Located in Dai Dinh commune, Tam Dao district on Tay Thien Mountain, 85km west of Hanoi, it is considered one of the most impressive and peaceful monasteries in Vietnam together with the Zen Monastery in Da Lat in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong and the Yen Tu Monastery in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

This year’s festival features a van (spiritual) singing by troupes from ten northern provinces since March 26.

Other traditional festivities and rituals observed by 30 researchers honour the Goddess of Tay Thien.

Legend has it that the Goddess of Tay Thien is Lang Thi Tieu, Hung Chieu Vuong’s Queen (2450 BCE), who helped the king defeat invaders and teach the people how to grow rice and develop handicrafts. Apart from the Tay Thien Monastery, she has been worshipped at 71 other temples and pagodas in the local area.

Dang Van Bai, former director of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Heritage Department, said that worshipping the Goddess of Tay Thien is part of the Holy Mother Religion of the Vietnamese, a long-standing religion that has greatly influenced a large area. He also emphasized two intangible features of the religion including van singing and hau dong (mediumship).

During the three-day festival, various activities will be held such as displays by the San Diu ethnic group, folk singing and cooking rice contests and folk games.

Built on the ruins of an ancient pagoda, the Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery sits majestically on the top of the mountain, where the red tips of its tile-covered roof can be seen through the pine trees from below. The Zen Monastery was officially inaugurated on November 27, 2005. Every detail was considered very ornate, from the carved pictures on the doors to the embossed works on the walls, ceilings, and pillars.

In addition to the monastery, there are support buildings constructed in the ancient architectural style including a library, museum, meditation house for monks, and temples in honour of the three founders of Truc Lam Zen.

Walking around the buildings, visitors can almost taste the tranquility in the air of the mountainous landscape and holy temples.