Passing through the triple gate, visitors walk along a brick-and-earth path flanked by two rows of ancient pine trees whose needles murmur overhead louder than human footsteps. At the end of the pine avenue lies the temple courtyard, three low tile-roofed sanctuary halls, and a stupa garden behind the temple where a compact, sturdy three-story stone stupa stands beneath the trees. That monument is the Đăng Minh Stupa (Đăng Minh bảo tháp), the relic stupa of the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang.
The site has neither a giant outdoor statue nor a vast plaza built for tens of thousands of people. What makes Côn Sơn Pagoda one of the most revered landmarks of Vietnamese Buddhism is its standing within the Thiền lineage together with the three National Treasures preserved in situ, as one of the principal ancestral seats of the Trúc Lâm Thiền school connected with all three founding Patriarchs, and specifically the monastery where the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang served as abbot and entered nirvana.
IThe Trúc Lâm ancestral seats and the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang
The pagoda is known by several names. Its formal Sino-Vietnamese title is Thiên Tư Phúc Tự (or Côn Sơn Thiên Tư Phúc Tự), meaning the Pagoda of Heaven-Bestowed Blessings. Those four Chinese characters appear at the top of this page, whereas the hexagonal stone stele preserved in the courtyard is titled Côn Sơn Tư Phúc tự bi, omitting the character Thiên (Heaven). Because historical inscriptions use both variants, the library records both. Its vernacular name is Chùa Hun, which some sources trace to King Đinh Bộ Lĩnh's troops burning wood to make charcoal during the 10th-century campaign against the twelve warlords, and others attribute to the local custom of clearing the hillside by controlled burning. The mountain directly behind the pagoda is called Mount Kỳ Lân (or Mount Hun), while the broader area is known as Côn Sơn.
Trúc Lâm (Bamboo Grove) is the indigenous Thiền (Chan/Zen) school founded in the late 13th century by King Trần Nhân Tông after he abdicated the throne and took monastic vows. What distinguishes Trúc Lâm from lineages transmitted from abroad is its formation on Vietnamese soil and its guiding principle of worldly engagement (nhập thế), holding that spiritual cultivation should not be severed from service to society. The school was led in succession by three founding masters, namely the First Patriarch Trần Nhân Tông, the Second Patriarch Pháp Loa, and the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang.
Together with Yên Tử, Vĩnh Nghiêm, and Quỳnh Lâm, Côn Sơn served as one of the great ancestral seats (chốn tổ) of the school, each fulfilling a distinct role. Yên Tử was the mountain of founding and ascetic practice of the First Patriarch, Vĩnh Nghiêm was the center of scriptural lecturing and woodblock printing, and Côn Sơn was the monastery where the Third Patriarch presided in his final years and where his relics rest. Calling a temple an ancestral seat refers to its place in the transmission of the lineage rather than the physical size of its halls.
According to monument records, as early as the late 13th century the First Patriarch Trần Nhân Tông visited Côn Sơn and established the Kỳ Lân Hermitage (am Kỳ Lân) as a place for Dharma teaching. In 1304, and in a major expansion in 1329 (the first year of the Khai Hựu era), the Second Patriarch Pháp Loa built Thiên Tư Phúc Pagoda into a large monastic complex. In 1330, the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang (secular name Lý Đạo Tái, born 1254, a first-rank doctoral laureate who renounced officialdom for the robe and left the richest poetic legacy of the Three Patriarchs) came to serve as abbot of Côn Sơn, expanding the monastery and erecting the Nine-Tiered Lotus Tower. On the 23rd day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of Khai Hựu (1334), he passed away at the pagoda. Retired Emperor Trần Minh Tông conferred upon him the posthumous title Third-Generation Trúc Lâm Thiền Master, Specially Invested Dharma Heir Venerable Huyền Quang, granted endowment lands for his veneration, and ordered the Đăng Minh Stupa erected behind the pagoda to enshrine his relics. The three-story stone stupa standing today, about six meters tall, is a reconstruction on the original foundation.
A chronological distinction helps keep the record clear, as local oral tradition links the earliest origins of Chùa Hun to the Đinh and Early Lê dynasties in the 10th century, whereas the epigraphically attested history of the monastery begins in the late 13th and early 14th centuries under the Three Patriarchs of Trúc Lâm.
A frequent misconception arises from the compound name Côn Sơn Kiếp Bạc, which is repeated so often as a single phrase that many visitors assume it refers to one temple. In fact, Côn Sơn and Kiếp Bạc lie about five kilometers apart and belong to two different religious traditions.
Côn Sơn is a Buddhist pagoda of the Trúc Lâm Thiền school, with resident monastics, Buddhist statues in the main sanctuary, and a stupa garden enshrining its patriarchs. Kiếp Bạc is a deified-hero temple (đền thờ nhân thần) dedicated to Grand Prince Hưng Đạo (Trần Quốc Tuấn) and his family, whose pantheon and rituals belong to the Trần Dynasty saint-veneration tradition (dòng Trần Triều) rather than Buddhism. The two sites are paired together for three practical reasons, namely that both stand within the former Chí Linh area, both share a single Special National Heritage dossier approved in 2012, and both coordinate their spring and autumn festival seasons. Walking from one site to the other in a single trip means stepping from a Buddhist monastery into a royal spirit temple, even though the drive takes only ten minutes.
IISeven hundred years on a mountain slope
The history of Côn Sơn Pagoda is the story of a mountain slope to which successive generations of禅 masters, statesmen, and poets withdrew to practice meditation, live in seclusion, or compose literature. From the 14th through the 17th centuries, figures from distinct walks of life left their mark on these grounds.
- Late 13th century to 1329Kỳ Lân Hermitage and Trần-dynasty Thiên Tư Phúc PagodaTrần Nhân Tông founded the Kỳ Lân Hermitage on Mount Côn Sơn. In 1304 and 1329, the Second Patriarch Pháp Loa expanded the site into the major monastery of Thiên Tư Phúc Pagoda.
- 1330 to 1334Abbacy and nirvana of the Third Patriarch Huyền QuangIn 1330, Thiền Master Huyền Quang became abbot, erecting the Nine-Tiered Lotus Tower and expanding the seminary. Following his passing on the 23rd day of the first lunar month in 1334, Emperor Trần Minh Tông had the Đăng Minh Stupa built behind the pagoda.
- 1369 to 1390Trần Nguyên Đán and the Thanh Hư Grotto steleGrand Chancellor Trần Nguyên Đán built the Thanh Hư retreat on Mount Côn Sơn and retired there permanently from 1385 to 1390. King Trần Duệ Tông brushed the three characters Thanh Hư động for the front of the stele, while Retired Emperor Trần Nghệ Tông composed the inscription on the back. The stele was recognized as a National Treasure under Decision No. 2382/QĐ-TTg dated December 25, 2015.
- 15th centuryNguyễn Trãi's retreat at Côn SơnMaternal grandson of Trần Nguyên Đán, Nguyễn Trãi spent part of his youth here and later returned in retirement, reading beside the Thạch Bàn stone slab, overseeing repairs to the pagoda, and composing his famous Song of Côn Sơn (Côn Sơn ca).
- 1602 to 1607Major restoration by Thiền Master Mai Trí Bản and the hexagonal steleAbbot Mai Trí Bản (dharma name Huệ Pháp, style Pháp Nhẫn) recovered the Thanh Hư động stele and moved it to the temple courtyard in 1602, then led a grand restoration expanding the pagoda to 83 bays and erected the hexagonal stele Côn Sơn Tư Phúc tự bi in the 8th year of Hoằng Định (1607). The hexagonal stele was recognized as a National Treasure under Decision No. 2089/QĐ-TTg dated December 25, 2017.
- 1962 and 2012National and Special National Heritage rankingThe pagoda was ranked as a National Heritage Site in the first batch under Decision No. 313-VH/QĐ dated April 28, 1962, and the Côn Sơn - Kiếp Bạc complex became a Special National Heritage Site under Decision No. 548/QĐ-TTg dated May 10, 2012.
- 2024National Treasure recognition for the Buddhas of the Three TimesThe pagoda's 17th-century gilded jackfruit-wood statues of the Buddhas of the Three Times (Tam thế Phật) were recognized as a National Treasure under Decision No. 73/QĐ-TTg dated January 18, 2024.
- 2025UNESCO World Heritage inscriptionOn July 12, 2025, the Complex of Monuments and Landscape of Yên Tử - Vĩnh Nghiêm - Côn Sơn, Kiếp Bạc was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 47th session in Paris.
Published sources vary slightly on the exact year of the Thanh Hư động stele. Some accounts cite 1369 when Trần Nguyên Đán built his mountain retreat or 1372, whereas the National Treasure dossier dates the royal calligraphy to the Long Khánh reign era (1373 to 1377) of King Trần Duệ Tông, with an additional inscription carved on the reverse by Abbot Mai Trí Bản in 1602. Regarding the total number of stone steles at the pagoda, a specialized Buddhist epigraphic study records 16 steles dating from the Trần (14th century) through the Revival Lê (18th century) periods, while broader guidebooks count more than thirty steles by including Nguyễn-dynasty steles and monuments across the wider complex. The library notes both figures for clarity.
IIIThe sanctuary, the stupa garden, and the surrounding mountain landmarks
Côn Sơn Pagoda faces southeast. Beyond the front lake and the two-tiered eight-roofed triple gate, a brick-paved avenue shaded by centuries-old pines leads to the main courtyard. The principal sanctuary follows the Công (工, I-shaped) ground plan, ascending seven stone steps to a five-bay front hall with two side wings (tiền đường), connected through a three-bay incense-burning hall (thiêu hương) to the three-bay upper sanctuary (thượng điện), behind which stands the Đinh-plan Patriarchs' Hall venerating the Three Patriarchs of Trúc Lâm alongside statues of Trần Nguyên Đán and Nguyễn Trãi. According to the 1607 stele of Thiền Master Mai Trí Bản, the historical monastery once encompassed eighty-three bays enclosed by two long side corridors, while the buildings standing today represent the surviving core combined with reconstructed halls.
The three-story stone relic stupa of the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang standing about six meters tall beside the Turtle Pond in the stupa garden behind the pagoda, rebuilt on its ancient foundation and housing his relics and statue.
A natural stone spring on the slope of Mount Kỳ Lân just below the Đăng Minh Stupa. According to temple legend, on the full moon of the seventh month after the Vu Lan ceremony, the mountain deity appeared to Huyền Quang in a dream and revealed this spring to supply pure water for temple offerings and the bathing of the Buddha.
A revolving nine-tiered lotus tower symbolizing the nine grades of rebirth in the Pure Land, first erected under Patriarch Huyền Quang and restored in 1607 by Thiền Master Mai Trí Bản with 385 Buddha statues, now reconstructed inside an octagonal pavilion.
Three gilded jackfruit-wood statues of the Past, Present, and Future Buddhas, each measuring 1.55 to 1.75 meters tall and weighing about 100 kilograms, seated in lotus posture on pedestals reflecting the transition from Mạc to Revival Lê sculptural style. Recognized as a National Treasure in 2024.
Preserves 16 steles from the Trần to Revival Lê periods along with Nguyễn-dynasty steles, highlighted by two National Treasures, the Trần-dynasty Thanh Hư động stele (recognized in 2015) and the six-sided hexagonal stele Côn Sơn Tư Phúc tự bi carved with Mạc-Lê style dragons in 1607 (recognized in 2017).
Thanh Hư Grotto, the Thạch Bàn stone slab, and the Fairy Chessboard
Several of Côn Sơn's most evocative literary landmarks lie outside the temple walls. Thanh Hư Grotto (Thanh Hư động) is not a rock cave as the word động might suggest, but a wooded valley on the southeastern slope where Trần Nguyên Đán built his retirement villa, preserving the remains of the stone bridge Thấu Ngọc and the later memorial temple dedicated to Nguyễn Trãi. Beside the Côn Sơn stream running along the valley floor lies a massive flat natural boulder known as Thạch Bàn (popularly called the five-bay rock, about twenty-six meters long and six meters wide), where Nguyễn Trãi used to sit reading and composing poetry.
At the summit of Mount Kỳ Lân, reached by roughly six hundred stone steps, lies the Fairy Chessboard (Bàn Cờ Tiên), a level crest where the Trần-dynasty patriarchs once built the White Cloud Hermitage (Am Bạch Vân) for meditation and scripture study, now marked by a two-tiered eight-roofed stele pavilion. Published sources give two slightly different elevations for this peak, with some citing about 200 meters and others citing 231 meters above sea level. The library records both figures for reference.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section offers the library's reading through the lens of traditional geomancy (phong thủy), rather than content transcribed from steles or official monument dossiers. The library notes this clearly so that readers can distinguish historical records from geomantic interpretation.
The pagoda rests on the slope of Mount Kỳ Lân, with its back supported by the mountain crest and its front facing southeast toward the lake and open valley below. This is the classic posture of sitting against the mountain and facing water (tựa sơn hướng thủy) favored by mountain monasteries, using the front lake as an ancient water bright hall (minh đường) while meeting practical needs as the ridge blocks cold northern winds, the slope drains rainwater, and the elevation separates the monastic precinct from village settlements. Along the eastern flank rises the five-peaked Ngũ Nhạc ridge crowned by five shrines, forming a natural Azure Dragon screen on the left side of the complex.
The most telling geomantic feature here is the water vein. In mountain site reading, what matters most is not a wide expanse of surface water but the point where a subterranean spring wells up from the rock, proving that the mountain's inner vein is alive. The Jade Well (Giếng Ngọc) and the Turtle Pond (Ao Rùa) mark exactly such a spot, where clear water seeps year-round from the heart of Mount Kỳ Lân just below the stupa garden, likened in local lore to the eye of the unicorn (Kỳ Lân). Placing the Third Patriarch's relic stupa directly above that springhead and drawing its water for temple offerings links the resting place of the founding master to the living pulse of the mountain.
Along the vertical axis, the landscape unfolds in three distinct tiers. The Thanh Hư valley and the Thạch Bàn stream boulder at the base belong to the world of scholar-officials in retreat. The mid-slope houses the pagoda and the stupa garden, the realm of monastic practice. The summit above holds the site of the old White Cloud Hermitage and the Fairy Chessboard, an open belvedere looking out over heaven and earth. Read in traditional terms, those three levels trace a single ascent from worldly affairs through spiritual cultivation to quiet contemplation.
Finally, consider the pair of Côn Sơn and Kiếp Bạc. One is a monastery nestled into the hollow of a mountain to gather qi inward, while the other is a martial temple facing the confluence of six rivers where qi opens outward. Their two geomantic formations complement rather than duplicate each other, allowing both traditions to stand side by side while preserving their distinct characters.
VThe spring and autumn festivals
Côn Sơn holds two major festival seasons each year honoring two different historical figures, the spring festival in the first lunar month commemorating the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang and the autumn festival in the eighth lunar month commemorating Nguyễn Trãi (held in tandem with the Kiếp Bạc autumn festival honoring Grand Prince Hưng Đạo). The Côn Sơn - Kiếp Bạc Festival was inscribed on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2012.
| Lunar date | Rite or activity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 15th to 23rd of the 1st month | Côn Sơn Spring Festival | The spring pilgrimage season. The monument dossier notes festivities extending through the second half of the first month, with core ceremonies concentrated from the 15th to the 23rd. |
| 16th day of the 1st month | Water procession and festival opening | A solemn procession carrying water from Côn Sơn Lake to the pagoda for the bathing of the statues (lễ mộc dục), accompanied by offerings of square and round glutinous rice cakes. |
| 17th day of the 1st month | Sacrificial rite on Mount Ngũ Nhạc | A heaven-and-earth offering ceremony conducted at the five shrines (North, Center, East, West, and South Peaks) along the Ngũ Nhạc ridge east of the pagoda, praying for national peace and favorable weather. |
| 23rd day of the 1st month | Memorial Day of the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang and Mông Sơn food-bestowal rite | The culminating day of the spring festival, commemorating the nirvana of the Third Patriarch and performing the Mông Sơn rite (Mông Sơn thí thực) to pray for wandering souls and all sentient beings. |
| 10th to 20th of the 8th month | Côn Sơn Autumn Festival | The autumn festival season, held jointly with the autumn festival at Kiếp Bạc Temple. |
| 16th day of the 8th month | Commemoration of Nguyễn Trãi | The death anniversary of national hero and world cultural celebrity Nguyễn Trãi, observed at his memorial temple at the foot of Mount Côn Sơn. |
It is worth noting that the spring festival is a monastic observance honoring a Thiền patriarch, whereas the autumn festival honors a Confucian statesman and poet. Maintaining both seasonal observances on the same mountain reflects the character of Côn Sơn as an ancestral seat of an engaged Thiền lineage where the monk's cloister and the scholar's retreat share a single hillside.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Núi Côn Sơn (núi Kỳ Lân), phường Trần Hưng Đạo (phường Cộng Hòa, thành phố Chí Linh, tỉnh Hải Dương cũ), thành phố Hải Phòng
- Getting there
- The pagoda stands at the foot of Mount Côn Sơn (Mount Kỳ Lân), Trần Hưng Đạo Ward (formerly Cộng Hòa Ward, Chí Linh City, Hải Dương Province), Hải Phòng City. Kiếp Bạc Temple lies about five kilometers away, and the two sites are commonly visited together in a single trip.
- Coordinates
- 21.151, 106.3817
Because this is an active monastery with resident monastics and daily services, visitors should observe temple etiquette, including dressing modestly, removing hats before entering the interior halls, speaking softly in the upper sanctuary and Patriarchs' Hall, and never touching the ancient statues or the faces of the National Treasure steles. In the stupa garden behind the pagoda, please stay on the paved paths, do not step onto stupa bases, and do not place offerings on the stupas. On the long stone stairway up to the Fairy Chessboard, keep to a steady single lane so ascending and descending visitors can pass comfortably.
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?Quick Questions
Who is venerated at Côn Sơn Pagoda
The main sanctuary venerates the Buddhas according to northern Mahāyāna tradition, including the 17th-century jackfruit-wood Buddhas of the Three Times recognized as a National Treasure. The Patriarchs' Hall behind it venerates the Three Patriarchs of the Trúc Lâm Thiền school (Trần Nhân Tông, Pháp Loa, and Huyền Quang), above all the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang who served as abbot and passed away here, alongside statues of Trần Nguyên Đán and Nguyễn Trãi. Nearby stand the memorial temples dedicated to Nguyễn Trãi and Trần Nguyên Đán.
What are the main ancestral seats of the Trúc Lâm Thiền school
Côn Sơn, together with Yên Tử, Vĩnh Nghiêm, and Quỳnh Lâm, formed the principal centers of the Trúc Lâm Thiền school during the Trần dynasty. Yên Tử was the mountain of founding and ascetic practice of the First Patriarch Trần Nhân Tông, Vĩnh Nghiêm was the center of scriptural study and woodblocks, and Côn Sơn was expanded by the Second Patriarch Pháp Loa before becoming the final seat and resting place of the Third Patriarch Huyền Quang in 1334.
Which National Treasures are preserved at Côn Sơn Pagoda
The pagoda preserves three National Treasures, namely the Trần-dynasty Thanh Hư động stele (recognized in 2015 under Decision No. 2382/QĐ-TTg), the 1607 hexagonal stele Côn Sơn Tư Phúc tự bi from the Revival Lê period (recognized in 2017 under Decision No. 2089/QĐ-TTg), and the 17th-century gilded wooden statue set of the Buddhas of the Three Times (recognized in 2024 under Decision No. 73/QĐ-TTg).
Is Thanh Hư Grotto an actual cave
No. Despite the word động in its name, Thanh Hư Grotto is a wooded valley on the slope of Mount Côn Sơn where Grand Chancellor Trần Nguyên Đán built his country retreat in 1369 and retired permanently from 1385 to 1390. The valley preserves old house foundations, the Thấu Ngọc stone bridge, and memorial shrines to Trần Nguyên Đán and his maternal grandson Nguyễn Trãi, while the stele inscribed with King Trần Duệ Tông's calligraphy stands in the pagoda courtyard.
Are Côn Sơn and Kiếp Bạc the same place
No. They are two distinct sites about five kilometers apart with different religious traditions, as Côn Sơn is a Buddhist monastery of the Trúc Lâm Thiền school associated with the Three Patriarchs and Nguyễn Trãi, whereas Kiếp Bạc is a temple dedicated to Grand Prince Hưng Đạo (Trần Quốc Tuấn) in the Trần Dynasty saint-veneration tradition. They are paired together because they share a single 2012 Special National Heritage dossier, a 2025 UNESCO World Heritage inscription, and coordinated spring and autumn festivals.