Dong Thuyen Pagoda is located at Duong Xuan Village, Thuy Xuan commune, south of Hue City. If you want to visit Dong Thuyen, follow the street from Nam Giao to Tu Duc Tomb, pass the Chau Lam pagoda to Tuong Van tower, turn left and go for more than 100 meters, then you will see the pagoda.
At about the end of the XIIIth century, Te Vi, the fith movice and who was born in the same village with the monk Lieu Quang, stayed in Hue to serve his master. After he passed away, novice Te Vi had the stupa built for him. Then he came to the mountain ares near by to build a small pagoda so that he could visit and incense the stupa. The small pagoda was the original palce where Dong Thuyen was built. At the beginning of the XIXth and Thieu Tri, Dong Thuyen was reconstructed on a large scale.
The person of greatest merit to the construction of the pagoda on a large scale and to the generation of the pagoda’s long term income was princess Ngoc Co, the thrteeth daughter of Emperor Gia Long, with the religious nae of Hai Chau. She became anun at this pagoda.
During the first of this century, having no high-ranking monk living in, the pagoda was left deserted and devastated in theend of 1975, the great nun Thich Nu Dieu Khong agreed to be the headnun of the Dong Thuyen pagoda. together with her confidential disciple, Nun Thich Nu Dieu Dat, she consistently carried out the renovation and reconstruction of Dong Thuyen pagoda into a mangificent one used as a self-sudy and research for scholars, monk, nuns and buddhists everywhere. In 1987, the task was implemented. It took two years to accomplish the main temple, the triplegate, two crab-shell shaped houses bordering Thien That and Tang Duong on either side connecting to the second house. Other subsidiary works such as the monks’ house, kitchen, production house are all big and well-equipped.
In the process of renovation, the aesthetic architecture and sculpture of the beginning of the Nguyen dynasty’s time have were reserved. Many ancient treasures are kept here, such as the bronze bell from monk Te Vi’s time, the biggest drum in Hue (Dong Thuyen drum, Linh Mu bell), cast in early Nguyen dynasty’s time, the biggest stle from Minh Mang’s time, the redand gold gilt dign from Thieu Tri’s time and the Buddhist Trinity in the of temple.
It is worth noticing that Dong Thuyen pagoda has a predestined affinity to femake buddhists believers. Today, this pagoda is considered a nuns’ pagoda managed by the Head Nun Thich Nu Dieu Khong. Dong Thuyen pagoda has enough conditions to organize Thien Lam buddhistic study school or buddhistic Nun school on a nation wide level.
Copyright by Phong Nha Pioneer Travel
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