Linh Sơn Pagoda (Ba Thê)

Linh Sơn Pagoda, also known as the Four-Armed Buddha Pagoda of Ba Thê Mountain, is located in Óc Eo commune (formerly Vọng Thê commune, Thoại Sơn district), An Giang province, Vietnam. This is a national-level heritage site and one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations in the province.

Linh Sơn Pagoda was built in 1913 (and has been renovated in recent years), about 2 km east of Vọng Thê market. The pagoda stands on a high mound, shaded by large ancient trees, on the slope of Ba Thê mountain, next to the Nam Linh Sơn Tự Archaeological Site, which belongs to the Óc Eo cultural complex.

In 1913, local people discovered a four-armed Buddha statue in a standing posture, 1.7 m tall, buried about two metres underground in a residential area near Ba Thê market. Previously, people had also found two steles made of mudstone, about 1.8 m high and 0.22 m thick, inscribed with ancient script that many researchers believe could be the writing of the ancient Funan people. Therefore, the local people at that time contributed labour and resources to build a pagoda named Linh Sơn Tự to worship the Buddha statue and preserve the ancient steles.

In 1988, Linh Sơn Pagoda was classified as a national architectural and artistic heritage site by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).

In 2012, the pagoda was again listed as a typical architectural form within the Óc Eo - Ba Thê Archaeological and Artistic Architectural Heritage Complex, which was recognised as a Special National Heritage Site by the Prime Minister of Vietnam under Decision No. 1419/QĐ-TTg dated 27 September 2012. The heritage listing dossier of the Department of Cultural Heritage states:

Linh Sơn Tự (Linh Sơn Pagoda) was built on the foundations of an ancient architectural structure. The pagoda currently preserves a statue of the god Vishnu, two stone steles, and many valuable artefacts.

According to some experts, both of these antiquities date from about the 2nd to the 6th centuries AD.

The four-armed Buddha statue bears the artistic motif of Brahmanism originating from India, similar to the worship statue of Bà Chúa Xứ on Sam mountain (Châu Đốc). In fact, this statue is carved in the style of the god Vishnu, with a seven-headed naga serpent forming a canopy behind, a motif commonly found in beliefs influenced by Brahmanism.

Originally, the statue was black in colour, made from ancient stone. After excavation, people added a base so that the statue would appear seated in the lotus position, and then painted it in various colours, which diminished the sculptural value and the natural beauty of the thousands-of-years-old stone.

On 18 January 1988, the four-armed Buddha statue was officially recognised as an architectural and artistic heritage site by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). On 24 May 2009, the statue and the two ancient stone steles were awarded the titles of oldest and largest in the country by the Vietnam Records Book Centre.

Various authors, An Giang Gazetteer (Volume 2). Compiled and published by the People's Committee of An Giang province, 2007.

Linh Sơn Tự and the 2,000-year-old statue and steles by Kỳ Nguyễn. Archived 11 October 2008 at Wayback Machine

The oldest four-armed Buddha statue in Vietnam. Archived 26 May 2009 at Wayback Machine