THIEN MU PAGODA

 Introduce:
As you know, Hue was political and cultural centre of the Feudal state of Viet Nam 
this explains why there are hundreds of historical and cultural remains located in area.
Hue is also known as a Buddhist Centre of Viet Nam. There are more than 300 Pagodas
in Hue. Among those, Thien Mu pagoda is an oldest one with more than 400 years old.
 History of Thien Mu pagoda
The name takes its sourse from a legend. It was told that long time ago, there appeared an
old woman every night on the hill where the pagoda stands today. She told local people
that a Lord would come and build a Buddhist pagoda for the country’s prosperity. Lord
Nguyen Hoang, on hearing that, ordered the construction of a pagoda in 1601 and named
it Thien Mu of the heavenly lady.
 About the sad love story of Thien Mu.
Back in history, when Lord Nguyen ruled in Cochinchina. The ideas of arranged
marriage and “Discord in marriage” are the norm of society. It means that the parents will
decide who you will marry. At that time, there was a rich family girl who fell in love with
an orphan and poor man.
So due to their parents’ forbidding. One day, they came to Thien Mu Boat station (in
front of Thien Mu pagoda).They suicided in the Perfume River. Ironically, the man died,
the girl washed ashore and was rescued by local fishermen. She forced to marry a rich
local official. Over time, the girl gradually forgot the old love and had a new life even she
was not happy.

But the soul of the man in the river still waited for his lover but he did not meet her.
Therefore, he became angry and cursed all the couples who were in love but not yet
married, if they came here together, they would break up sooner or later. Day after day,
time after time, it was like a legend. We do not dare to bring girl/boyfriends here,
including parents, grandparents if they know their children seriously love each other, they
will advise them that: Don’t go to Thien Mu Pagoda together. You can go there by
yourself if you want to go. That’s how we respect and protect the love of the locals in
Hue.

 A monk at Thien Mu Pagoda said: “The curse of love is not available. In the past,
many couples came here and they did something that was not allowed at
Buddhism area. That was the reason why people made up the story of the curse to
remind couples when they wanted to go to the pagoda. "

 Thien Mu pagoda views looked from outside:

*The pagoda area can be divided into 2 sectors separated by the Triple Gate. The front
sector comprises memorials such as: Phuoc Duyen tower, Dai Hong Chung,…

+ Phuoc Duyen tower:

In 1844, on the 80th birthday of Thieu Tri’s grandmother. The pagoda was again
renovated together with the construction of Phuoc Duyen tower. This tower is a symbol
of Thien Mu Pagoda. The tower has an octagon shape with 7 floors. Seven is a sacred
number/ according to Vietnamese Buddhism (It’s said that, when the Buddha was born,
he walked seven steps and each step bloomed a flower/ which is lotus). The tower is 21
meters high. On each of 7 floors, there is a statue of Buddha. Inside the tower, the
staircase is built based on a spiral shape/ from the first floor to the sixth floor. If you want
to go up to the seventh floor, you have to climb up a mobile ladder/ and unlock the door
of the seventh floor because there is a golden Buddha statue there. In sixth floor, there is
a silver Buddha. The rest were made of bronze. Because the up and down of the war, the
golden Buddha was stolen. You can see the door in the first floor. It’s just opened in
some special day such as Tet holiday,…..The monk will put a lot of fruits and incense to
pray for the good things in the future.

+ Dai Hong Chung: The bell, called Dai Hog Chung, was cast in 1710. It’s famous for
the great size, which is 2.5m high and 3,285 kg weigh. It’s made from bronze and a little
bit gold. So, people can hear the sound of this bell from up to six miles away. On the bell,
there was eight words engraved on the surface/ which means long life. This bell also
showed the King’s wishes. He wanted the country will survive for a long time/ and better
in the future.

*The inscribed stela:

A stela dated from 1715. It is 2.58m high. It was set on the back of a big marble turtle/
that is a symbol of longevity /because the turtle has a long life. Nguyen Phuc Chu himself
wrote a description/ describing the construction of the pagoda. You can see a lot of
dragon around the stela. In Vietnam, the images of dragon appear in Royal Palaces,
temples, pagodas and tombs because the dragon represents a country prosperity.
It is believed that if you touch the head of the turtle/ and then you touch on your head,
you will get luck and success in study or career path. The old also do the same/ if they
want to have a long life.

*Dien Dai Hung:

This is the main temple of the pagoda. It was built with the architecture of Hue ancient
house. It is a double house. Outside is 5 gian 2 chai with 5 main parts and 2 sub parts this
house was typically built for the King, not for mandarins and normal people. And inside
is 3 gian 2 chai including 3 main parts and 2 sub parts. Besides, there is one more kind of
this house, 1 gian 2 chai with 1 main part and 2 sub parts, normally it’s used for temples
and pagodas.
This is a happy Buddha who has big ears to listen to people’s miserableness, big tummy
to be tolerant of people’s mistakes/ and big mouth to smile in any circumstances
including difficult situations in life.
It was said that, if you touch the tummy of Happy Buddha, you will be rich in your life. If
you want to have a happy life, you should touch the mouth. And when you touch the ears,
you will have a comfortable life 
There are three statues of the Buddha (which symbolizes past, present, and future lives)
Everybody can come here to pray for peace and happiness.
*Austin Car and The Stupa

+ Walking to the backyard, we will see a beautiful rockery. It is for decoration but also
to be like an air conditioner. To make weather cooler in summer and warmer in the
winter. There is a large yard with many fabulous bonsai trees. Each monk in the pagoda
takes care of one.
+ A bit further, there is an Austin car. The car of Thich Quang Duc Monk who burnt
himself in 1963 to against Ngo Dinh Diem Regime. Asking for the freedom of people to
follow Buddhism. He used to go from his place to the crossroads of Phan Dinh Phung
and Le Van Duyet Street in Sai Gon. When he arrived, he got out of the car and sat down
in the lotus position. Then, he burnt himself to death.
There was a special thing. After he died he was burnt again with 4000°C, but his heart was
still there. People called it: the immortal heart.

+ The last one in the pagoda is the stupa. The grave of the first head monk Thich Don Hau.
The monk contributed a lot to this temple. he had a great influence on the country's
Buddhist background. Venerable Thich Don Hau passed away at Linh Mu Pagoda, Hue in
1992, aged 88 years old. Following the tradition, when normal people died, we put them in
coffins to bury. But to the monks, we do the cremation.