Cổ Loa Pagoda

Cổ Loa Pagoda (古螺寺), also known as Bảo Sơn Pagoda (寶山寺), is located in Cổ Loa commune, Đông Anh district, Hanoi city. The pagoda is situated within the Cổ Loa relic complex and belongs to the Northern School (Bắc tông) of Buddhism. The pagoda still preserves 19th-century four sacred animals scrolls, 134 statues of artistic value arranged in the main hall, rear sanctuary, corridors, and the Mother Goddess house. The pagoda also has 5 stone steles dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries, two great bronze bells cast in the 2nd year of Gia Long (1803), a bronze gong, and many other valuable ritual objects.

In 1993, the pagoda was recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a National Historical and Cultural Relic.

Bảo Sơn Pagoda is located in Cổ Loa village, Cổ Loa commune, Đông Anh district, Hanoi, within the grounds of the Cổ Loa relic complex. Distance from Bờ Hồ Bus Station: 14 km (in the 1 o'clock direction).

Nearby bus stops: Cổ Loa bus station (route 46), Km5 on National Highway QL3 (route 17).

The pagoda's formal name is Bảo Sơn Tự, and it is commonly called Cổ Loa Pagoda after the local place name.

The pagoda is located just behind Ngự Triều Di Quy đình (communal house) and Mỵ Châu hermitage within the Cổ Loa relic complex, where archaeologists have found Đông Sơn drums and bronze arrowheads with many traces of an urban centre dating back more than two millennia. This is also the birthplace of the legend of the spiral-shaped earthen citadel of the Âu Lạc Kingdom built by King Thục Phán with the help of the Golden Turtle God (Kim Quy), the tragedy of General Cao Lỗ, and the death of Trọng Thủy following the injustice suffered by the innocent Mỵ Châu who lost the trigger of the magic crossbow.

Based on the arrangement of statues and the number of stupas of deceased abbots, it can be seen that Bảo Sơn Pagoda belongs to the Northern School of Buddhism and was established long ago. The ancient stone steles in the pagoda allow us to determine that the pagoda dates back at least to the 17th century. Currently, the pagoda is managed by a nun, and it has recently been renovated along with the entire Cổ Loa relic complex.

Cổ Loa Pagoda has an overall ground plan in the "Nội công ngoại quốc" style (inner I, outer square), comprising many interconnected buildings: the Buddha hall is in the centre, with the front hall (tiền đường) in front, the Patriarchs' house (nhà Tổ) behind the Buddha hall, and two corridors on either side connecting the front hall to the Patriarchs' house. The front hall is connected to the Upper Hall (Thượng điện), forming a "Đinh" (T-shaped) architectural layout. The Upper Hall's roof is not joined to the corridor and Patriarchs' house, being separated by about one metre. The Patriarchs' house is oriented north, facing the rear courtyard, from which one can exit through a side gate on the east side of the pagoda.

The area at the back has a lower foundation compared to the Patriarchs' house and Upper Hall. Here stands the three-entrance gate and bell tower (Tam quan - gác chuông), built only about 50 years ago, facing north towards the garden and pond behind the pagoda. On both sides of the courtyard, close to the fence, are two buildings used as the monks' residence and guest reception area.

The architectural structures of Cổ Loa Pagoda are made of wood in the traditional style, with wooden frames and "Mũi hài"-style (shoe-shaped) tiled roofs. The curved roof corners of the main buildings have outer enclosing walls, on both sides of the corridors and on three sides of the Upper Hall.

The wooden truss structures of the front hall, Upper Hall, and Patriarchs' house follow the "Thượng chồng rường giá chiêng, hạ kẻ bẩy" style, with four rows of columns. The trusses of the corridors are simpler, with only two rows of columns.

The front hall (Tiền đường) has 5 bays and 2 lean-tos, with the roof frame joined to the Upper Hall at the central section. The main bays at the front have a row of wooden panel doors in the "Thượng song, hạ bản" (latticed upper, solid lower) style. Both ends are joined to the gable walls, which are sealed and have ventilation windows at the gable ends of the two corridor rows. The name of the pagoda, "Bảo Sơn Tự" in Chinese characters, is moulded in a triple-stepped frame above the central ridge of the roof.

The Patriarchs' house (Nhà Tổ) behind the Upper Hall also has the same structure and ground plan as the front hall, differing only in its main orientation, with a row of wooden panel doors facing north on both sides of the corridor, each side having 6 bays. The roof is joined to the front hall and Patriarchs' house but not to the Upper Hall, and vice versa.

The bell tower is a simple two-storey, four-roofed structure, with solid brick walls and four main wooden columns supporting both the upper floor and the roof.

To date, apart from the bell tower and the garden and pond area at the rear, the architectural structures and worship statues at Cổ Loa Pagoda have been restored to become solid, beautiful, and spacious.

The pagoda preserves four sacred animals scrolls from the 19th century and 134 statues of artistic value arranged in the main hall, rear sanctuary, corridors, and the Mother Goddess house, displayed in 7 layers of statues, from high to low (from inside out) as follows:

Three Times Buddhas: present, past, future

Amitabha Trinity: Amitabha, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva

Avalokiteśvara Cundi, with 2 attendant statues

Avataṃsaka Trinity, including Bodhisattva and Kim Đồng, Ngọc Nữ on both sides

Jade Emperor, with Nam Tào and Bắc Đẩu on either side

Nine Dragons, Infant Shakyamuni, and Indra, Brahma

Additionally, there are 2 Buddha statues seated on lotus thrones on either side.

Among the statues in the Upper Hall, the Amitabha statue is particularly beautiful and the largest in size: depicted in a seated meditation posture with both legs crossed, hands resting in the lap in the "samadhi" mudra, with a contemplative, thoughtful expression, eyes half-closed, straight nose, large elongated ears, high triple-fold neck, spiral hair, seated on a 0.5m high pedestal, the statue itself 1.5m tall. This statue is made of jackfruit wood, as are the three Three Times Buddhas, and features the artistic style of the 18th century.

Also in the Buddha hall, worshipped on either side are the following statues (from inside out, symmetrically placed):

Avalokiteśvara of the Southern Sea, Quan Âm Thị Kính

Earth God, Kṣitigarbha

Four Guardian Kings (2 statues on each side)

Ten Kings of Hell (5 statues on each side)

In the Đại Bái (Great Hall), symmetrically displayed are the statues of:

Đức Ông, Đức Thánh Tăng

Khuyến thiện (Encouraging Good), Trừng ác (Punishing Evil)

8 Dharma Protectors (4 on each side) – "Eight Vajra Warriors" (Bát Bộ Kim Cương)

These are earthen statues depicted in lively poses. The "Encouraging Good" and "Punishing Evil" statues are of similar height (2.5m); the "Punishing Evil" statue is shown seated on a kylin (resembling a lion), holding a dragon sabre, wearing armour, with a fierce expression. The "Encouraging Good" statue, by contrast, has a gentle face, seated on a crocodile, holding a "jewel of transformation". (In fact, kylin, lion, nghê, crocodile, and dragon horse, though differing in form, generally represent sacred animals, symbolising the power of the higher realms, wisdom, and the ability to control the minds of pilgrims, supporting the Dharma).

In the two corridors: there are 24 statues in total, including: Eighteen Patriarchs (18 statues), Four Bodhisattvas, and 2 statues of Shakyamuni entering Nirvana and Tuyết Sơn. These are all earthen statues, vividly crafted, dating to the late 19th century and repainted and gilded in 1997.

The worship statues in the Patriarchs' house, behind the Upper Hall, are placed in the three main bays.

The central altar worships Mother Liễu Hạnh – a Holy Mother venerated in many places according to the Mother Goddess cult in Vietnam, even within village pagodas.

The eastern bay has an altar to Saint Trần (Trần Hưng Đạo), a famous figure in the nation's resistance against foreign invasion during the Trần dynasty, often worshipped in Mother Goddess temples from the 18th century to the present, as a saintly figure.

The altar in the western bay holds statues of the founding patriarch of this pagoda and other monks who practised here. Every year, the pagoda holds the patriarchal death anniversary on the 5th day of the 10th lunar month.

The worship statues in the Patriarchs' house and Mother Goddess house are generally small, with simple forms and rich, earthy colours – the green of the countryside and mountains. This reflects the folk consciousness, commonly seen in Mother Goddess shrines.

The pagoda also has 5 stone steles dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries, two great bronze bells cast in the 2nd year of Gia Long (1803), a bronze gong, and many other valuable ritual objects.

The pagoda was recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 1993.