Tây An Temple is a notable Buddhist temple in southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

, near the town of

Châu Đốc Châu Đốc is a city in An Giang Province, bordering Cambodia, in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2013, the city had a population of 157,298, and cover an area of . The city is located by the Hậu River (a branch of the Mekong Rive ...

An Giang Province An Giang () is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the southwestern part of the country. Geography An Giang occupies a position in the upper reaches of the Mekong Delta. The Hậu Giang and Tiền Giang branches of ...

in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

, known for its historic and architectural features.

History

The temple was built by the Governor of An Giang, Doãn Uẩn, in 1847. The temple is located near

Sam Mountain Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

, five kilometres from Châu Đốc. The ''Đại Nam nhất thống chí'', the official chronicles 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, ...

that ruled Vietnam at the time noted that the temple stood on a mountain overlooking the town and the province, praising its scenery and vibrancy. In the past century and a half, the temple has been renovated many times, two of which stand out above the others. In 1861, Thích Nhất Thừa renovated the main hall and the patriarch hall at the rear. In 1958, Thích Bửu Thọ raised funds to refurbish the main hall, the front of the temple and erect a three-storey tower. The temple's architecture fuses Indian styles with local motifs. At the front near the triple gate is a statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. On the front pavement are two elephants statues, a black one with two tusks and a white one with six tusks. Inside the main hall are approximately 200 statues of

Buddhas In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point ou ...

, bodhisattvas,

arahant In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

atula Athula ( IAST: Atula) was a Sanskrit-language poet from the Mushika Kingdom in present-day Kerala, India. He composed the ''Mushika-vamsa'', a mahakavya Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of India ...

s ,and devas, mostly made of wood. All of these date back to the 19th century and were crafted by local artisans from An Giang and nearby Đồng Tháp Province. The rear of the temple has various stupas dedicated to deceased monks. One of the most notable is that of Tây An Master, Đoàn Minh Huyên (1807–1856) from

Sa Đéc Sa Đéc is a Provincial city in Đồng Tháp Province in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam. It is a river port and agricultural and industrial trading center. The Sa Đéc economic zone consists of Châu Thành, Lai Vung and Lấp Vò ...

. He was notable for his travels in the Mekong Delta, 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 ...

from 1849 onwards, before spending his last years at the temple. Tây An hosts traditional Buddhis festivals on an annual basis, the full moon of the first lunar month, the full moon of the tenth lunar month and the twelfth of the eighth lunar month, the death anniversary of the Tây An Master. During these festivals, in addition to the first four lunar months of the year, the temple attracts a large number of pilgrims from all locations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tay An Temple Religious buildings and structures completed in 1847 Buddhist temples in Vietnam Buddhist temples in An Giang Province 1847 establishments in Vietnam