Từ Ân Pagoda

Từ Ân Pagoda, also known as Sắc Tứ Từ Ân Tự (敕賜慈恩寺), was built in the 18th century in the Chợ Đũi area, at a location now within Tao Đàn Park, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). When the French army invaded Gia Định, Từ Ân Pagoda was burned down. Later (in 1870), a new Từ Ân Pagoda was erected in Phú Lâm (now part of District 6, Ho Chi Minh City) to continue the religious lineage and to preserve the remaining artefacts from the old pagoda.

Around the year Giáp Ngọ (1744), Zen master Phật Ý-Linh Nhạc (1725-1821, the first person to bring the Lâm Tế branch of the Bổn Nguyên lineage to southern Vietnam), obeyed his teacher and followed the group of migrants from Đồng Nai heading south. On the journey, the monk met another monk of unknown name, of similar age, and they became sworn brothers. Upon arriving at their new home in Tân Lộc village (some sources write Hoạt Lộc village or Chợ Đũi hamlet), the two monks cleared the forest and built a thatched hermitage (around 1744) to worship the Buddha. A few years later, the anonymous monk separated to establish his own hermitage, a few dozen metres from the original, for convenience in practice.

By the year Nhâm Thân (1752), Zen master Phật Ý-Linh Nhạc renovated the thatched hermitage into a pagoda, naming it Từ Ân Pagoda, with the intention that "thanks to the compassion and grace of the Buddha, the people would have peace, prosperity, and happiness in the new land." Around the same time, the anonymous monk also renovated his hermitage into a pagoda, naming it Khải Tường Pagoda, meaning "to extend blessings to the people." Therefore, when the French colonists invaded Gia Định, they called Khải Tường Pagoda the Front Pagoda (pagode Avancée) and Từ Ân Pagoda the Rear Pagoda.

According to the Đại Nam nhất thống chí of the Nguyễn dynasty, at that time "Từ Ân Pagoda was in Hòa Hưng village, Bình Dương district, the pagoda was splendid and the scenery elegant"....

After a period of spreading the Dharma, the abbot of Khải Tường Pagoda passed away, and Zen master Phật Ý-Linh Nhạc became abbot of both pagodas. Thanks to his talent and virtue, both monasteries became renowned in the Gia Định region.

During the war between the Tây Sơn and Lord Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, both pagodas served as residences for the lord and his entourage (Từ Ân Pagoda for the lord and his officials, Khải Tường Pagoda for the concubines). Later, in gratitude, in 1822, Emperor Minh Mạng conferred the title "Sắc Tứ Từ Ân Tự" on Từ Ân Pagoda.

In the year Tân Tỵ (1821), Zen master Phật Ý-Linh Nhạc passed away at Từ Ân Pagoda, after which his remains were placed in a stupa within the pagoda grounds. Upon hearing of his elder brother's death, Zen master Thiệt Thành-Liễu Đạt (who had been Tăng cang—chief monk—of Thiên Mụ Pagoda in Huế since 1817), hurriedly requested the emperor's permission to resign and return to serve as abbot of Từ Ân, his former pagoda. In 1823, Zen master Thiệt Thành-Liễu Đạt self-immolated, not wishing to be bound by an emotional attachment to a royal lady (the elder sister of Emperor Gia Long, Dharma name Tế Minh-Thiên Nhật), who was a lay devotee and had studied the Dharma with him.

Afterwards, Zen master Tế Chánh-Bổn Giác succeeded as abbot, followed by Zen master Tế Tín-Chánh Trực. During the latter's tenure, both Từ Ân and Khải Tường pagodas suffered from the ravages of war when the French invaded. According to records, Khải Tường Pagoda was occupied by the French as a fort; Từ Ân Pagoda was burned down after the monks fled, "only managing to save and hide a few items, which is why Từ Ân Pagoda near Chợ Gạo (Phú Lâm) today still preserves some commemorative artefacts."

After many vicissitudes of history, in the year Canh Ngọ (1870), a new Từ Ân Pagoda was built in Phú Lâm (now District 6, Ho Chi Minh City) to continue the religious lineage and to preserve the remaining artefacts from the old pagoda. There are still many horizontal boards and parallel sentences donated from various places on the occasion of the pagoda's inauguration, attesting to this. At that time, the abbot was Venerable Như Bằng-Thanh Ấn.

Although the new Từ Ân Pagoda's architecture is rather modest compared to before, it still preserves many valuable artefacts inside, including:

-Two carved wooden horizontal boards, lacquered and gilded: one inscribed "Sắc Tứ Từ Ân Tự" and two inscribed "Quốc Ân Khải Tường Tự" (brought here after both pagodas suffered from war during the French colonial period).

-Wooden ancestral tablets of the patriarchs, among which are tablets for the patriarchs who founded the Bổn Nguyên lineage brought from China. Notably, there is also a tablet for the royal lady beside that of Zen master Thiệt Thành-Liễu Đạt.

-Hundreds of volumes of sutras, vinaya, and treatises in Han and Nôm scripts from previous centuries. The most precious among these is the complete set of Ngũ gia tông phái ký, certified by Tăng cang of Thiên Mụ Pagoda, Tiên Giác-Hải Tịnh, in 1875. This set (three volumes) is the first to mention Buddhism in Gia Định and southern Vietnam.

In addition, there are many horizontal boards and parallel sentences from various pagodas donated on the occasion of the pagoda's inauguration (1870), etc.

In the early period of the reclamation of Gia Định, Từ Ân Pagoda (and Khải Tường Pagoda) contributed to the stability and development of Buddhist beliefs in the new land, through their early and almost exemplary presence in the region.

From this pagoda, monks spread the Dharma to many places, such as Đồng Nai, Tây Ninh, Thuận Hóa, the six provinces, etc. It is therefore not surprising that during the reigns of Emperors Gia Long and Minh Mạng, many Zen masters from here were invited to the capital, to teach in the royal court, to be appointed Tăng cang, or to be assigned as abbots of Thiên Mụ Pagoda, Giác Hoàng Pagoda, etc. in Huế. Notable figures include: Thiệt Thành-Liễu Đạt (later Tăng cang of Thiên Mụ Pagoda), Tổ Đạt-Trí Thâm (later abbot of Khải Tường Pagoda), Tổ Ấn-Mật Hoằng (later abbot of Đại Giác Pagoda in Đồng Nai), Tổ Tông-Viên Quang (later abbot of Giác Lâm Pagoda), Tiên Giác-Hải Tịnh (later Tăng cang of Thiên Mụ Pagoda), etc. All this shows that Từ Ân Pagoda was truly a "cradle", a "Buddhist centre" in Gia Định and the southern provinces at that time....

In Ho Chi Minh City, there is another Từ Ân Pagoda, located at 28-30 Hùng Vương Street, District 11. This pagoda was built in 1957, and later Venerable Hoằng Tu renovated and expanded it in 1967 and in recent years. This is a Chinese Buddhist pagoda, belonging to the Tào Động lineage, and is not the ancient pagoda discussed in this article.

Thích Thanh Từ, Vietnamese Zen Masters. Published by the Ho Chi Minh City Buddhist Association, 1992.

Nguyễn Hiền Đức, History of Buddhism in Đàng Trong. Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House, 1995.

Võ Văn Tường, Famous Pagodas of Vietnam, Culture-Information Publishing House, 1994.

Articles in the book "Scientific Conference on 300 Years of Buddhism in Gia Định-Sài Gòn-Ho Chi Minh City" (abbreviated as "Conference"), Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House, 2002, including:

-Thiền Hòa tử Huệ Chí, "The Early Days of Buddhism in Gia Định-Sài Gòn".

-PTS. Trần Hồng Liên, "The Role of Từ Ân Pagoda in the Development of Buddhist Culture in Gia Định".

-Huỳnh Ngọc Trảng, "Lost Ancient Pagodas in Old Gia Định".

-Nguyễn Quảng Tuân, "Architecture of Ancient and Modern Pagodas".

-Thích Thiện Nhơn, "The Contribution of Buddhist Education in Gia Định-Sài Gòn-Ho Chi Minh City over 300 Years".