Nành Pagoda

Nành Pagoda, also known as Pháp Vân Pagoda or colloquially as Chùa Cả, is located in Nành village, Phù Đổng commune, Hà Nội. Nành Pagoda was once dubbed the "Foremost Zen Monastery of Bắc Giang". Nành Pagoda belongs to the system of pagodas worshipping the Four Dharma Goddesses (Tứ Pháp), and is among the largest in northern Vietnam. The pagoda was built during the Lý dynasty. Its scale is quite large, including: a water pavilion (thủy đình), triple gate (tam quan), front hall (tiền đường), bridge, main sanctuary (tam bảo), left and right side halls (tả vu, hữu vu), Patriarch's house (nhà Tổ), Mother Goddess hall (điện Mẫu), and auxiliary areas. The pagoda still preserves many artefacts from the 17th and 18th centuries, such as a bronze bell (1653), bronze gong (1733), three stone steles, and many precious lacquered wooden statues, including the set of Three Buddhas (Tam Thế Phật, statues 0.8m high, lotus base and pedestal 0.7m high), Tuyết Sơn statue (0.73m high), Eight Vajra Warriors (Bát bộ Kim Cang, 1.56m high), Ten Kings of the Underworld (Thập Điện Minh Vương, 1.35m high), Eighteen Arhats (Thập bát La hán, 1.08m high), and the Bà Nành statue, among others. The pagoda's festival is held annually from the 4th to the 6th day of the 2nd lunar month. The pagoda has been ranked as a national architectural and artistic heritage site of Vietnam since 1989.

When Buddhism first entered Vietnam, the monk Khâu Đà La passed through Nành village and stayed for a time. By day, he went about teaching the Dharma, carrying a victory banner, and by night he slept on a rock beneath the banyan tree at the village entrance. In the village, on a mound, he built a thatched hut to worship the Buddha—this was the precursor to the pagoda.

Legend has it that the site of the thatched hut was the head of a Phoenix, while the rock where the monk slept was the bird’s back. Later, layman Tu Định (father of Man Nương) came there, and Khâu Đà La returned to Luy Lâu in Kẻ Dâu.

The village pagoda was originally named Đại Thiền Tự. In the Đinh and Early Lê dynasties, Pháp Vân was additionally worshipped and the pagoda was renamed Pháp Vân Tự, for the following reason: At that time, the statue of Pháp Vân at Dâu Pagoda in Luy Lâu citadel was renowned for its sacredness, so it was brought to Đại La to pray for the people's welfare. When it was returned to Dâu Pagoda, the Thạch Quang Vương Buddha at Dâu Pagoda mysteriously disappeared. At Nành Pagoda, people saw a halo shining atop a plum tree in the pagoda garden. Upon investigation, they found the Thạch Quang Vương Buddha there, so they felled the plum tree and carved a statue of Pháp Vân from it for worship, which proved to be highly efficacious.

The Nành Pagoda festival is a major event in the region, featuring the unique custom of raising the Phan. The Phan is the familiar Buddhist banner (phướn) often seen in pagodas, usually hung from a pole, with a crow holding the tip of the banner atop the pole.

The ceremony takes place at the rock where monk Khâu Đà La slept, which later became a sacred site called Thạch Sàng (Stone Bed).

"There was a master from distant Tây Thiên

Practising Zen, named Khâu Đà La

By day he spread the Dharma near and far

At night he lay on the stone beneath the banyan at the village gate

He built a hut to worship the Buddha solemnly

On the high mound called Phoenix, sacred and spiritual."

Every year, the people of Nành hold the Bàng Bạ festival at Thạch Sàng, carrying the Pháp Vân Buddha there to perform the Đảo Vũ ritual to pray for rain on the 10th day of the 4th lunar month, followed by the Phan raising ceremony.

The Phan pole is "Bách trúc vi hợp chi cửu cấp"—that is, made by joining 100 bamboo stalks of varying lengths, gradually tapering and divided into 9 tiers, with the base bound with many stalks to resemble a stupa. The Phan banner is two-thirds the length of the pole. The Phan pit is 1m deep, with a smooth stone at the bottom. The Phan pole is erected at an angle there; when preparing to raise it, each person lifts a bamboo section, raising the pole, turning it three times clockwise and three times counterclockwise, then setting it upright.

At the end of the festival, the officiant dismantles the Phan pole and distributes the bamboo base to villagers to keep at home for blessings.

The image of the Buddhist Phan pole here bears similarities to a rice plant and its ear of grain.

The Phan banner or Buddhist phướn has many legends regarding its origin. It is a type of flag or ritual object used to adorn the setting of pagodas and ritual platforms, crafted according to descriptions in the scriptures. Bodhisattvas also carry these banners to escort the Buddha, as well as to guide departed souls to the Pure Lands.

The Phan banner at Nành Pagoda, Nành village, has its own local legend.

It is told that long ago in Nành village, there was a boatman on the Thiên Đức (Đuống) riverbank who owned only two loincloths—one new, one worn, which he was wearing. One day, the villagers called for donations to support Pháp Vân Pagoda (Nành), and this man, being devout, wished to donate his new loincloth. The villagers considered this blasphemous, and the man could only explain himself by cutting open his belly to show his sincerity. A crow flew down, took his entrails, and carried them to the banyan tree at the village entrance, at the site of Thạch Sàng.

Afterwards, the villagers understood and held a ritual to clear his name. Each year, they hold a festival to hang the Phan banner (symbolising the entrails) to remind people of the pure and sincere heart when turning to the Three Jewels, transcending all worldly forms—even a loincloth covering the body can become a pure offering; the act of offering lies in the heart.

The Holy Patriarch Zen Master Khâu Đà La, 3rd century CE, one of the first to bring Buddhism to Vietnam, the original founder of Nành Pagoda.

Elder Monk Nguyễn Huệ Chung, Đinh, Early Lê, and Lý dynasties, who hosted King Lý Thái Tổ here.

Elder Monk Phạm Thông Hòa, around 1923.

Most Venerable Thích Mật Trọng (1924–2009), abbot from 1958–2009.

Venerable Thích Hạnh Tùy (current abbot).

In 1583, Empress Dowager Trần Thị Trân of the Mạc dynasty and Princess Phúc Thành sponsored renovations.

In 1675, Duke Phúc Thạch Anh Hào oversaw the construction of the ceremonial hall.

In 1733, Duke Ninh Nguyễn Thọ Tràng oversaw the construction of the rear sanctuary, two side halls, the drum house, and the carving of many Buddha statues.

At the end of the 18th century, Consort Chiêu Nghi Nguyễn Thị Huyền, wife of King Lê Hiển Tông, brought the bell tower and gong tower, built the water pavilion and Thạch Sàng.

In 1923, Elder Monk Phạm Thông Hòa built the Ngũ Môn (Five-Gate) entrance.