Vietnam: Dieu Quang or ‘Miraculous Light’ Pagoda at Chua Lien Phai, the ‘Pagoda of the...

According to the inscription on the central stele in Chua Lien Phai, Lord Trinh Thap (1697–1733) had a palace in this area, and one day his workers dug up a huge rock shaped like a lotus root in the palace gardens. Lord Trinh Thap took this as an indication from Buddha that he should abandon his mundane ways and become a monk. He had his head shaved, and ordered a temple built at the palace where the miraculous stone was discovered. He established the ‘Pagoda of the Lotus Sect’ in 1726, and spent the remainder of his life as a monk at this temple. He was acknowledged as patriarch, and when he died his ashes were interred here. Some of his calligraphy hangs by the main altar. The Lotus Sect represented at Chua Lien Phai particularly honours Amitabha Buddha and believes that through chanting his name and ridding oneself of desire, rebirth can be attained in the the Western Paradise of Sukhavati or ‘Pure Land’. It is distinctly Mahayanist and extremely popular in both China and Japan.