Nhất Trụ Pagoda

Nhất Trụ Pagoda is an ancient pagoda from the 10th century, located within the special protection zone of the Hoa Lư Ancient Capital relic complex (Ninh Bình). The pagoda still preserves many antiquities associated with the history of the formation of the Hoa Lư capital, the most prominent of which is the stone Buddhist scripture pillar in front of the pagoda courtyard. This is a national treasure, and researchers are currently preparing a dossier to propose UNESCO recognition as a world documentary heritage.

Nhất Trụ Pagoda, together with Am Tiên Pagoda, Kim Ngân Pagoda, Cổ Am Pagoda, and Duyên Ninh Pagoda, are ancient pagodas from the Đinh–Lê dynasties that remain within the grounds of the Hoa Lư citadel to this day. Among them, Nhất Trụ Pagoda is located at the centre of the eastern citadel and is the most important relic. The pagoda was a place of religious practice and state affairs meetings for 10th-century monks such as Pháp Thuận, Khuông Việt, and Vạn Hạnh.

Nhất Trụ Pagoda is situated next to Yên Thành đình (communal house), very close to the temple of Princess Phất Kim and the temple of King Lê Đại Hành. These relics all belong to the ancient village of Yên Thành, Trường Yên commune, Ninh Bình. The pagoda is built in the shape of the Chinese character "đinh" (丁), facing due west, and consists of the Lăng Nghiêm scripture pillar, the main hall, the patriarchs' hall, guest room, dining hall, and various stupas.

Nhất Trụ Pagoda is so named because in front of the pagoda stands a stone Buddhist scripture pillar called Nhất Trụ (Lăng Nghiêm scripture pillar), which has been classified as a National Treasure. The Buddhist scripture pillar at Nhất Trụ Pagoda is over 4 metres tall, has 8 sides, and is composed of 6 parts assembled together with stone tenons, including: a square base slab 30 cm thick, each side measuring 140 cm, with a round mortise hole in the centre. The round base has a diameter of 76 cm, with a tenon at the bottom that fits snugly into the mortise of the square base. On the surface of the round base is a mortise 9 cm deep. The octagonal pillar shaft is over 2.0 m high, with a cross-section measuring 65 cm across opposite faces at the top and 61 cm at the bottom. Both ends of the pillar have tenons that fit into the base and the cap. The octagonal cap is 13 cm thick, 69 cm across opposite faces, with a mortise underneath that fits the tenon on top of the octagonal shaft. Above the cap is a stone lotus flower symbol, 26 cm high, with undulating rim lines forming 8 sharp points; the lower part of the lotus narrows into a circle, and the top has a round mortise for attaching the finial. The finial is shaped like a gourd with a constricted waist and blunt mouth, 80 cm high, 30 cm in diameter. Around the square slab at the base of the pillar is a circle 107 cm in diameter decorated with lotus petals, comprising 22 single petals, each 15–17 cm long and 13 cm wide. The lotus petals are slender, similar to those decorating some other stone structures in the relic complex... On the eight faces of the octagonal shaft, there are inscribed Han characters, estimated at about 2,500 characters, many of which have faded and are no longer fully legible; about 1,200 characters can still be read or identified. Due to the effects of weather and environment, the number of legible characters is now very limited. The faces of the scripture pillar are inscribed with mantras from the Lăng Nghiêm Sutra and several gāthās. This stone pillar was erected around the year 995. On the stone pillar, the words "Đệ tử Thăng Bình Hoàng đế tả tạo" (Disciple Thăng Bình Emperor, i.e. Emperor Lê Hoàn) can still be seen.

When speaking of stone carving art in the flow of Vietnamese culture, one must mention stone Buddha statues and stone steles, of which the stone scripture pillar at Nhất Trụ Pagoda is a surviving example. In prehistoric times, from tools to all utensils were made of stone: stone axes, stone knives, stone ploughshares... Thus, stone is the all-powerful echo from ancient times, now transformed into spiritual energy. Stone scripture pillars first appeared in China in 971, when the Song Emperor had the Tripitaka carved onto stone pillars as an offering. Just two years later, Nam Việt Vương Đinh Liễn, son of Emperor Đinh Tiên Hoàng, had 100 stone Buddhist scripture pillars erected, inscribed with the Dhāraṇī Sutra at Hoa Lư. From then on, a tradition of stone scripture pillars began in Vietnamese culture.

The Hoa Lư scripture pillar is a symbol of the Dharma in the Buddhist Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), with the wish to create Buddhist scriptures that would endure for generations. After the Đinh dynasty, Lê Hoàn had a stone scripture pillar erected at Nhất Trụ Pagoda. From then on, the Vietnamese people have maintained the tradition of erecting stone scripture pillars in front of Buddhist shrines.

When excavating the soil of the ancient capital Hoa Lư, about 2 km from the temple of King Đinh, archaeologists discovered nearly 20 scripture pillars from the Đinh dynasty. These are octagonal stone pillars, about 0.5 m to 0.7 m long. All of these pillars are inscribed with the "Phật đỉnh tôn thắng đà la ni" mantra. These Đinh pillars were erected in different years. On one scripture pillar found in 1964, in addition to the above mantra, there is also a rather long gāthā in Han script, related to the Mahāyāna Buddha Hall.

The cultural value of Nhất Trụ Pagoda within the Hoa Lư ancient capital relic complex is expressed in the parallel sentence:

Tràng An thắng cảnh hoàng đô thủy

Nhất Trụ danh lam Phật tích linh.

Translated as: Tràng An, the scenic original capital / Nhất Trụ, a famous site where the Buddha's traces remain.

In the later capital of Thăng Long, Lý Thái Tông, the maternal grandson of Emperor Lê Đại Hành, also built the One Pillar Pagoda, which shares many architectural features with Nhất Trụ Pagoda in the ancient capital of Hoa Lư.

The Nhất Trụ Pagoda festival, together with those of eight other ancient pagodas in the Hoa Lư ancient capital, Trường Yên commune, takes place during the Trường Yên festival in the first days of the third lunar month each year.

Every year, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the pagoda holds the "khao tống thuyền rồng" ceremony, a Buddhist ritual praying for national peace and prosperity. On the night of the Lantern Festival, there is a poetry gathering in memory of Zen master Đỗ Pháp Thuận. On the 8th day of the fourth lunar month, the pagoda holds the "lập hạ" ceremony, praying for favourable weather and abundant harvests.