Phước Lâm Pagoda

Phước Lâm Pagoda, also known as Ông Miêng Pagoda, is an ancient pagoda located in Xóm Chùa Hamlet, Tân Lân Commune, Tây Ninh Province, Vietnam.

In 1880, a physician and landowner in Tân Lân village, Mr. Bùi Văn Minh, took the initiative to build this pagoda both to worship the Buddha and to serve as the ancestral hall for the Bùi family. The pagoda's Sino-Vietnamese name is Phước Lâm Tự (福林寺), however, it is commonly referred to as Ông Miêng Pagoda by locals due to the custom of avoiding the personal name Minh. Because of his contributions to the village, Mr. Minh was honoured as a revered ancestor after his death and included in the communal worship at Tân Lân đình (communal house).

In its overall layout, the pagoda consists of three parts: the main hall and ancestral hall, the stupa area, and the kitchen building. The main hall is a large house built in the 'bánh ít' style, with a green stone foundation and brick walls. All the pagoda's columns are made of precious wood in a round cylindrical shape, set on green stone bases, connected by a system of beams, trusses, and roof frames, creating a spacious and airy interior. The interior of Phước Lâm Pagoda's main hall still retains its ancient features despite many renovations, with more than 40 statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, the Jade Emperor, Attendants, the Ten Kings of Hell, Good and Evil spirits, Dharma Protectors, Vajrapāṇi, and many sets of elaborately gilded and lacquered decorative panels, horizontal boards, and couplets. Most of the Buddha statues are made of wood and bronze, crafted in the 19th century with an artistic style rich in Southern Vietnamese Buddhist culture.

Notably, the roof architecture employs the 'đấu-củng' (bracket set) structure in the architectural style of the Lý–Trần dynasties of Vietnam, roofed with traditional yin-yang glazed tiles. This is a representative work in the restoration of ancient Vietnamese architectural images, especially from the glorious period of the Lý and Trần dynasties.

On 28 December 2001, the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) issued Decision No. 53/2001-QĐ-BVHTT, recognising the pagoda as a national-level architectural and artistic heritage site.