The assimilation of Buddhist culture - Culture of national defense

Even thoughThe Dai Tue Pagoda (also known as Cao Pagoda) has been in ruins for many decades, but it is located on the 465m high peak of Dai Hue Mountain, in Nam Anh Commune, Nam Da District.n) is still a sacred realm in the minds and feelings of the indigenous people and believers throughout the country.

On temple holidays, local people and tourists from all over still flock to the festival, offering tea, fruit, incense, and candles to show gratitude to the sacred Buddha Dai Tue who has saved all living beings, contributing to the peace of the country and the safety of the people.

Groundbreaking ceremony for the road to Dai Tue Pagoda.

The old pagoda only has the old foundation, the old citadel only has rows of stones stacked on top of each other, covered with moss and years, but this simple pagoda made of thatch, bamboo, reeds, and leaves, with simple sacrificial objects, has always been the destination of many literati and visitors. Hoang Giap Bui Duong Lich, La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep, Hiep Tran Bui Huy Bich, Dao Tan,... and many other cultural celebrities came to visit the pagoda, meditate in the lotus pond and left behind for the world poems and prose that will last through the years. The following poem, original Chinese, translated by Professor Nguyen Van Truong:

Small stones are arranged in a circle to the top,

The sky and earth are so vast, my heart is filled with sadness.

The sky rises, the mountains rise

like spreading wings,

The earth molds, the river flows like a fishing rod.

Mountain road through trees

tiger slayer,

Green mountains carry grass for children to herd buffalo.

Cool in the stone well

always full of water,

The worm is only as big as a jar, how can I scoop it all up?

(Dai Tue Pagoda - Bui Huy Bich)

Many researchers of history and culture, past and present, have spent a lot of time researching Dai Tue Pagoda. Many research works on Dai Tue Pagoda have been published at home and abroad, in the mass media. In "Nghe An Ky" (1) by Bui Duong Lich, "National History Institute of the Nguyen Dynasty", "Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi" (2), "National History Institute of the Nguyen Dynasty Dong Khanh Ngo Lam Du Dia Chi Luoc" (3), "Folklore and Cultural Geography of Nghe - Tinh" by Professor Nguyen Dong Chi (4), "Customs of worshiping gods and legends of Nghe An" by Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao (5), "Nghe An with King Quang Trung", many authors (6), "Need to survey the system of historical - cultural relics along the foot of Dai Hue Mountain" (7), "Little-known things about the stone tomb on Dai Hue Mountain" (8) by Van Lam and many other works,... the authors have devoted much effort, concern and have discovered many unique historical - cultural values ​​of this pagoda.

The "Chinese-Vietnamese Buddhist Dictionary" (9) has confirmed: Dai Tue Pagoda existed before Mai Thuc Loan's uprising (627). When he raised an army to fight against the Tang invaders, Mai Thuc Loan relied on the dangerous range from Dun Son to Dai Tue and relied on the power of the Buddha on the mountain to build a citadel and gather people to fight the enemy. The king chose the land at the foot of the mountain, where when looking up, he could see the Buddha on the pagoda to build the citadel. When the Tang invaders were defeated, Mai Thuc Loan destroyed all the citadels and divided the land among the rich. Until now, the people in the area still respectfully call this land Thanh village (now in Nam Thanh commune, Nam Dan).

In the 15th century, while marching south, Ho Quy Ly chose Dai Hue as the place to build a citadel and ramparts as a base against foreign invaders because he realized that this was a dangerous area. Dai Hue is a place where mountains jut out near the sea, bordering plains but dense forests, advancing has the ability to attack, retreating has the ability to defend, the landscape is bright, customs are respectful, high mountains, dense forests, streams are full of water all year round, the people are consensual, gentle, every family is studious, everyone is filial. However, the construction of the citadel by Ho King Ho Quy Ly encountered many difficulties, the citadel was built and then collapsed. One night, Ho King Ho Quy Ly dreamed that Buddha appeared and showed him how to get the red stones from the streams without mortar to build the citadel. From then on, the work went smoothly. In gratitude for the merit of Buddha, King Ho Quy Ly had the Dai Tue Pagoda rebuilt and expanded and entrusted his daughter, Princess Thai Duong, to take care of it day by day with compassion, burning incense, and performing rituals at the pagoda so that the pagoda could devote all its heart to praying for the country's peace and the people's safety. The remains of Ho Quy Ly Citadel still remain, which are stone embankments 1.2 - 1.5m wide, the height of which has collapsed to only 0.3 - 0.4m.

On the way to the North, Quang Trung's army chose Dai Hue as a stop to continue to gather talents, recruit soldiers, add food, and train elite soldiers. One night, a monk from Dai Tue Pagoda came to the headquarters to meet the king to propose a plan "Marching to the North along the Non Bang route". According to the plan of the monk from Dai Tue Pagoda, the army marched to the North, both close and secret. Traveling among the people, the army was warmly welcomed by the people wherever it went. Young men joined the army in droves, food was abundantly supplied, and morale soared. After a great victory over the Qing army on the way back to Thuan Hoa, the king personally went to thank the grace of Buddha Dai Tue and issued an edict to cut off more than 20 hectares of "first-class fields" for the pagoda to cultivate for rice, do good deeds, and take care of incense on holidays. Up to now, although these fields are managed by agricultural cooperatives in Nam Anh, the villagers still respectfully call these surplus fields temple fields. To thank King Quang Trung for his kindness, the monks in charge of the temple presented a letter requesting to change the name to Dai Hue Temple (great kindness). Around the temple, there are many traces of King Quang Trung. The open space in front of the temple yard is called Bai Tap, according to legend, this is where Quang Trung trained his soldiers in how to attack the citadel. To the southeast of the temple, there is a banyan tree hundreds of years old. Legend has it that this is the banyan tree Quang Trung planted as a souvenir before saying goodbye to the temple and returning to Thuan Hoa. This banyan tree died less than 40 years ago. Around the temple, there are a number of rocks arranged in a tripod shape, some of which have Chinese characters engraved on them. The monks in charge still remind everyone that this was the kitchen of the Tay Son soldiers' camps. Therefore, the people here have carefully preserved and called these rocks Chef Stones.

Located 30m to the Northeast of the pagoda, there is an ancient tomb identified as the tomb of one of the abbots of the pagoda, the identity and time of burial have not been determined. About 30m away from this tomb, there is a tomb made of stone. Local people and some psychics believe that this is the tomb of King Canh Thinh (son and successor of King Quang Trung). Every year, on the 20th day of the 10th lunar month, descendants of the Ho family in Nam Dan and local people still come to burn incense and hold a memorial service for him. The legend of this tomb is as follows: Although he was wholeheartedly taught by La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep, he had no great ambition and talent, so King Canh Thinh (1792-1801) succeeded his father but could not continue his father's will. Due to consecutive failures in Nguyen Anh's military campaigns, in 1801, Emperor Canh Thinh had to leave Phu Xuan and flee to the North. Arriving in Nghe An, the king went to Dai Tue Pagoda to pray for the grace and power of Buddha. Faced with the unprecedented situation of the king, the abbot of the pagoda chose from his confidants, a man who looked like King Canh Thinh to disguise himself as King Canh Thinh and go to the North to ask for an audience. Arriving at Lang Son, this fake king was promptly captured by General Nguyen Van Thanh and brought back to Thuan Hoa. King Gia Long ordered his execution. The real King Canh Thinh shaved his head and became a monk, stayed at Dai Tue Pagoda and became a nun there. The descendants of the Ho family in Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, and the monks and Buddhists of the pagoda buried him on the mountain, burned incense, and worshiped him. Every year, on the 20th of the 10th lunar month, King Canh Thinh's death anniversary is solemnly celebrated by the pagoda and the descendants of the Ho family.

Despite the destruction of war and nature, around Dai Hue mountain there are still many precious historical artifacts, with historical and cultural value. That is the stone stele (a corner is missing) placed on the back of a stone turtle with two-sided Chinese characters engraved on it. Some of the characters are no longer intact. Unfortunately, the content of this stele has not been translated. Behind the pagoda is a flat land, about 40m wide, the local people call it Thang Thien, where the immortals descended to earth to play chess. There are still traces of the flagpole of the Tay Son insurgents. The pagoda's foundation also has some boulders, broken bricks, tiles, three collapsed walls (building materials: bricks, stones, sand, baked seashells). 80m from the pagoda is a well with a diameter of less than 1.5m, a depth of nearly 3m, the well's banks are lined with mountain rocks. Miraculously, on the highest peak of Dai Hue range (462m), the well water is clear all year round, never runs out, the more water is drawn, the more it rises. This is a source of clean water for the pagoda, for people to visit the pagoda, to work in the mountains (in 1972 - a radio communication squad of Military Region IV stationed at the pagoda cleaned the well but after a day of taking turns drawing water, the well did not dry up at all). Located 30m from the common stone well (thach tinh) is the Lotus Pond, with an area of ​​about 800m2. Elderly people in Nam Anh and Nam Thanh said that this pond still had lotus flowers about 60-70 years ago. Many natural-made sacrificial objects still remain after many years. That is a fragment of a stone gong, a stone throne located about 25m south of the pagoda. 150m west of the pagoda is a stone slab shaped like a gong (thach dai), when struck with a mountain stone, the sound like a gong resounds throughout the area.

Mr. Hoang Nghia Binh, the current abbot of the pagoda, still keeps 5 books in Chinese characters, some pages are rotten. Unfortunately, they have not been translated to understand the content. In addition, he also keeps a small bronze bell and 2 ancient ceramic bowls (date unknown).

At the end of the 19th century (1874), Tran Tan and Dang Nhu Mai chose Thanh village as their headquarters, relying on Dai Hue to fight the enemy. During the Can Vuong movement, Vuong Thuc Quy's army used Dai Hue as a rear base to hide military provisions. In the role of woodcutters, buffalo herders, grass cutters, and gardeners (in exchange for camp residents), the communist party members of Nam Dan in the years 1930-1931 chose the temple yard as a meeting place. During the resistance war against the US, Dai Hue mountain split itself into the Command Post for the IV Military Region Command. Dai Hue Temple yard became an anti-aircraft watchtower and a radio relay station. From this temple yard, attack orders were transmitted to all battlefields near and far.

It can be said that, not only a famous place, Dai Tue Pagoda is also a complex of many important historical relics, closely associated with the history of building and defending the country of Nghe An homeland, of the nation, whose unique feature is the transformation from Buddhist culture to the culture of defending the country of the Vietnamese people past and present.

For that reason, following the sentiments and wishes of the people, taking into account the recommendations of historical and cultural scientists and philanthropists, the People's Committee of Nghe An province has recently decided to restore and embellish Dai Tue Pagoda. The Department of Construction, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment have planned and redesigned the pagoda. The future pagoda will have an area of ​​10,000 m2 with 12 main construction items: Tam Bao house, Bell house, Dai Tue Buddha statue, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara statue, Arhat statues, bonsai garden, lighting system, drainage, roads from the foot of the mountain to the pagoda and around the pagoda.

With the tradition of "When drinking water, remember its source", authorities at all levels, businesses, domestic and foreign philanthropists, monks, Buddhists in the country,... have initially made many contributions and strived to restore Dai Tue Pagoda by 2015 and together with the National Historical Relics on Highway 48 of the two districts of Nam Dan - Hung Nguyen - Vinh City, Dai Tue Pagoda is a meeting point, a cultural and historical tourist destination associated with spirituality, attracting the attention and return of people throughout the country and friends from all over the world.

Doan Sinh Huong