Thanh Mai Pagoda

Thanh Mai Pagoda (formal name: Thanh Mai tự) is a famous site originally belonging to Thanh Mai village, Phưỡng Nhãn district, Kinh Bắc, now located in the Thanh Mai residential group, Nguyễn Trãi ward, Hải Phòng city, Vietnam. The pagoda was built by Zen master Pháp Loa Tôn Giả around the year 1329, closely associated with his life and career, as the second patriarch of the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử Zen school.

The name of the pagoda, Thanh Mai, is recorded on several steles such as: Thanh Mai Viên Thông tháp bi (1362), Trùng tu Thanh Mai tự bi (1609), Trùng tu Phật Tích sơn Thanh Mai tự bi ký (1707)...

Thanh Mai Pagoda was originally built around 1329 on the slope of Phật Tích Mountain (Thanh Mai), also known as Tam Ban Mountain (meaning three connected mountain levels spanning the three provinces of Bắc Ninh-Hải Phòng-Quảng Ninh, part of the Đông Triều mountain arc), about 200m high, within Nguyễn Trãi ward, Hải Phòng city. The pagoda's site is on the second level of the mountain, the flattest area. The pagoda is 12 km from National Highway 18A, about 20 km from Chu Văn An ward, about 17 km from Đông Triều ward, Quảng Ninh province, and over 60 km from the centre of Hải Phòng city.

The pagoda was built during the Trần dynasty and became a major site under Zen master Pháp Loa (1284-1330) and his successor, Zen master Huyền Quang (1254-1334). Research shows that by 1329, Pháp Loa himself had expanded and built two major pagoda complexes: Báo Ân Pagoda (Siêu Loại prefecture, Bắc Ninh, now Thuận An commune, Hà Nội) and Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda, Đông Triều (Quảng Ninh). Báo Ân Pagoda alone had 33 facilities including the Buddha hall, scripture library, and monks’ quarters. He also established hermitages such as Hồ Thiên, Chân Lạc, Yên Mã, Vĩnh Khiêm, Hạc Lai, and expanded the Thanh Mai and Côn Sơn pagoda areas. Thus, Thanh Mai Pagoda was not built by Pháp Loa but was only expanded and developed into a patriarchal site of the Trúc Lâm school. Through historical upheavals, natural disasters, and war, the ancient pagoda collapsed, most artefacts were lost or damaged, and the site became desolate and forgotten.

In 1980, with the desire to restore and preserve an important historical site, the pagoda was gradually restored in stages. In 1992, Thanh Mai Pagoda was recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports as a national historical and cultural monument. However, due to its small scale, remote location, and difficult access, Thanh Mai Pagoda remained forgotten. In 1994, Venerable Thích Chí Trung, aged 20, overcame difficulties to become abbot of the pagoda. At that time, the pagoda was in a state of ruin and dilapidation. Concerned about the risk of the site disappearing, the venerable mobilised donations to restore and rebuild the pagoda. From 1994-2000, with support from the Department of Transport and Hải Dương Power Company, 2 km of road to the pagoda was opened, 1 km of electric lighting installed, and Viên Thông Stupa restored.

The death anniversary of the Second Patriarch Pháp Loa (the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month) was chosen as the pagoda's festival day. The Thanh Mai Pagoda festival takes place from the 1st to the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month every year. The festival is solemnly organised by local people and Buddhist monks and nuns with many rituals such as sutra lectures, vegetarian ceremonies, and the ritual bathing of the Buddha.

In 1994, Venerable Thích Chí Trung was appointed abbot of the pagoda. At that time, the architectural structures had seriously deteriorated. To restore the site, the pagoda mobilised Buddhist followers to contribute to the restoration and reconstruction of the pagoda, stupas, and steles.

In 2002, the venerable continued to mobilise Buddhists to donate funds to build a 10-bay ancestral hall in the "nhị" (double) character layout, covering 130 m2 at a cost of 300 million VND, and in 2010, to build the entire kitchen and auxiliary works for the pagoda, costing 400 million VND.

In 2005, the pagoda received a state investment of 3 billion VND to build a 10-bay main hall, 180 m² in area, with "đinh" (T-shaped) architecture, and an 8-roofed, two-storey front hall. In 2007, the pagoda continued to receive 10 billion VND to complete works such as the triple gate, two stele houses, a 7-bay guest house, and a 7-bay monks’ quarters.

Currently, the main hall is completely newly built, in the "Đinh" (T-shaped) architectural style, with 7 front bays and 3 rear sanctum bays. The pagoda’s frame is made of ironwood with 12 main columns, each 50 cm in diameter and 7.2 m high, and 16 secondary columns, each 42 cm in diameter and 3.5 m high, joined in the "chồng rường bát đấu" (overlapping beams) style typical of the Trần dynasty. The roof has 8 sections, 8 curved corners, covered with shoe-shaped tiles, with the ridge decorated, and the centre featuring the raised inscription "Thanh Mai thiền tự" (Thanh Mai Zen Pagoda). The current worship system retains no ancient statues; all statues were newly made during restoration. Notably, all statues are gilded, and two imposing 3-metre-high Dharma protector statues are entirely carved from jackfruit wood. The arrangement and worship of statues in the pagoda follow the Lâm Tế lineage, with 6 altars.

Traces of the ancient Thanh Mai Pagoda remain only as bricks, foundation stones, and some walls in various areas, with about nine old pagoda foundations. The ancient artefacts still preserved at the pagoda include:

Viên Thông Stupa, built in 1334, with a stone stele on top

Phổ Quang Stupa, built in the 23rd year of the Chính Hoà era (1702)

Linh Quang Stupa, built in the 24th year of the Chính Hoà era (1703)

Five other stupa tombs of undetermined date.

The pagoda also has four steles: two four-sided stone steles from the Lê dynasty, one from the Mạc dynasty, and one from the Trần dynasty—Thanh Mai Viên Thông tháp bi—which was recognised as a National Treasure in the 5th batch.

Surrounding Thanh Mai Pagoda is a forest of maple trees (sau sau), creating a distinctive landscape for the pagoda. In winter and spring, when the maple leaves change colour, the path to the pagoda is covered with multicoloured maple leaves: red, orange, yellow, brown. If the path to the pagoda is only scattered with red maple leaves, then from the pagoda upwards, the leaves become denser. Deep in the forest, there are ancient maple trees towering high, and layers of young maples in striking red and yellow.

The Thanh Mai Viên Thông tháp bi stele is a stele with an absolute date, of great value for the study of Buddhist history in particular and Vietnamese cultural history in general. The stele was erected in 1362, more than 30 years after Pháp Loa's passing (Viên Thông Stupa is where Pháp Loa's relics are interred behind the pagoda), and records his life and career, as well as serving as a Buddhist chronicle and documenting the religious activities of the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử Zen school during the Trần dynasty.

In 1994, when Venerable Thích Chí Trung became abbot of Thanh Mai Pagoda, the stele lay scattered among other steles, a stone turtle, and other artefacts. The pagoda placed this stele on the back of the stone turtle and set it at its current location. Because it had been left exposed outdoors, subject to rain and sun, the stele has been worn down, and many characters have faded.

The stele is now placed in a stele house with a roof in front of the Main Hall. The stele is 131 cm high (not including the stone turtle base), 82 cm wide, and 14 cm thick. The stele sits on the back of a stone turtle that is intact, with its head, shell, tail, and all four legs, each with five claws.

Because many characters on the stele have faded, there is still no complete and accurate translation of the entire "Thanh Mai Viên Thông tháp bi" inscription. Researchers translate the inscription based on the original Chinese characters on the stele and several other texts that also discuss the life of the Second Patriarch Pháp Loa, such as:

The section "Đệ nhị tổ niên phả thực lục" in the book Tam tổ thực lục (catalogue A.786 at the Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies)

"Đệ nhị đại tổ bi trùng tu sự tích kí" (rubbing No. 13506-13510 at the Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies), carved in the 9th year of Tự Đức (1866), based on the stele inscription from the 5th year of Chính Hòa (1684) at Hương Hải Pagoda (Nguyễn Trãi ward, Hải Phòng)

The 2002 translation of the Thanh Mai stele by researcher Cảnh Tuệ Linh (Chung Cheng University, Taiwan)

The stele is crafted from a single block of green stone and placed on the back of a stone turtle. In the centre of the front pediment are six characters "Thanh Mai Viên Thông tháp bi" arranged in two rows, carved in a stylised Seal Script (triện ngạch). The body of the stele is inscribed with a eulogy written in Clerical Script (Lệ thư), with elegant, lively strokes.

The pediment is decorated with a pair of crested dragons of the Trần period, facing each other and looking towards the seal inscription. The outer border of the stele is adorned with stylised vine patterns. The base of the stele is decorated with wave motifs in the shape of mountains, characteristic of the Lý-Trần period (ruyi motifs). The back is undecorated, but the seal border has a full pattern around and the same frame division as the front, meaning the layout of the front and back is consistent.

Both sides of the stele are inscribed with more than 5,000 Chinese characters. The text has faded considerably, with some parts still legible or guessable. The front side consists of 39 lines, each with 68 characters. The reverse side has 42 lines, mostly with 68 characters per line, with a few lines at the end containing very few characters.

The text was compiled and edited by attendant Trung Minh, and later reviewed by Huyền Quang. The stone stele was purchased by disciple Trí Nhu, the calligraphy was written by Thiệu Tuệ, and Kim Sơn along with another disciple (name unclear) carved it in the 5th year of Đại Trị (1362), after both Pháp Loa and Huyền Quang had passed away.

The stele provides valuable information about Chinese texts from the Trần dynasty period:

Firstly, there is the avoidance of the taboo character Nguyệt (月) (the name of Lady Thiện Đạo, mother of Empress Thiên Cảm). All instances of the character "nguyệt" on the stele are written missing a horizontal stroke inside the character.

Secondly, the practice of leaving a space before characters related to the king, royal family, or court (known as "đài chữ"), and raising the following line, is applied thoroughly throughout the text, unlike many Buddhist texts which only do this in some places or not at all.

The content of the stele records much important information about the Trúc Lâm Zen sect and Vietnamese Buddhism during the Trần dynasty.

In 1314, disciples of Pháp Loa constructed many stupas and pagodas throughout the land:

The master created over 1,300 large and small Buddha statues, more than 100 earthen statues, built two large pagodas and five stupas, established over 200 monastic residences, ordained more than 15,000 monks and nuns, and printed the Tripitaka.

In 1328, the Zen master (Pháp Loa) had a statue of Maitreya cast and petitioned the king for permission to move the statue from the palace foundation to the main hall to be gilded. The stele states: "In the first year of the Khai Thái era (1324), on the 12th day of the 11th month, year Giáp Tý, Empress Dowager Bảo Từ requested the Venerable Phổ Tuệ Minh Giác, the second patriarch of the Trúc Lâm lineage, to erect a Maitreya statue six thước high. Minister Văn Huệ Vương and Princess Thượng Trân, the senior princess, offered nine thousand taels of gold to cast the statue. The eldest son of Princess Nhật Trân, Thuận Ứng, donated 50 mẫu of land in the Hoa Lưu estate for the Three Jewels of Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda. Minister Văn Huệ Vương, the Zen master, and Princess Thượng Trân donated 300 mẫu of land in Cự Linh, Gia Lâm; and also donated land in the Vân Động estate, totalling 1,000 mẫu and 1,000 male and female servants to Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda. In the 5th year of Khai Thái, year Mậu Thìn (1328), in the 3rd month, Empress Dowager Bảo Từ and Lady Bảo Huệ invited the master to Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda to gather monks from all directions to expound the Mahayana True Sutra, and established a ten-day vegetarian ritual to pray for Emperor Trần Anh Tông, the Bodhisattva. Emperor Minh Tông, the Bodhisattva, approved the master's petition for the imperial guards to escort the Maitreya Buddha statue to the hall and gild it."

The stele also reveals that Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda (Bắc Ninh) was the ancestral seat of the Trúc Lâm Buddhist community and the place where Buddhist scriptures were engraved. The stele also mentions the casting of the Thousand-Armed Great Compassionate (Thiên Thủ Đại Bi) statue (i.e., the "Thousand-Eyed, Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara"). In Vietnam, the time of appearance of the Thousand-Eyed, Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara statue is still under discussion. Currently, the earliest securely dated statue of this type is at Bút Tháp Pagoda, dated 1658, although this type of statue appeared much earlier. To date, three Trần dynasty steles have been found mentioning this type of statue: the Đại Bi Diên Minh Stele (1327), the Che Pagoda Stele (Phú Xuyên, Hanoi) (1328), and the Thanh Mai Stele on the front, third line from the bottom:

"Đại Khánh bát niên, Tân Dậu, Thượng phẩm Hoài Ninh hầu thỉnh sư chú Thiên Thủ Đại Bi nhất tôn"

Which means: "In the 8th year of Đại Khánh, year Tân Dậu (1321), Lord Hoài Ninh of the upper rank requested the master (i.e., Pháp Loa) to cast a statue of the Thousand-Armed Great Compassionate."

The Avalokiteśvara statue here was cast in bronze. Thus, the Thousand-Eyed, Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara statue has existed at least since the Trần dynasty (early 14th century). This type of statue is influenced by Esoteric Buddhism, so this sentence also demonstrates the influence of Esoteric Buddhism on Vietnamese Buddhism, resulting in the presence of the Thousand-Eyed, Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara statue in Trần dynasty sanctuaries.

On the Thanh Mai stele is also engraved the poem "Vãn Pháp Loa tôn giả đề Thanh Mai tự" (挽法螺尊者題青梅寺 – Lament for the Venerable Pháp Loa, inscribed at Thanh Mai Temple). The text on the Thanh Mai stele is identified as the original version of the poem, which was later copied in works such as Toàn Việt thi lục, Việt âm thi tập, Hoàng Việt thi tuyển, and even the Nam Phong journal.

The poem on the Thanh Mai stele does not have a title at the beginning. Therefore, when compiling poetry collections, later authors gave the poem a title. Việt âm thi tập is currently the earliest version to record the poem's title as above, and also includes the note "Venerable of the Nhân Tông and Anh Tông era" below the poem's title. In this, the character "Anh Tông" is written with an apostrophe above to avoid the taboo. Thus, it can be said that "Việt âm thi tập" is the earliest known text to record the poem's title, influencing later collections. Since then, most books and newspapers reprinting the poem have mistakenly attributed the authorship to Trần Anh Tông, including the General Collection of Vietnamese Literature, Volume 2 (published in 2000), which still prints this error.

Current researchers have determined that this is a poem by Trần Minh Tông, because in 1330, when Pháp Loa passed away, Anh Tông had already died long before (1320). Minh Tông mourned Pháp Loa, bestowed a posthumous title upon the Zen master when he passed away, and granted 10 taels of gold to build a stupa. The fact that Emperor Minh Tông is the author of the poem is also clearly recorded on the Thanh Mai stele.

The original text of the poem and its transliteration are as follows:

Literal translation:

Poetic translation: