The pagoda was built in Ham Rong land, the front yard is a dragon's tongue protruding to drink water, two Sun - Moon bridges as two dragon beards and a water house are the pearls that the dragon plays with. The complex of Thay Pagoda is a complex of architectural works located at the foot of Sai Son mountain and on the slopes of this famous mountain including the following items: Ca Pagoda (Thien Phuc Tu), Boi Am Pagoda, Cao Pagoda, Thuong Temple, Long Dau Pagoda, Sai Khe Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple, Cac Co Cave. Sai Son mountain also has many famous caves such as Cac Co cave, Thanh Hoa cave, Gio cave there is Cho Troi on the peak. On the mountain there is a large botanical garden with many kinds of ancient trees of hundreds of years old, many valuable medicines endowed by nature. The most famous mountain of Sai Son (Thay mountain), has an arc shape of about 100m high from Sai Son down to Hoang Xa with a radius of over 3km. There are only 11 mountains remaining in the rocky mountains now scattered in a wide area of 4 communes of Sai Son, Phuong Cach, Yen Son and Quoc Oai town, including: Sai Son, Long Dau, Hoa Son, Phuong Hoang, Ky Lan, Son Tuong, Hoang Xa. making a block for Tan Vien mountain group. Thay pagoda relics area is a complex of monuments combined with the landscape of low mountains in the middle of the delta to create a sacred and magnificent appearance, including relics: Sai Son, Hoang Xa, Phuong Cach rocky mountains Monuments complex of Thay Pagoda The relics on Hoang Xa cave.Īccording to feng shui theory, Sai mountain is considered to be an odd dragon (freak dragon), surrounded by 18 small mountains flanking the "Thap bat tu son" which are unicorns, phoenixes, turtles, toads. In folklore, he cultivated to attain miracles, then reincarnated as King Ly Than Tong (1128 - 1138), then a descendant of Le Than Tong (1619-1643), he was a monk, was Buddha, was the king and was respected by the people as the Founder of the Vietnamese traditional water puppet art. Tu Dao Hanh was a venerablemonk from Ly dynasty (the 11th century). Thay Pagoda worships "the first the Buddha, the second the saints". The place where the Ming army burned his body is Quan Thanh now. After 7 days of burning, the body is still not burnt, after having to follow omen in a dream, they could finish the burning. When the Ming army arrived here, smelt the aroma, searched and found a Taoist, his face was as fresh as when he was alive, and they brought him for cremation. The villagers found it strange and brought into a place for worshipping, King Ly Anh Tong named "The superior sacared god". Legend has it that after the death, sacred spirit often appeared in Thien Phuc pagoda, his dead body still smelt good after a month. Thay Pagoda was deeply ingrained in people's minds with the legend of Zen master Tu Dao Hanh three times of reincarnating. The current name is now “Thien Phuc pagoda - 天 福 寺 ” which means the pagoda was erected by the heavenly blessings and blessings were given for everyone "Ca pagoda" is an ancient Vietnamese name, locating the central pagoda of Thay pagoda relics in the relics complex of the old Thay canton area. “Bo De Vien- 菩 提 院 ” is the name of the pagoda where Dao Hanh taught Buddhist scripture “Phat Tich- 佛 昔 ” is associated with the legend of Tu Dao Hanh leaving traces on the rocks. There are many different names associated with the formation and history of Thay Pagoda: “Huong Hai Am - 香 海 庵 ” refers to the temple - hermitage, where Tu Dao Hanh practiced.
Thay Pagoda is a way to express the close relationship with the respect of the people here with Zen master Tu Dao Hanh. Not only the name of the pagoda, but also the name of the mountain, the name of the village and the name of the canton are also called Thay. Buddhist researchers believe that the central point of this relic population is deeply imprinted by the Vajrayana.
The worship of Buddha here is attached with the name of Zen master Tu Dao Hanh, the 24th patriarch of Ti Ni Da branch.
Thay Pagoda and Sai Son, Hoang Xa and Phuong Cach rocky mountain are a religious architectural complex spreading over a vast area with dense monuments including communal houses, temples, pagodas, etc. THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF SAI SON AND PHUONG CACH