Khánh An Pagoda

Khánh An Monastery is a grand pagoda located in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City. It is called a monastery to downplay the colours of faith and religion. Khánh An Monastery regularly organises retreats, meditation courses, and Satipatthana meditation, attracting the attention of many monks and Buddhists. This is a place that draws people to come for worship and to pay respects at the pagoda; many young people come to attend short-term retreats and listen to Dharma talks. Khánh An Monastery is associated with historical events during the resistance against the French by the army and people of An Phú Đông, District 12. The pagoda has been recognised as a City-level historical site. With its significance as a revolutionary base, marking many important events during the resistance against the French by the army and people of An Phú Đông, District 12, along with its unique architecture, Khánh An Pagoda was recognised as a City-level Historical Site by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on 27 July 2007 under Decision No. 3269/QĐ-UBND. Khánh An Monastery is one of the pagodas with unique architecture, featuring a Japanese temple style, but in reality, the monastery was built entirely in the ancient Vietnamese pagoda style.

Khánh An Monastery (An Phú Đông Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) was originally a small pagoda built by Patriarch Trí Hiền (Master Năm Phận) in 1905. At that time, Mr. Biện Lục donated a plot of land about 4 hectares to Venerable Trí Hiền to build Khánh An Pagoda. Therefore, local people often called Khánh An Pagoda 'Pagoda of Master Phận' or 'Pagoda of Master Năm Phận'. At that time, Khánh An Pagoda was just a small pagoda located between the two villages of An Lộc Đông and Hanh Phú (later An Phú Đông), and was a gathering place for many patriotic fighters participating in the resistance against the French.

In July 1939, the first Party cell of the An Lộc Đông area was established at Khánh An Pagoda. In 1940, the two hamlets of An Lộc Đồng and Hanh Phú merged to become An Phú Đông. The An Phú Đông Party cell then had about 20 members. Master Năm Phận, abbot of Khánh An Pagoda, also joined the Party organisation. Under the leadership of the An Lộc Đông Party cell, from 1939, the revolutionary movement in the An Lộc Đông area developed increasingly strongly with various activities such as organising rallies to demand reduction of corvée and taxes, opposing the conscription of Vietnamese youth as cannon fodder for the French, etc. In the face of the strong fighting spirit of the masses, in July 1940, the Southern Regional Party Committee held an expanded meeting and decided to prepare for an uprising. Uprising Committees were established.

The Gia Định Provincial Committee sent Nguyễn Văn Tiến (also known as Mười Tiến, Gia Định Provincial Committee member) to lead the Uprising Committee in Bình Trị Thượng district. Following instructions from above, members of the An Phú Đông Party cell, including Venerable Thích Trí Hiền, actively organised many activities to prepare for the General Uprising. When the Southern Uprising failed, some members of the An Phú Đông Party cell responsible for attacking the Vườn Tiêu Tân Sơn Nhất outpost and the Vĩnh Lộc five-way intersection outpost were arrested, including Venerable Thích Trí Thiện. Venerable Thiện was imprisoned for about one year. Although the French colonialists used brutal torture methods, they could not extract any information, so they were forced to release him. However, due to severe injuries from torture, in 1942, Venerable Thích Trí Thiện passed away.

After the abbot passed away, Khánh An Pagoda continued to serve as a secret base for the revolutionary movement. In March 1945, Mười Lụa escaped from prison and returned to An Phú Đông, coming to Khánh An Pagoda to hide. From there, he contacted Phạm Văn Khải (also known as Bảy Khái), Secretary of the Quới Xuân Commune Party cell, to rebuild the An Phú Đông Party cell. After the Southern Resistance began, in November 1945, the military forces and agencies of Gia Định Province stationed in Gò Vấp withdrew to An Phú Đông. On 25 December 1945, the Gia Định Provincial Resistance Committee decided to establish the An Phú Đồng base in the areas of An Phú Đông and Thạnh Lộc communes. Khánh An Pagoda was within the An Phú Đông base and served as a base for the resistance forces. Khánh An Pagoda was also where Squad 17 of the Vệ quốc đoàn (National Defence Corps) produced rudimentary weapons such as muzzle-loading guns, bottle-cap mines, grenades, etc., to serve the resistance.

Initially, Khánh An Pagoda was just a small pagoda, a gathering place for many patriotic fighters, and for that reason, the pagoda was attacked and destroyed by the French colonialists many times. It was not until 2006 that the pagoda was restored and rebuilt to its current grand state. Khánh An Monastery follows the style of Northern Buddhist tradition, rich in East Asian architectural features. The main hall, named the Mindfulness Buddha Hall, is primarily constructed from wood and serves as the place for chanting and meditation for monks and Buddhists. The monastery's colour scheme features three main tones: wood brown, the white of lime, and the yellow of decorative patterns. Around the grounds are wooden lanterns covered with paper in a hexagonal shape, commonly seen in festivals or at the entrances of Japanese temples and shrines. On the roofs of the monks' quarters and guest hall are towers with red colouring and tiled roofs with few dragon or phoenix motifs. The highlight is the tall golden spire against the sky, a feature often seen in Japanese temples and shrines.

From a distance, Khánh An Monastery stands out with its striking red tones and impressive architectural style. On social media, many poetic names have been given to Khánh An Monastery, such as 'a miniature Japan in Saigon' or 'the pagoda in the style of the Land of the Rising Sun'. However, representatives of Khánh An Monastery have stated that many people mistakenly believe that Khánh An Monastery was built in the Japanese architectural style, but in fact, the monastery was built entirely in the ancient Vietnamese pagoda style. The colours present are also very familiar to Vietnamese people, for example, the red from brick and earth, the grey from smoke, the white from lime. Khánh An Monastery also does not have dragon or phoenix figures or brightly coloured decorative motifs like many other pagodas in the South, as this is a feature of Vietnamese royal culture. The hallmark of the monastery is the green of the trees. The architecture here has no dragons, no phoenixes, and no mythical animals.