Dai Tue Pagoda

A pagoda on a mountain looks out over a wide land of rivers and water. This is Đại Tuệ Pagoda, on Mount Đại Huệ. It impresses with the size of its buildings and with its scenery.

The pagoda stands at Thăng Thiên Cave, part of the Đại Huệ mountain range, about 450 meters above sea level. Today its official address is Đại Huệ commune, in Nghệ An province. Many older maps and documents still give the commune of Nam Anh in Nam Đàn, because the administrative names have only just changed.

At about 450 meters, the mountain is not very high. It is enough, though, to see the Lam River and the Nam Đàn region from the top. Thanh Chương and Đô Lương lie beyond, and farther away is the way to the sea. When the weather is clear, the view is very wide. That is why people have stopped on this mountain since long ago.

The Đại Nam nhất thống chí is an official geography of the country, compiled by court historians of the Nguyễn dynasty. It records: "Đại Tuệ Pagoda, on Mount Đại Huệ, in Nam Đường district, is also a scenic spot." This comes from a scholarly source, and it shows that the pagoda was noted as a place of natural beauty in earlier times. The pagoda also has other names, Đại Huệ Pagoda and Cao Pagoda. The name Đại Tuệ is tied to the Lady Buddha Đại Tuệ, the main object of worship.

About its origins, a volume on the Buddhist culture of the Nghệ region says that, according to legend, the pagoda dates from the time of Mai Hắc Đế. It adds that, in the same tradition, Hồ Quý Ly rebuilt it. This belongs to belief and legend. No independent record proves it.

What is more certain is the modern rebuilding. In 2009, Nghệ An province held a scientific conference on the pagoda. Work on the main hall then began on March 11, 2012. The restoration plan covers more than 22 hectares and 20 components. Four of them are the main parts. Two are Trình Pagoda and Hạ Pagoda. The other two are Trung Pagoda and Thượng Pagoda. Together they form four clusters of pagodas, rising in tiers from low to high along the shape of the mountain.

On February 19, 2016, the Vietnam Records Association confirmed four records at Đại Tuệ Pagoda. The first is the largest man-made lake at a mountain pagoda. The second is the most ruby statues at a pagoda. The third is the most statues carved from single blocks of mulberry wood. The fourth is the most calligraphy couplets written purely in Vietnamese, in all of Vietnam. These are records of culture and architecture, confirmed as of 2016. Their value is cultural and artistic, not an absolute religious value.

The records of the pagoda also mention many features of the landscape, each with a folk name. Among them are Thạch Ngai and đá Mõ. Then come đá Chuông and a stone well. Next are Thăng Thiên Cave and khe Trúc. Last come khe Mai and Liên Trì, with the Lotus Lake. Each name carries the shape of a mountain, a particular trait of this land.

Spring is the busiest season. The Spring Festival at the pagoda has the character of the Nghệ region. It includes the first writing with the brush at the start of the year, traditional martial arts, sand painting, ví giặm, poetry and a Dharma gathering of flower lanterns. At the Lunar New Year, the pagoda receives tens of thousands of visitors from all over, who come to ask for wisdom and to turn toward goodness.

The message of Đại Tuệ Pagoda is simple and deep: wisdom, devotion to parents, and a turn toward goodness. A visitor stands 450 meters up and looks down at the Lam River winding in the distance. Here it is easy to understand why the people of the Nghệ region have kept this mountain for so many generations.