Pilgrims throng Bai Dinh Pagoda in first lunar month
VOV.VN -Larger than usual numbers of devotees have swarmed the Bai Dinh Pagoda and Cultural Centre in the northern province of Ninh Binh to pray for a blessed year and good things to happen in the new year, according to temple caretakers.
Located about 90 km from Hanoi, the Bai Dinh Pagoda Complex compound consists of the original old temple and a newly created larger temple. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam. |
So far, the complex has set eight records – Biggest gilt Buddha Shakyamuni statue in Asia, biggest bronze statue of Buddha in Southeast Asia, biggest bronze bell in Vietnam, |
largest pagoda area in Vietnam, longest corridor with 500 Arhat statues, largest number of Arhat statues in Vietnam, largest Ngoc (pearl) Well in Vietnam, and largest number of Bodhi trees in Vietnam. |
Its wooden corridor has a total length of 3,400 metres. |
It houses hundreds of statues of differing sizes and |
in reality is a cluster of unique Buddhist architectural structures. |
The complex is arranged in five layers upward, including the temple’s inner three entrance gate, a bell tower, a temple dedicated to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, |
Phap Chu Temple devoted to the Shakyamuni Buddha, and Tam The Temple dedicated to Buddha. |