Hanoi’s relics encroached | Hanoi’s relics encroached

VietNamNet Bridge – Many old temples and pagodas in Hanoi’s old quarter are being encroached by restaurants and tea shops. Some have become houses.

Vinh Tru pagoda

The Vinh Tru pagoda at 59 Hang Luoc Street has been recognized as a historical and cultural relic and a tourist destination. There is a signboard “Recognized relic, encroachment is banned” at the pagoda gate but the pagoda yard has become the grounds of restaurants and tea shops.

Phuong, a local resident, said this situation has existed for years but it no agency has solved it. “The pagoda is always untidy whenever we come here for praying,” she said.

The Thanh Ha temple in Ngo Gach street has become the house of a family. This family’s furniture cover up to one third of the temple’s area and they are several steps from the altar. At night, the temple’s yard and gates become restaurants. The space for worshipping is seriously violated.

Thanh Ha Temple

The Dong Thuan Temple in Hang Ca Street is also used by a family. At the gate of the temple, restaurants and tea shops are always crowded.

Located in Hang Khoai Street, Huyen Thien pagoda is one of the four most famous pagodas in Hanoi. The pagoda is special for its architecture and also because it worships both the Buddha and the Holy Mother.

However, its gate has been covered by advertising boards and a ceramic shop making it very difficult for visitors to identify it as the gate of a pagoda.

Mrs. Lan, who works as a cleaner at the pagoda, said that this situation has existed for several decades but it has not been solved. The pagoda gate is only cleared during festivals.

Huyen Thien pagoda

The gate of Vong Tien Temple in Hang Bong street which worships the Buddha and the Holy Mother is now fully covered by restaurants. The road for visitors to get into the pagoda is big enough for one person to pass.

Many other relics like Thai Cam pagoda in Hang Vai Street, Trang Lau Temple in Nguyen Huu Huan street, Phap Bao Tang in Hang Cot Street, etc. are also encroached.

The management board of Hanoi’s relics said that it is very difficult to solve the situation because the people who live in relics don’t have any place to go. They have been living in relics since the wartime resistances against the French and US. The local governments have to allocate land and houses for them to move.

Vinh Tru pagoda at 54 Hang Luoc street has become space for restaurants.

The pagoda gate is a tea shop.

The gate of Thanh Ha Temple, 10 Ngo Gach street, has become a motorbike cleaning site.

There is a restaurant in the temple yard.

The gate of Trang Lau temple, 77 Nguyen Huu Huan street, is surrounded by many restaurants.

The gate of Huyen Thien pagoda is surrounded by restaurants.

Visitors have to get into the Vong Tien temple, 120 Hang Bong street, through the small gate.

Dong Thuan temple, 11 Hang Ga Street, is surrounded by restaurants and motorbike taxi drivers. A family is living in the temple.

PV

Many die in India temple stampede, police say

BBC News - Many die in India temple stampede, police say: "Many die in India temple stampede, police say
An unidentified woman is comforted after a stampede at a temple in Kunda, 180 kilometers (112 miles) southeast of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh - March 4, 2010
Most of those gathered at the ceremony were from nearby villages

At least 63 people have died in a stampede after the gate of a Hindu temple collapsed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police say.

Dozens more were injured in the panic at the temple in Pratapgarh district, 650km (400 miles) south-east of Delhi.

All of the dead identified so far are women and children, police say. The temple gate was still being built.

Hundreds of people have been killed in stampedes at crowded Indian temples in recent years.

'Counted all the bodies'

Thursday's disaster happened at a popular Ram Janaki temple in the town of Kunda in Pratapgarh district, about 25km (15 miles) north of the city of Allahabad.

The temple is owned by a Hindu holy man, Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj, who police say was marking the anniversary of the death of his wife with a ritual feast.

INDIA STAMPEDES
January 2010: Seven people die at festival on Ganges in West Bengal
September 2008: More than 220 people die at temple in Jodhpur
August 2008: At least 140 people die at temple in Himachal Pradesh
March 2008: At least eight people killed at temple in Madhya Pradesh
January 2005: Up to 300 people die on pilgrimage to Maharashtra temple

Timeline: Most deadly stampedes
In pictures: Indian stampede

Thousands of people had gathered for the ceremonial feast and free distribution of clothes - the stampede occurred when people scrambled to collect the offerings being handed out.

Local journalists told the BBC they were mostly poor people from local villages.

Police officials said an iron gate leading to the temple complex collapsed, leading to a crowd surge.

'We have now counted all the bodies and they include 37 children and 26 women who had come to collect free gifts,' assistant superintendent of police SP Pathak told AFP news agency from the scene of the disaster.

The BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi in the state capital, Lucknow, said the temple gate was under construction when it collapsed.

Investigation

Emergency teams and ambulances were rushed to the site, some from neighbouring districts and the injured have been taken to hospitals.

Hundreds of people gathered at local hospitals for news of their relatives.

'She had just wandered in to see what was happening,' 38-year-old Gudal, whose seven-year-old daughter died in the stampede, told the Associated Press news agency.

The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, Ms Mayawati, has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Government officials say it appears that the organisers of the event had been unprepared to deal with the size of the crowd.

Eyewitnesses say it took a while for help to arrive and there was no-one on hand initially to offer them any assistance.

There have been a number of similar accidents in India in which large numbers of people congregate in an area ill-equipped to handle big gatherings.

In 2008, nearly 300 people were killed in stampedes and scores injured in two different Hindu temples in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh states."

Sacred places

The most sacred sites in any Vietnamese town are the pagoda, temple and communal house. Tuan Anh checks out all three in Bac Ninh province.

The 1B national highway, which connects Hanoi with the far northeastern province of Lang Son, makes for a short trip to Bac Ninh province. After a swift drive of 20km, you can find yourself in Dinh Bang village standing outside Den Do (Do Temple), which was built nearly one thousand years ago by the Vietnamese King Ly Thai Tong.

This was his hometown and the temple, which was constructed in 1030AD, was later used to worship the eight kings of the Ly Dynasty, hence it also bares the name Den Ly Bat De (The Temple of the Eight Ly Kings). The Ly dynasty was devoutly Buddhist and the temple is concealed in a highly traditional and tranquil landscape, which seems to have avoided invasive modernisation.

The temple grounds covers an area of 31,250sqm and includes a scenic half-moon shaped lake, which seems to offer instant relief by reconnecting visitors to nature. Through the Five-Dragon Gate, I enter the main shrine. Outside, I spot Ly Thai To’s (formerly Ly Cong Uan) Edict on the Transfer of the Capital from Hoa Lu to Dai La (now Hanoi), issued in 1010AD after he founded the Ly Dynasty.

The main shrine houses statues of the eight kings and overlooks a beautiful pavilion in the middle of the lake. It’s the perfect spot for a 15-minute break especially as you can feel a cool breeze even on a hot summer’s day. “This pavilion is where villagers often hold traditional quan ho (love duets) performances or where the audience stands to watch a water puppet shows in the lake,” says Hoang Van Bach, a local resident.

After leaving the temple, I head to the village’s communal house, which also bares the name of Dinh Bang. This is one of the oldest and finest communal houses in Vietnam. Constructed from 1700AD to 1736AD, its structure includes a three-gate door, two left and right wings and a ceremonial hall, which is linked to the back sanctuary hall making the shape of a Chinese character meaning “communal”.

Dinh Bang communal house is constructed using large pillars made from teak. Its floor is elevated to 0.7 metres above the ground, making it highly durable and resistant to humidity and floods. The house is used for worshipping the Mountain God, the Water God and the Farm God, as well as the six individuals who led the reestablishment of Dinh Bang Village in the 15th century after it was razed by Chinese invaders.

It also functions as the village’s meeting hall and is home to the village’s government office. As I wander around two women spread rice seeds across the communal house’s spacious courtyard to dry them under the bright sun, making a striking golden carpet that somehow compliments and completes the idyllic rural scene.

“The communal house and its courtyard are the heart and soul of a typical Vietnamese village, serving as the venue for most of our community activities, so we all love our communal house,” says Nguyen Thi Vai, one of the women drying rice in the yard. “On a quiet and sunny day, the courtyard makes a good, clean drying site for rice seeds.

We have been doing this for centuries and it does not harm anyone, even though they recently put up a sign on this courtyard to prohibit it.” My last stop is Phat Tich Pagoda in Phat Tich Commune, Tien Du District, not far away from Ding Bang village in Tu Son Town. There is not much to see at the moment as the main structure, built in 1057AD, and has been destroyed and restored over the centuries and is currently under restoration again.

A giant jade Buddha statue has set off for Australia after making a stop at this pagoda as part of a world tour. The showcase attracted thousands of visitors and caused a bit of mess around the site. But the special thing about Phat Tich Pagoda is the history. This area was where Indian Buddhism first made arrived in Vietnam back in the first century AD and created a foundation for Buddhism to flourish in Vietnam.

After the pagoda was officially built in the 11th century, it became a major Buddhism centre for the Ly Dynasty. The scenery is also breathtaking as the pagoda sits on the side of the imposing Phat Tich mountain. Getting through the lush front garden and the pagoda’s various structures, I start to climb the stone stair up the mountain into a forest of pine and sandalwood trees.

The silent walk into nature takes me closer to a feeling of absolute peace and tranquillity – the key to getting in touch with Buddhism.

VietNamNet/Time-out