Tôn Thạnh Pagoda

Tôn Thạnh Pagoda is a fairly famous pagoda in history and literature, located in Mỹ Lộc commune, Tây Ninh province, Vietnam.

The pagoda was classified as a national historical site by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Vietnam on 27 November 1997 under Decision No. 2890-VH/QĐ.

The total area of the entire pagoda complex is 34,410 m², of which the pagoda itself occupies 940 m².

Originally, the pagoda was named Lan Nhã Pagoda, or as the locals called it, Chùa Ông Ngộ, founded and built by Zen Master Viên Ngộ in 1808.

This is the oldest pagoda in Long An province. The pagoda still preserves many ancient statues of artistic value in the style of the 19th century. Especially notable is the bronze statue of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha (Bồ tát Địa Tạng), 110 cm tall, sitting on the back of a blue lion, with the right hand forming a mudra, the left hand held across the chest, and a wish-fulfilling jewel (minh châu) in the palm. "In 1813, the 12th year of the Gia Long era, the founder began casting the bronze statue of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, 110 cm tall, and there is a record of miraculous occurrences during the casting of this statue." Within the pagoda grounds there is also a commemorative stele for the poet Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, erected in 1973, and the stupa of Venerable Thiên Ngộ.

From Provincial Road 15, a small road leads to the pagoda, with a gate built in 1960 bearing the name Tôn Thạnh Pagoda. On the right side of the road inside the pagoda grounds are two steles: the first, built in 1973, marks the presence of the poet Nguyễn Đình Chiểu; the second, built in 1998, features an excerpt from the 'Funeral Oration for the Righteous Soldiers of Cần Giuộc'. In the garden, there is also a three-storey hexagonal stupa, 4.5 metres high, for the founder Viên Ngộ (who passed away in the 5th year of Thiệu Trị, 1845), built in 1846 and restored in 1959, with the top storey embossed with the words "Namo Amitābha Buddha" (Nam mô A di đà Phật), and the square, three-storey, 3-metre-high stupa of Tổ Tắc Thành.

Tôn Thạnh Pagoda is where Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, a great Vietnamese poet, lived and wrote, especially the 'Funeral Oration for the Righteous Soldiers of Cần Giuộc', during the period 1859–1861. During this time, he also opened a school outside, but inside he directly led the resistance.

In recent years, Tôn Thạnh Pagoda has been renovated and several new structures have been built.