Động Ngọ Pagoda

Động Ngọ Pagoda (Chinese characters: 洞 午寺, transliteration: Động Ngọ Tự) is an ancient pagoda located in Cập Nhất village, Nam Đồng ward, Hải Phòng city. Đồng Ngọ Pagoda is one of the two oldest pagodas of the former Hải Dương province. The National Preceptor Khuông Việt built this pagoda in 971 by imperial order of King Đinh Tiên Hoàng. At present, the pagoda bears many marks of late 17th-century architectural art, belongs to the Northern (Bắc tông) Buddhist school, and is a national historical and cultural relic.

The pagoda still preserves many ancient stele inscriptions, especially a stone vat from the Lê dynasty inscribed with "石 确 洞 午 寺" 1698 (transliteration: Thạch thống Động Ngọ Tự). However, due to a mistake, the current signboard on the tam quan (three-entrance gate) of the pagoda reads "同午寺" (transliteration: Đồng Ngọ Tự).

The pagoda is often called Chùa Cập Nhất by locals after the name of the village where it is located, and its vernacular name is Chùa Phẩm. In old books, the pagoda is also referred to by its former name, Linh Ứng Động Ngọ Pagoda (1692).

The main entrance to the pagoda is built in the style of a two-storey bell tower with four superimposed roofs, with a bell 1.5m high, cast in the 12th year of Gia Long (1813), hanging above. Behind the gate is the imposing front hall (tiền đường) with five bays and two wings, and panelled doors. The main Buddha hall (tam bảo) is four bays wide and houses 21 worship statues arranged in tiers. Behind the main hall is the ancestral hall (tổ đường), three bays and four roofs, situated on a very high foundation, with two ancient frangipani trees over 300 years old in front.

According to the inscription on the roof beam of the pagoda: "Thái Bình second year, by order of Khuông Việt, the pagoda was built. Đại Chính first year, by royal decree, the monk Đạo Chu was abbot and restored the pagoda." Thus, the pagoda was founded by the monk Khuông Việt in 971 (Thái Bình second year). In 1530 (Đại Chính first year), the monk Đạo Chu, then abbot, restored it. The pagoda has been restored many times through the Lý, Trần, Lê, and Nguyễn dynasties. The pagoda still preserves many ancient stone bases and large Lý and Trần dynasty shoe-shaped tiles.

Before 1947, the pagoda was large in scale. Now it is smaller, with a square layout in the shape of the Chinese character for "country" (國), each side five bays. Notably, the Cửu phẩm (Nine Grades) tower is square, two storeys with eight roofs, supported by four main columns and twelve subsidiary columns, with four lower roofs and the upper storey supported by four more subsidiary columns.

Động Ngọ Pagoda also features many unique stone architectural works recently constructed. Since the late 20th century, Venerable Thích Thanh Thắng, upon becoming abbot, travelled throughout the Northern region to collect stone mortars, stone rollers, stone bridges, and rice milling rollers, bringing them back to the pagoda and arranging them into distinctive works. Outstanding features include a wall with stone roller balustrades; two round wells decorated with many stone rollers and mortars in front of the pagoda; a nearly 3m-long stone bridge; corridors and walkways paved with mortars of various sizes. Especially notable is a map of Vietnam, 30m long and 10m wide, composed of about 300 stone mortars within the pagoda grounds.

The buildings were damaged by war, and some remaining structures were weathered and ruined. Since the early 1990s, after Resolution 24 of the Politburo on "Strengthening religious work in the new situation", restoration works have been carried out: construction of the main hall (1994), construction of the tam quan - bell tower (1996), restoration of the upper hall - ancestral house (1997), restoration of the Cửu phẩm liên hoa (Nine Grades Lotus) tower (1999), Holy Mother Hall (2000), additional carving of the Cửu phẩm liên hoa statue (2004), erection of the stupa of Patriarch Chân Nguyên (2011), and carving of 21 stone Buddha and patriarch statues (2015).

The pagoda had an ancient stele (now lost), with two sides inscribed with two records from two early periods: Lý Thái Bình (Lý Thánh Tông, 1054–1058, Long Thụy Thái Bình era) and Đại Chính first year (Mạc Thái Tông, 1530). In addition, there is an incense burner from the 19th year of Hoằng Định (1619).

The stele "Kiến khai Cửu Phẩm Liên Hoa bi ký" dates to the 13th year of Chính Hòa (1692) (reign of King Lê Hy Tông), confirming the date of the current architecture. The stele records:

The Cửu Phẩm Liên Hoa (Nine Grades Lotus) tower, over 320 years old, is the most valuable and ancient artwork currently at the pagoda. In 2016, the Prime Minister recognised this Cửu Phẩm Liên Hoa tower as a national treasure. At present, only three ancient wooden Cửu phẩm liên hoa towers exist in Vietnam; the other two are at Giám Pagoda (Hải Dương) and Bút Tháp Pagoda (Bắc Ninh).

In the biography and in the preface to the work "Kiến tính thành Phật", it is recorded that Zen master Chân Nguyên Tuệ Đăng, over nine years from 1684, "... devoted himself to building the Cửu Phẩm Liên Hoa towers, and after nine years completed three towers in three places: the tower at Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda on Tiên Du mountain, the tower at Hoa Yên Pagoda on Yên Tử mountain, and the tower at Linh Ứng Pagoda in Thanh Hà district".

The Cửu Phẩm Liên Hoa tower is placed in the centre of the interior of the Cửu phẩm hall, 5.3m high, hexagonal in cross-section, with eight lower tiers, each 54 cm high, and the top tier 98 cm high. There are nine tiers, six faces, each face bearing three small statues, totalling 162 statues; in 1989, 146 statues remained. Each set of three small statues per face consists of Amitābha Buddha in the centre, flanked by Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva; some faces have Amitābha Buddha with Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. The statues, about the size of a forearm, are finely crafted in wood and gilded. Overall, the Cửu phẩm tower is a unique architectural representation of the boundless, mysterious, multi-layered world of Buddhist dharma.

The Cửu Phẩm Liên Hoa tower stands on stone lotus-shaped bases. Previously, the tower could rotate around its axis. Over time, it no longer rotates. Of the original 162 ancient statues on the tower, 60 were stolen. Many of the current statues were newly made during restoration (in 1999).

In the ancestral house of the pagoda, there remains a horizontal board inscribed: 曇 花 一 現 (Đàm hoa nhất hiện: meaning: the Epiphyllum flower blooms only once, implying nobility; similar to the idiom: Early bloom, quick fade).