Giac Lam Buddhist Temple

Giac Lam Temple is situated on a large piece of land that is presently encircled by the urban sprawl of the metropolis. The pagoda and its surrounding grounds are entirely enclosed by walls.

Immediate upon arriving through the main gate is the garden, which is dominated by a massive statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara beneath a tall and robust bodhi tree, a species under which Prince Siddhartha sat when achieving enlightenment and becoming Gautama Buddha. The tree in the garden was brought to Vietnam from Sri Lanka by Narada, a notable 20th-century Sinhalese Theravada Buddhist monk recognized for his global efforts to spread the dharma. In addition to the arrival of the tree on June 18, 1953, a sample of Gautama Buddha’s relics also came at the same time.

On June 17, 1994, the Unified Buddhist Congregation of Vietnam held an opening ceremony for a stupa that had been constructed to house the Buddha’s relics. The ritual was followed by the arrival of the Buddha’s relics from Long Van Temple in Binh Thanh, where they have been kept since 1953, when they were delivered by Venerable Narada.

Each storey of the seven-story, hexagonal-shaped stupa is comprised of tiled roofs and entrances. The stupa’s construction began in 1970 under the architectural direction of Vinh Hoang and was briefly halted in 1975, following the fall of Saigon to communist North Vietnam and the disintegration of South Vietnam. However, building was halted for a considerable amount of time and did not resume until 1993. The tower is 32 meters tall and faces east. It is one of the tallest Buddhist buildings in the city and a prominent municipal landmark.

The primary structure of the temple is rectangular, measuring 65 meters in length and 22 meters in width. The building consists of three primary rooms: the main ceremonial hall, the dharma preaching hall, and the dining hall, in addition to additional auxiliary rooms and structures. The temple contains 98 pillars in total. Continuously surrounding the temple, 86 sentences are inscribed in gold paint on the pillars in an eloquent manner. The building’s entrance is ornamented with dragons. The altars in the main ceremonial hall are constructed from expensive wood, which gives them exceptional durability.

The primary altar is dominated by an Amitabha Buddha statue. The five seated figures in front of Amitabha are Sakyamuni Buddha and the four major bodhisattvas: Samantabhadra, Manjusri, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahasthamaprapta. They constitute a group representative of the Mahayanist pagodas of southern Vietnam.

The Giac Lam Temple contains a total of 112 wooden figures with gold paint on their exteriors. In addition, seven bronze statues are present. The statues, tables, and relic tower are all hand-made. The oldest statue is an 18th-century depiction of Gautama Buddha seated on a lotus throne. It is made of wood, is 65 cm in height and 38 cm in width, and is located in the dharma hall. The bronze altar depicting the birth of Prince Siddhartha (Vesak) in the main hall is titled “Nine Dragons.” There are two sets of statues representing 18 arahants. The smaller set consists of statues with a combined height of 57 centimeters; the base measures 7 centimeters and the remaining is the statue’s base. These were made at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The largest set has a total height of roughly 95 cm and a base of 15 cm; it was made in the early 20th century. On either side of the Buddha statue in the main building are two sets of arahant statues.

On the left side of the temple are stupas commemorating the abbots who have presided over the temple: Thich Vien Quang, Thich Hai Tinh, Thich Minh Vi, Thich Minh Khiem, Thich Nhu Loi, and Thich Nhu Phong. The compound also has the stupa of Thich Phat Y, the master of Thich Vien Quang, the abbot of Sac Tu Tu An. In 1923, the remains were relocated to Giac Lam.