Online Travel Vietnam: Bo Da Pagoda, also known as Tu An Tu (Pagoda of Four Graces) or Bo Pagoda for short, is located in Phuong Hoang Mountain, on the left bank of the Cau River.
It was built in the eleventh century under the Ly Dynasty, the golden age of Buddhism in Vietnam, but was badly damaged during wars in the subsequent centuries. It was not until the Revival of Le Dynasty under King Le Du Tong that the pagoda was reconstructed and more or less retains the shape it has today.
In the eighteenth century, the monks at the pagoda thought of carving the Buddhist Sutras on wood to preserve the texts and at the same time use them for the teaching of Buddhism. After three centuries, the woodblocks remain relatively intact and are kept in the back house of the pagoda.
Here, more than 2,000 sutra woodblocks are arranged on 10 bookcases. Each bookcase has 3 shelves, holding about 200 woodblocks. Some large blocks are laid on the tables so that the visitors can see them easily.
Most of the woodblocks are 44cm long, 22 cm wide and 2.5 cm thick or 60cm long, 25cm wide and 2.5 cm thick. Some woodblocks are of a larger size, measuring 150 cm long, 30 cm wide and 2,5cm thick or 110 cm long, 40 cm wide and 2.5 cm thick. The texts on the woodblocks are carved in Chinese, Vietnamese nôm script and Sanskrit.
The Buddhist sutras on thi wood
According to Monk Tu Tuc Vinh, the first woodblocks were carved in 1740 under the reign of King Le Canh Hung. The dating of the last woodblocks, however, remains unknown.
Despite the ravages of time, the engravings still remain in sharp relief and have not been ruined by insects. Besides the written texts, images of the Buddha, the Goddess of Mercy and other arhats are also skillfully carved on the woodblocks.
"All the blocks were carved on thi wood (a kind of persimon). This kind of wood is light, soft, easy for carving, endurable and hardly rots," said Chief Monk Tu Tuc Vinh.
The number of woodblocks at Bo Da Pagoda (more than 2,000) is not as large as that at Vinh Ngiem Pagoda (more than 3,500).
Although the woodblocks at the two pagodas were created in the same period, the contents of the two woodblock collections are different. The sutras at Vinh Ngiem Pagoda expound the Mahayana Buddhism thoughts. Some woodblocks here also present the philosophy of Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen Buddhism.
The woodblocks at Bo Da Pagoda, on the other hand, are based on the three sutras that mainly concern the Goddess of Mercy and the Three Worlds.
According to Nguyen Van Phong, deputy director of Bac Giang Museum, also a researcher in Han Nom (Chinese and classic Vietnamese characters), the large-sized woodblocks were carved with the sutras to be used at some ceremonies or to be printed onto the monk's robes.
As the second largest Buddhist center in Bac Giang, Bo Da Pagoda played a major role in the promotion and development of Buddhism in Vietnam, especially for the school of Lam Te Zen. Because of the great influence of Lam Te Buddhism, many woodblocks at the pagoda were carved with the sutras of Zen Buddhism.
Presenting the doctrine of Indian Buddhism, the woodblocks at Bo Da Pagoda nevertheless manifest the characteristics of Vietnamese culture in the carving patterns and reflect the close ties between the sacred and the secular in Vietnamese society.
Valuable woodblocks in need of protection
The priceless woodblocks at Bo Da Pagoda are kept on the open wooden shelves without any special protection.
According to the head monk, the woodblocks would be more likely to be attacked by insects if they were put inside poorly designed bookcases. So the monks decided to keep them on the open shelves.
On many festival occasions, the pagoda is crowded with visitors. It is possible that someone may take the woodblocks off the shelves to read, then misplace them or even take them away.
According to Nguyen Van Phong, due to the lack of state funds, there have been serious limitations in the preservation of the woodblocks at Bo Da Pagoda.
Until now no attempt has been made at inventory or appraisal of the woodblocks, either of their historical value or the religious value of the contents. Some immediate actions are necessary if these valuable woodblocks are to be preserved for the posterity.
| Outside Bo Da Pagoda is an 8,000 square meter Tower Garden encircled by an old brick wall. The towers here are made of stone and solid brick, coated with lime, molasses and wood-pulp. Most of the towers are 3-5 meter high and have 3 or 4 storeys. Inside 97 towers is the bone-ash of 1,214 monks of Lam Te Buddhism. These towers with the days of birth and death of the monks are a valuable source for researchers on Lam Te Buddhism. |
Source: Tuoitrenews
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