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News Detail

  Pilgrimage to Bai Dinh pagoda spring festival (09/05/2013 13:57:43)
The Creator affectionately d for Ninh Binh province a poetic and fascinating landscape. In gigantic mountains, creature has multiplied and settled chronologically. Nowadays, in this sacred land, each vegetation, each flagstone bears the impression of the past and the present. And when spring comes, in Hoa Lu ancient capital, we as well as millions of Buddhistic followers and visitors from everywhere are eager to go on pilgrimage to Bai Dinh pagoda.

As planned to travel to the ancient capital and worship the Buddha before festival season, it is a good opportunity for us to enjoy quietness, and contemplate the pagoda landscape, poetic mountains and rivers, and not to cope with traffic jam and overcrowding as it was in previous festivals. Bai Dinh pagoda is an architectural complex located on Bai Dinh mountain, about 250m high compared to the sea level, and about 15 km northwestern of Ninh Binh city, in Gia Sinh commune, Gia Vien district. This pagoda complex includes an ancient Bai Binh pagoda (built from 1136) and new Bai Dinh pagoda (built from 2003).



The ancient Bai Dinh pagoda is about 800m far from the three-tense Buddha sanctum of new Bai Dinh pagoda in southeastern direction on Dinh mountain slope, it is rather quiet. The ancient pagoda was built from the Dinh dynasty (1136) but featured with impressions and ancient objects in architecture of the Ly dynasty. In 1997, this pagoda was recognized as the national historical and cultural relic. The pagoda includes a sanctum in the middle, on the right side is the Light cave worshiping Buddha, and Cao Son God temple near the end of back door of the cave; on the left side is the Saint Nguyen temple, next is the Dark  cave worshiping Motherly Goddess. Legend has it that this site was in “sacred land with extraordinary people”, generating King, Saint, and God. 

The new Bai Dinh pagoda is located on area of 80ha, on the other side of the mountain in comparison with the ancient pagoda, western of Hoa Lu ancient capital. This is a big complex including many works such as: three-tense Buddha sanctum, Lord Buddha sanctum, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva sanctum, Buddhist tower, bell-tower, Buddhist academy, reception areas and other auxiliary works…The pagoda is highlighted with big and magnificient architecture, at first sight it looks similar to Japanese or Chinese pagoda, but deeply featured with Vietnamese architectural style when almost materials used are from local area. 



The most typical difference in Bai Dinh pagoda is the roof in dark brown with its curve finials and corner eaves soaring outward and upward, likened to the phoenix's tail. Decorative items also reflect quintessential features of traditional handicraft villages well known in Vietnam such as: Van Lam Embroidery, Cat Dang Lacquer,..Artisans skillfully used local materials such as: iron wood, blue stone of Ninh Binh or enameled tiles of Bat Trang…to create purely Vietnamese features in the pagoda architecture.


Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival is opened in January 6th and prolonged to the end of Spring. However, on days before the festival opening day and in the New Year holidays, all caves, pagodas on Bai Dinh mountain can be seen with spiralling incense-smoke. The festival atmosphere covers all this peaceful rural area.

The worshiping in Bai Dinh pagoda is solemnly organized because it not only worships Gods, Buddha, Forest Motherly Goddess but also relates closely to great historical events of Vietnam with famous persons: Saint Nguyen, Quang Trung, Dinh Bo Linh. As such, the worshiping is related to religions and beliefs of Vietnam such as Natural beliefs, Buddism, Confucianism, etc…On the festival day, local people recemonially carry on God procession from the cave. Flags, drums are at the front and followed by an Octet. Elegant boys and girls carry God sedan, and old men and old women heartily see off the God, solemnly but still joyful.
 
Attending Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival, we felt beloving of nature, the country in the historical festival, and more penetrated and proud of the past of national construction and defense by our predecessors. The sacred atmostphere in worshiping Buddha in Bai Dinh pagoda brought to us good aspirations, faithful mind towards honesty. And such expectations made us more cheery and belove this life. Each one finds peace and quiet in his or her mind towards the true, the good and the beautiful when a new year hopefully comes.
 By Phuong Dzung
 



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