Quốc Ân Temple () is a Buddhist temple in the city of Huế, central Vietnam. In the main hall is a banner, containing a verse of praise of the temple and its founder, written by

Nguyễn Phúc Chu Nguyễn Phúc Chu ( vi-hantu, , 1675 – 1 June 1725) was one of the Nguyễn lords who ruled southern Vietnam (Dang Trong) from 1691 to 1725.Anh Thư Hà, Hồng Đức Trần ''A Brief Chronology of Vietnam's History'' 2000 Page 163 "Nguy� ...

, one of the

Nguyễn lords Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this su ...

who once ruled central and southern Vietnam and the city of Huế. The temple is situated on a small hill in the ward of Trường An in the city of Huế. It is located about from the Phú Cam bridge that spans the

Perfume River The Perfume River ( or ; ) is a river that crosses the city of Huế, in the central Vietnamese province of Thừa Thiên-Huế. In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Huế fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma, ...

, which passes through Huế. The temple was founded by Zen Master Thích Nguyên Thiều (1648–1728), between 1682 and 1685, and was known as the Vĩnh Ân Temple. Thích Nguyên Thiều was originally from China, and was a disciple of Thích Khoáng Viên, from Guangdong in southern China. In 1677, he immigrated to southern Vietnam by boat, to settle in territory ruled by the

. He had initially arrived in Bình Định further south, founding the ''Chùa Thập Tháp Di-đà'' (Vietnamese for ''Temple of the Ten Towers of Amitabha''). After building his first temple, he travelled the region expounding the

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

, before travelling to Huế to found the Hà Trung Temple in Vinh Hà district before moving to the Ngự Bình mountain district to build the Vĩnh Ân Temple. In 1689, the Nguyễn Lord Nguyễn Phúc Trân had the name of the temple changed to the Quốc Ân Temple, and gave the temple an exemption from the land taxation system. Chùa Quốc Ân is the seat of a Buddhist patriarch lineage of central Vietnam, since Zen Master Thích Nguyên Thiều was the 33rd patriarch of the Lâm Tế Zen School. Today, the bulk of Buddhists in central and southern Vietnam are believed to have taken refuge under Thích Nguyên Thiều's lineage of disciples and students. After the passing of Thích Nguyên Thiều, the ruling Nguyễn Lord of the time, Nguyễn Phúc Chu posthumously conferred him with imperial titles. During the time of the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...

, which was founded in 1802 and was derived from the Nguyễn lords, the temple was renovated many times. In 1805 Long Thành, the elder sister of Emperor

Gia Long Gia Long ( (''North''), ('' South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unif ...

personally funded a renovation project. At the time, the temple was a modest and simple. In 1822, the temple was the subject of another imperial funded renovation project, this time funded by

's son and successor, Emperor

Minh Mạng Minh Mạng () or Minh Mệnh (, vi-hantu, 明命, lit. "the bright favour of Heaven"; 25 May 1791 – 20 January 1841; born Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, also known as Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu) was the second emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of V ...

. In 1825, the abbot died and a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

was built in the garden of the temple, in which his remains were interred. The temple was the subject of another phase of expansion and renovation between 1837 and 1842. From 1846 to 1863, a triple gate was built, along with further shrines. At the front of the temple complex is the main ceremonial hall, while the patriarch hall is at the rear, while the sangha's quarters are at the sides. The main hall has a shrine commemorating the birth of Prince Siddhartha, who went on to achieve enlightenment as Gautama Buddha. In the front yard of the temple, there is a plaque in 1729 erected by the Nguyễn Lord of the time, Nguyễn Phúc Chu, praising the spiritual achievements of the temple founder, Thích Nguyên Thiều.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quoc An Temple Buddhist temples in Vietnam Buddhist temples in Huế