Vietnam is the country of pagodas and temples. And Tran Quoc Pagoda is the oldest one among others in Hanoi capital city. It is seated on an island beside the poetic West Lake.
Tran Quoc Pagoda was constructed from 544 until 548 on the bank of Red River under the reign of King Ly Nam De. In the beginning time, the pagoda had the name of “Khai Quoc” which means “Opening the country”. After that, in the middle of 15th century, under the reign of King Le Thai Tong, the pagoda had the name “An Quoc” which means a peaceful country. Because of the river bank crumbling, An Quoc Pagoda was moved to a small islet in the West Lake called Golden Fish as today and it changed its name again to “Tran Quoc” with the meaning of developing and protecting the country.
There is a Bodhi tree standing in the pagoda’s garden, which is attached to a past story. The story tells that in 1959, Indian Prime Minister Razendia Prasat offered the Pagoda a Bodhi tree as a gift on his first visit to Vietnam. This Bodhi tree was grafted from the hole Bodhi tree in India where Buddha sat in zen position and achieved enlightenment 25 centuries ago.
Tran Quoc Pagoda is a center of Buddhism in Hanoi. The first day and the fifteen day of each lunar month, especially in Lunar New Year occasion or traditional Buddhism day, there are many Buddhist followers gathering in this pagoda to pray for peace, happiness, wealth or even a baby boy. Or else, this is also a good place to say apology for bad things what you did in the past. In the pagoda, there are many valuable statues and stelaes such as Mother Goddess or Buddha gets into Nirvana.
This pagoda is a beautiful place in Hanoi for looking at sunset. For your Hanoi day tours, with its historical and cultural values it possesses, Tran Quoc Pagoda is not only a religious place for Buddhist followers but also an indispensable attraction in Hanoi for cultural explorers on their trip to Vietnam.
