Giác Ngộ Pagoda

Giác Ngộ Pagoda is a Buddhist pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Giác Ngộ Pagoda was built in the 1960s by the Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hòa, Deputy Sangharaja of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Church. In 1946, layman Trần Phú Hữu, a government official, vowed to build Giác Ngộ Pagoda on a 695 m2 plot of land, hoping to help those with affinity to return to the right path, cultivate their minds and character, and gradually erase the painful entanglements of life. At that time, Giác Ngộ Pagoda was located at 36 Jean Jacques Rousseau Street, later changed to 90 Trần Hoàng Quân, and now is 92 Nguyễn Chí Thanh Street. Back then, apart from a small main hall that could accommodate about 80 Buddhist practitioners, the rest consisted of a few small houses interspersed with some graves.

On 21 May 1956, layman Trần Phú Hữu donated the entire land and Giác Ngộ Pagoda to the Southern Vietnam Sangha Association. The head of this association at the time was the Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hòa, who was also the Director of the Buddhist Studies Institute of the Southern Vietnam Sangha Association, representing the association to receive it. Afterwards, the layman ordained and became Thầy Thích Thiện Đức.

In 1959, the Southern Vietnam Sangha Association applied to the government for permission to establish the Bồ Đề Chợ Lớn Primary and Secondary School, based at Giác Ngộ Pagoda, with Venerable Quảng Liên as Principal. From 1964 to 1975, the school was headed by Venerable Quảng Chánh. The curriculum included two levels: primary and lower secondary. The primary level had 12 classes, each with over 120 students, teaching from Year Five to Year One. The lower secondary level had 16 classes, teaching from First to Fourth Year, each with over 65 students. In total, the primary level had 1,440 students, and the lower secondary level had 1,040 students.

On 21 May 1970, Giác Ngộ Pagoda was renovated by Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hòa under permit number 171 from the Saigon City Design Department. This is the appearance of Giác Ngộ Pagoda as we see it today. This was the first Buddhist private school in Saigon – Chợ Lớn, contributing to the education of thousands of young Buddhist followers, combining secular learning with Buddhist wisdom, enabling Buddhist youth to live with ideals, joy, and happiness.

After 30 April 1975, the Bồ Đề Giác Ngộ - Chợ Lớn School was closed.

In 1979, Most Venerable Thích Trí Tịnh, Vice Rector of the Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Church, Advisor to the Management Council of Ấn Quang Monastery, applied to the Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma and the City People's Committee to establish the Thiện Hòa Elementary Buddhist Institute at Giác Ngộ Pagoda, to meet the increasing demand for monastic study among monks and nuns in Ho Chi Minh City. The curriculum was divided into three levels. Elementary Level 1 lasted two years, studied at Giác Ngộ Pagoda. Elementary Level 2 lasted two years, studied at Giác Sanh Pagoda. The Intermediate Level lasted three years, studied at Ấn Quang Pagoda. From 1981 to 1984, the Thiện Hòa Elementary Buddhist Institute at Giác Ngộ Pagoda was under the administrative management of the Education Board for Monks and Nuns of Ho Chi Minh City. With more than 300 monastic students divided into three classes, over six years, the Thiện Hòa Elementary Buddhist Institute at Giác Ngộ Pagoda faced many difficulties due to the economic crisis at that time.

By 1984, due to state education policy at the time, sharing the fate of other Buddhist schools nationwide, the Thiện Hòa Elementary Buddhist Institute at Giác Ngộ Pagoda ceased operations. Most of the monks and nuns who graduated from the Thiện Hòa Elementary Buddhist Institute at Giác Ngộ Pagoda became talented monks in Buddhism, participating in the leadership of various levels of the Buddhist Sangha, especially at the level of the Buddhist Executive Boards in some provinces in the Mekong Delta and overseas.

From 1984 to the present, for 28 years, the entire educational facility at Giác Ngộ Pagoda, under the guidance of the Most Venerables of Ấn Quang Monastery, especially the Abbot Most Venerable Thích Trí Quảng and Resident Most Venerable Thích Nhật Quang, has become a thriving centre for monastic and lay Buddhist practice for about 30 monks and hundreds of lay Buddhists. Many monks from Giác Ngộ Pagoda have gone abroad and successfully propagated the Dharma in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Canada. Domestically, many monks have obtained bachelor's degrees in Buddhist studies and social sciences, two have earned master's degrees in Buddhist studies, and five have earned doctorates in Buddhist studies, philosophy, and Asian studies. Some monks are teaching at the Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Ho Chi Minh City. Many serve as abbots in various provinces and cities, taking on important Buddhist affairs for the Sangha. Some are also Dharma teachers admired by many Buddhists both inside and outside the country.

After more than 60 years of service, in 2012 Giác Ngộ Pagoda had deteriorated and was no longer adequate for the monastic and lay practice activities as hoped. The main hall, first and second floors had been leaking for over 15 years. After nearly 20 years of resolving land disputes, thanks to the blessings of the Triple Gem and under the leadership of Venerable Thích Nhật Từ, Giác Ngộ Pagoda was granted a permit for complete reconstruction by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction (document number 129/GPXD, signed 30 July 2012). The new construction of Giác Ngộ Pagoda includes one basement for parking and seven floors, with a total construction area of 3,476 m2. The new main hall consists of two levels: the first floor is 412 m2 and the mezzanine on the second floor is 300 m2, accommodating about 700 people for ceremonies at the same time. The third floor is a meditation hall. The fourth floor is a library. The remaining floors serve Buddhist educational activities and other Buddhist affairs. In addition to the seven-storey building, at the rear is the monks' residence, and to the left from the entrance is a columbarium for the ashes of deceased relatives of Buddhist followers. The total cost of the new construction of Giác Ngộ Pagoda exceeded 20 billion VND.

The new construction of Giác Ngộ Pagoda was expected to be completed within 24 months, starting from October 2012. During the two years of renovation, half of the monastic community temporarily resided and practised at Bác Ái Street, Thủ Đức District, and the rest at Phan Đăng Lưu Street, Phú Nhuận District. Main chanting and recitation ceremonies were held at 139/5 Phan Đăng Lưu Street, Phú Nhuận District.

As the entire existing pagoda had to be demolished for new construction, the pagoda informed Buddhist followers who had placed ancestral urns at the pagoda to come and complete procedures to temporarily take the urns home or move them to another pagoda, or the pagoda would temporarily keep them in a suitable place. After the new pagoda was completed, about 5,000 urns were returned to be enshrined at Giác Ngộ Pagoda.

Under the guidance of Venerable Thích Nhật Từ, Giác Ngộ Pagoda advocates the form of Buddhism for Today, practising according to the Four Noble Truths, emphasising Vipassana meditation and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

The guiding principle of Giác Ngộ Pagoda is to engage with the world and propagate the Dharma through educational, Dharma propagation, cultural, and charitable activities. The pagoda uses purely Vietnamese chanting rituals, promoting Vietnamese culture.

The pagoda regularly organises one-day mindfulness retreats on Sundays, taking refuge in the Triple Gem on major full moon days such as the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth lunar months, and Buddhist cultural festivals. Middle-aged and elderly Buddhists practise on Sunday mornings, while young Buddhists gather on Sunday afternoons. The pagoda frequently organises wedding ceremonies (hằng thuận ceremonies) for Buddhist followers, helping them live happily according to the Buddha's teachings. It can be said that Giác Ngộ Pagoda is the most active and dynamic centre for Buddhist practice and affairs in Vietnam.

Under the abbotship of Venerable Thích Nhật Từ, Giác Ngộ Pagoda has developed additional branch and affiliated pagodas, as well as Buddhism for Today practice centres:

Giác Ngộ Pagoda (Old address: 92 Nguyễn Chí Thanh Street, Ward 2, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City). New address [1]: 92 Nguyễn Chí Thanh Street, Vườn Lài Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

Giác Ngộ Pagoda Vĩnh Long (Vĩnh Long City - Vĩnh Long Province)

Giác Ngộ Pagoda Củ Chi (Củ Chi District - Ho Chi Minh City) (Under construction)

Giác Ngộ Pagoda Vũng Tàu (Đất Đỏ District - Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province) (Foundation laid in 2019)

Quan Âm Đông Hải Pagoda (Vĩnh Châu Town - Sóc Trăng Province) (Under construction)

Linh Xứng Pagoda (Hà Trung District - Thanh Hóa Province)

Tượng Sơn Pagoda (Hương Sơn District - Hà Tĩnh Province)

Buddhism for Today Practice Centre in Hà Nội

Buddhism for Today Practice Centre in Hải Dương

Buddhism for Today Practice Centre in South Korea

Buddhism for Today Practice Centre in Hải Phòng

The Bát Chánh Đạo (Noble Eightfold Path) practice centre at Tượng Sơn Pagoda was founded by Venerable Thích Nhật Từ, abbot of Tượng Sơn Pagoda, and consists of the following eight groups:

A Nan Group: intellectuals and teachers.

Dược Sư Group: doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and traditional medicine practitioners.

Ca Diếp Group: veteran and exemplary Buddhist followers.

La Hầu La Group: young Buddhist followers.

Cấp Cô Độc Group: benefactors and those engaged in social charity.

Hộ Niệm Group: Buddhist followers who pray for the sick and assist the deceased.

Diệu Âm Group: Buddhist artists.

Hậu cần Group: Buddhist volunteers responsible for service, decoration, and logistics.

Giác Ngộ Pagoda is the place for editing and publishing the Vietnamese Buddhist Canon (MP3) on over 120 CDs, the Buddhism for Today book series with over 200 volumes, Buddhist audiobooks on over 100 CDs, Buddhism for Today music on over 100 CDs and VCDs, and thousands of Dharma talks by Thầy Thích Nhật Từ.