Liên Phái Pagoda

Liên Phái Pagoda is a pagoda in the capital city of Hanoi, Vietnam. The pagoda is located in Liên Phái alley, Bạch Mai street, in Cầu Dền ward, Hai Bà Trưng district. Liên Phái has been the name of the pagoda since 1840; previously, it was called Liên Hoa and then Liên Tông.

According to accounts, Liên Hoa Pagoda was established after Prince Trịnh Thập (some sources record as Trịnh Hợp) (born 1696, died 1733), son of Tấn Quang Vương Trịnh Bính, grandson of Lord Trịnh Căn, and royal son-in-law of King Lê Hy Tông (Trịnh Thập married the fourth princess), discovered a lotus shoot after digging the earth on a high mound behind his residence (Hồng Mai ward, later renamed Bạch Mai) to build a shallow pond. Trịnh Thập considered this a sign from the Buddha and believed he had a karmic connection with the Dharma. Therefore, Trịnh Thập decided to convert his residence into Liên Hoa Pagoda, and at the same time, he followed Buddhism, becoming Lân Giác Thượng Sĩ, the abbot of this very pagoda. According to a stone stele carved in the 10th year of Tự Đức (1857) still preserved at the pagoda, the pagoda was built in the 7th year of Bảo Thái (i.e., 1726). In 1733, Trịnh Thập (then only 37 years old) passed away and was buried in the Cứu Sinh Stupa built exactly where the lotus shoot was found. Afterwards, the pagoda was renamed Liên Tông Pagoda. In 1840, the pagoda was renamed Liên Phái as it is today, to avoid the tabooed name of Emperor Thiệu Trị.

Zen Master Như Trừng Lân Giác

Zen Master Tính Dược

Patriarch Khai Sơn

Patriarch Bảo Sơn

Patriarch Từ Phong

Most Venerable Thích Thanh Tuệ (?-6/1992)

Most Venerable Thích Gia Quang (1954) abbot (1992–present)

The pagoda has undergone many renovations, including major repairs in the years Ất Mão (1855) and Kỷ Tỵ (1869). In front of the pagoda gate stands the Diệu Quang Stupa, 10 storeys high with a hexagonal shape; this stupa is built in the style of a Cửu Phẩm Liên Hoa tower and is the oldest stupa with the clearest provenance within the inner city of Hanoi. There are two large ponds on either side of the pagoda gate. Inside the pagoda, there is a spacious courtyard, a ceremonial hall, and the Tam Bảo area, which is the main Buddha shrine. The Tổ house (ancestral hall) is separated from the Tam Bảo by a small courtyard. Additionally, the pagoda has a stele house with 34 steles recording the legends and history of the pagoda as well as the names of those who contributed merit.

Behind the pagoda is a stupa garden with 9 stupas arranged in 3 rows on a high mound, with 2, 5, and 2 stupas respectively. In the middle row stands the Cứu Sinh Stupa made of stone—this is the oldest stupa in inner Hanoi. Around 1890, a beautiful 9-storey stupa was also built in the pagoda.

Apart from Buddha statues, the pagoda also has a statue of Lân Giác Thượng Sĩ and a bell inscribed with the words "Liên Tông tục diện" (meaning "Liên Tông continues to shine brightly").