Tây Phương Pagoda

Tây Phương Pagoda (its formal name is Sùng Phúc tự 崇福寺) is a pagoda built on the summit of Câu Lâu hill in Tây Phương commune, Hanoi city.

Some books and newspapers about Tây Phương Pagoda claim that it was built during the Mạc dynasty, but this has not been proven. This date is plausible, as in the early 17th century, during the 1630s, the pagoda underwent major repairs. Moreover, inside the pagoda there are two steles, both with their inscriptions worn away, but the names on the front are still clearly legible: Tín thí and Tây Phương sơn Sùng Phúc tự thạch bi (the other side of the stele is pressed against the wall of the central hall and cannot be read). The decorative motifs belong to the artistic style of the late 16th to early 17th centuries.

In 1632, during the reign of King Lê Thần Tông, the pagoda built a three-bay upper hall and a sanctuary, along with a 20-bay corridor. Around 1657–1682, Tây Đô Vương Trịnh Tạc had the old pagoda demolished and a new pagoda and triple gate built. In 1794, under the Tây Sơn dynasty, the pagoda was completely renovated with the new name "Tây Phương Cổ Tự" and the architectural form that remains today.

According to the official website of Hà Tây province (now Hanoi), the pagoda was founded in the 6th–7th centuries but has undergone many restorations.

From the foot of the mountain, after climbing 237 laterite steps, one reaches the summit and the pagoda gate. Tây Phương Pagoda consists of three parallel buildings: the ceremonial hall (bái đường), the main hall (chính điện), and the sanctuary (hậu cung). Each building has two tiers of roofs in the chồng diêm (overlapping) style, with walls entirely built of red-fired Bát Tràng bricks, left exposed to create a very simple, rustic atmosphere, punctuated by round windows symbolising form and emptiness; all the wooden pillars rest on green stone blocks carved with lotus petals. The roof is covered with two layers of tiles: the upper layer has tiles embossed with bodhi leaf patterns, the lower layer consists of square, multicoloured tiles (called ngói chiếu), painted in five colours like the kasaya robes, neatly arranged on wooden rafters to form even squares. Around the eaves of all three buildings are delicately carved motifs in the shape of curling leaves, and on the roofs are many animal figurines made of terracotta; the roof ridges are also terracotta, with raised patterns of flowers, leaves, dragons, and phoenixes, rich in abstraction and expressive power. The pagoda pillars rest on stone blocks carved with lotus petals. The entire pagoda exudes a sense of grandeur and openness, in harmony with the Buddhist philosophy of "form is emptiness, emptiness is form".

This is also a place where rare masterpieces of religious sculpture are concentrated, including carvings, bas-reliefs, and statues. Everywhere in the pagoda where there is wood, there is carving. The bracket ends, decorative panels, side beams, and long boards are all carved with familiar decorative themes of the Vietnamese people: mulberry leaves, bodhi leaves, lotuses, chrysanthemums, dragons, phoenixes, hổ phù (tiger masks), etc., all exquisitely crafted by the skilful hands of local woodworking artisans from Tổng Nủa, the traditional craft village of Chàng Sơn, a long-standing and famous woodworking village of the Đoài region.

Inside the pagoda there are 64 statues along with bas-reliefs present everywhere. The statues are carved from jackfruit wood and lacquered with gold leaf. Many statues are larger than life, such as the eight Kim Cương (Vajra Warriors) and Dharma Protectors, about three metres tall, solemn and benevolent. The system of statues at Tây Phương Pagoda includes:

The set of Tam Thế Phật (Three Worlds Buddhas) with three Buddha statues: Past, Present, and Future (also called the Three Bodies: Dharma Body, Response Body, and Transformation Body), seated in meditation posture, their robes simply folded and covering the body, believed to date from the early 17th century.

The set of Di-đà Tam Tôn: including the statue of Amitābha Buddha, flanked by Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva.

The Tuyết Sơn statue depicts Śākyamuni Buddha during his ascetic period: eating one millet grain and one sesame seed per day, practising self-mortification to reach a luminous spiritual realm. The statue is dark black, draped in a thin kasaya, with limbs emaciated and ribs protruding from the chest. The whole body is immersed in contemplation, eyes deeply sunken, turned inward.

On either side of the Tuyết Sơn statue are statues of Ānanda and Kāśyapa standing in attendance.

The statue of Maitreya Buddha symbolises the Buddha of the future Western Paradise. He is plump, sitting slightly reclined, his whole body radiating satisfaction and joy.

The statue of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva: standing with hands clasped, bare feet, toes gripping the pedestal.

The statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva: hands clasped before the chest, the bright, broad face standing out above the body covered in robes.

The set of Eight Vajra Warriors (Bát bộ Kim Cương), demonstrating a very high level of wood-joining technique and composition, depicting the movement of armoured bodies in martial poses.

Sixteen statues of Patriarchs in a realistic style: These are Ưu-ba-cầu-đa, Đê-đa-ca, Di-trà-ca, Bà-tu-mật, Phật-đà Nan-đề, Phục-đa-mật-đa, Hiếp Tôn giả, Thương Na Hòa Tu, Mã Minh, Ca-tỳ-ma-la, Long Thụ Tôn giả, La-hầu-la-đa, Tăng-già Nan-đề, Già-gia-xá-đa, Cưu-ma-la-đa, Chà-dạ-đa. According to a list of names of the figures carved in a document still preserved at the pagoda, these are statues of Indian patriarchs as conceived in Chinese Chan Buddhism (see the Twenty-eight Patriarchs).

Eighteen patriarchs, some standing, some sitting: one looks up to the sky pointing at the clouds, one is indifferent to external things, resting his chin on his knee and smiling to himself, half mischievous, half ironic; another has a cheerful, fresh face and a plump, rounded figure; another has an unusually pensive expression; yet another seems to be hesitating or whispering to someone.

The statue of Rāhula is truly the portrait of an old Vietnamese man: thin body, long narrow face, high cheekbones, moderately thin lips. No other statue has depicted clothing so realistically and beautifully. The posture, one hand holding a staff, the other resting on the knee, is very relaxed, with the bones of the hands clearly visible beneath the skin. The woodworking artisans of the traditional craft village of Chàng Sơn are the creators of these marvellous masterpieces of Vietnamese fine arts.

Tây Phương Pagoda has been an outstanding religious architectural work, representative of Vietnamese art in the Later Lê period (17th–18th centuries).

In 1960, the poet Huy Cận visited the pagoda and wrote verses in the poem "The Arhats of Tây Phương Pagoda" that vividly and evocatively portray the images of enlightened beings still immersed in contemplation of the writhing suffering of sentient beings.