The pagoda I am talking about is Buu Long Pagoda (District 9, Ho Chi Minh City). Together with Tran Quoc Pagoda in Hanoi, these two pagodas were once named by the world famous travel site National Geographic as one of the most beautiful and well-known pagodas.
I picked up my backpack and rode my old motorbike to the temple when the sun was just rising. Although the long journey made my legs numb, I was still very excited. Finally, I arrived and indeed, I was not disappointed when I saw with my own eyes one of the two most beautiful temples in Vietnam.
Buu Long Pagoda was built in the Southern Buddhist architectural style, different from the common Northern Buddhist architecture. In Northern Buddhism, every pagoda worships Quan Am, but in Southern Buddhism, there is no female statue, and especially worships the dragon god Naga. The shape of the dragon god Naga has no legs, and is the guardian god of wells, rivers, lakes, and seas. According to legend, when Buddha Shakyamuni was born, the dragon god Naga bathed and protected Buddha during his religious practice. The dragon god Naga is also one of the two leading gods in the Eightfold Path, next to Indra in the Eightfold Path.
In the temple courtyard there is a lake, and in the middle there is a statue of the Naga dragon god with many heads of water fountains symbolizing prosperity and favorable weather. The stairways all have statues of the Naga dragon god winding around them, meaning the connection between heaven and earth.
It can be said that Buu Long Pagoda is one of the pagodas with the most beautiful and blessed images I have ever seen. In the temple yard, there is also an image of a crane riding a turtle, which is often seen in temples and shrines in Vietnam. The crane and the turtle symbolize heaven and earth and yin and yang. In ancient times, the crane and the turtle were close friends. When it rained and stormed, the turtle carried the crane to the mainland, and when it was dry, the crane carried the turtle to the river. In addition, there is a statue of two elephants performing a ceremony to the Buddha - an animal closely related to the Buddha because it is considered one of the Buddha's previous lives.
Inside the temple, each floor has a tower displaying beautiful, shimmering, sparkling and mysterious relics. According to legend, relics are the essence and marrow of the deceased Saints and Buddhas. The transparent glass jars contain relics in red, yellow, green... of all colors like glowing pearls, illuminating the way for everyone to escape the sea of suffering. On the highest floor is a statue of Buddha lying in nirvana, this image suddenly made me cry. In that moment, I thought I had been washed away all the fatigue and anxiety of daily life.
If you have ever dreamed of visiting a golden or silver pagoda in Thailand but do not have the means, then visit Buu Long Pagoda once to feel the serenity, to dispel all worries, to see that Buddha is very close to us.
