao (a commentary on the Pure Land of the West) and Nhân Vương Hộ Quốc (the Buddha's teachings for kings, royal family members, and nobles on governing the country)—have many missing volumes. The 5 collections that remain complete are Giới Đàm Tăng (for monks receiving ordination), Giới Đàm Ni (for nuns receiving ordination), Dược Sư Đề Cương (medical book), Nhật Tụng (daily liturgy). Especially notable is the Khóa Hư Lục collection—a Vietnamese Buddhist text compiled by Trần Thái Tông (1218–1277). About 5–6 years ago, Venerable Thích Tục Phương, abbot of the Hundred-Bay Pagoda, restored some of the woodblocks still preserved at the pagoda.

These Buddhist sutra woodblocks were carved by the monk Viên Giác from the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng (1791–1841) to the reign of Emperor Tự Đức (1829–1883) for teaching the Dharma. The characters carved on the woodblocks for the Nhật Tụng collection are half in Chinese, half in Nôm script, while all other woodblocks are in Chinese characters.

The woodblocks are made of wood, with the black colour of ink still visible on them. At that time, the pagoda owned 12 mẫu (about 4.3 hectares) of rice fields and 2 buffaloes; the income from these was divided into three parts: for carving and printing sutras, for the monks' livelihood, and for incense offerings.

In 1990, the pagoda was recognised as a national historical and cultural monument. In 2019, it was recognised by the provincial People's Committee as a tourist site.

Saint Ancestress Nun Phạm Thị Toàn (Toàn Nương), ordained in 1101, passed away in 1103, was a disciple of Zen Master Từ Đạo Hạnh of the Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi lineage. The Trần dynasty posthumously honoured her as "Trinh Khiết Đoan Trực Trai Trang Hoàng Quý Phi Tối Linh Thượng Đẳng Công Chúa" (Chaste, Pure, Upright, Virtuous, Most Sacred Princess).

Patriarch Diệu Quang of the Nguyễn family, from the Trần dynasty, a local, studied the Trúc Lâm tradition, and was conferred by King Lê Cảnh Hưng the title "Hòa Thượng Đại Nhân, Tăng Lục Thiền gia" (Great Venerable, Zen Master, Sangha Registrar).

Patriarch Viên Giác, of the Nguyễn family in the village, passed away on the 14th day of the 9th lunar month.

Patriarch Viên Tịch, originally practised at Bổ Đà Pagoda, later became a disciple of Patriarch Viên Giác, passed away on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month.

Chief Elder Monk.

Deputy Chief Elder Monk.

Patriarch Giám, stupa title Viên Dong.

Patriarch Đanh Xá.

Patriarch Ngãi.