Leaving the legendary banks of the Ganges River in ancient Varanasi and traveling about thirteen kilometers northeast, visitors enter the tranquil, tree-shaded enclave of Sarnath, the sacred Deer Park (Isipatana Mrigadava) where more than two thousand five hundred years ago Shakyamuni Buddha set the Wheel of the Dharma in motion for the five ascetics led by Kondanna. In the Khajuhi neighborhood not far from the ancient Dhamek Stupa, a graceful rose-pink temple complex bearing the Vietnamese name Chùa Đại Lộc rises warmly across the plain of Uttar Pradesh.
Stepping through the main gate into the five-thousand-square-meter compound, pilgrims are greeted in the forecourt by a majestic statue of Shakyamuni Buddha seated in lotus posture beneath a tiered canopy, his hands forming the Wheel-Turning gesture (Dharmachakra Mudra). Recognized as the first Vietnamese Theravada monastery of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in India, this sanctuary also opens its doors across all lineages to welcome Vietnamese monks and nuns pursuing graduate studies at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) as well as tens of thousands of pilgrims visiting the Four Great Sacred Sites each year.
IThe meaning of Dai Loc, the Wheel-Turning mudra, and Elder Sivali
Dai Loc Temple is officially registered in India under the English title The Sivali Vietnamese Monastery (administered by the Sivali Vietnamese Theravada Trust). The pairing of the Vietnamese name Đại Lộc (meaning Great Deer or Great Blessing) with the Pali name Sivali reflects both classical Buddhist doctrine and the sacred geography of Sarnath.
In the Pali Canon and Chinese Agamas, the name Sarnath derives from Saranganatha (Lord of the Deer) and refers to the Deer Park (Mrigadava, rendered in Sino-Vietnamese as Lộc Uyển), recalling the Jataka tale in which the Bodhisattva, born as a golden king of deer, offered his own life to save his herd. The word Lộc in Chùa Đại Lộc pays direct homage to this sacred Deer Park where the Buddha delivered his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma), proclaiming the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path and bringing the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) into full existence in the world. At a second level, Đại Lộc is the traditional Sino-Vietnamese translation of the name of the Arhat Sivali, declared by the Buddha to be foremost among his disciples in receiving abundant offerings and blessings through countless lifetimes of generosity.
Because the monastery stands at the birthplace of the Buddha's first discourse, its central object of veneration is Shakyamuni Buddha depicted in the Dharmachakra Mudra (Wheel-Turning gesture): both hands raised before the chest with thumbs and index fingers joined to form two touching circles like a turning wheel of truth, directly echoing the celebrated fifth-century Gupta sandstone Buddha sculpture excavated at Sarnath. Alongside the Blessed One, the monastery honors the Arhat Sivali and the Five Ascetics (Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, and Assaji) to remind practitioners of the birth of the monastic Sangha.
A harmonious meeting ground of Theravada and Mahayana Vietnamese Buddhism
Although founded by monastics of the Vietnamese Theravada tradition and consecrated with a canonical Theravada Sima ordination boundary, Dai Loc Temple embodies the spirit of Sixfold Harmony uniting all streams of Vietnamese Buddhism on Indian soil. In its lecture hall and residential quarters, Vietnamese student monks and nuns of Mahayana, Theravada, and Mendicant lineages studying in Varanasi, along with visiting delegations led by senior scholars and abbots (such as pilgrimage groups guided by Venerable Thích Nữ Giới Hương and monastic leaders from Vietnam, the United States, and Europe), chant scriptures, meditate, and share the Dharma together under one Vietnamese roof.
Many international visitors who hear the monastery's English title Sivali Monastery or its local nickname, the Pink Temple, initially assume it belongs to the Sri Lankan or Burmese traditions. Only upon reaching the front gate and seeing the Vietnamese inscription Chùa Đại Lộc alongside Vietnamese sculptural motifs do travelers realize that this sanctuary was built by Vietnamese Buddhists.
IIBuilding a Vietnamese monastic sanctuary at the site of the First Turning of the Wheel
From the late twentieth century into the early twenty-first century, the ancient city of Varanasi, home to Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, became one of the primary centers in India for Vietnamese monks and nuns pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in Buddhist Studies, Pali, and Sanskrit. The need for a permanent Vietnamese monastery in Sarnath to support monastic study, conduct canonical rites, and host Vietnamese pilgrims inspired the founding of Dai Loc Temple.
When checking the geographic coordinates of the temple across online directories, readers will encounter two sets of figures: the actual monastery compound at 13/46 M-5 Khajuhi in Sarnath lies near the Deer Park archaeological zone at approximately latitude 25.3785 degrees North and longitude 83.0210 degrees East, whereas certain travel directories list a broader western suburban coordinate for Varanasi at latitude 25.3728 degrees North and longitude 82.9542 degrees East. The library notes both figures and uses the Sarnath site coordinate as standard.
- 2000sVietnamese monastic scholars gather at universities in VaranasiDozens of Vietnamese monks and nuns enroll in graduate programs in Buddhist Studies and Pali at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi, giving rise to the aspiration for a Vietnamese monastery in Sarnath.
- 2008 - 2009Establishment of the Sivali Trust and land acquisition in KhajuhiVenerable Thích Thiện Minh (Founder) and Venerable Thích Tường Quang (Abbot), supported by Buddhist devotees, acquire a plot of more than 5,000 square meters in Khajuhi, Sarnath.
- 6 December 2009Groundbreaking ceremony of Dai Loc TempleThe foundation stone is solemnly laid for Dai Loc Temple in the presence of senior prelates of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the international monastic community in Sarnath.
- 2010 - 2014Construction of the Main Hall, Dharmachakra Buddha statue, and monastic quartersOver five years of dedicated construction, the monastery completes its two-story Main Hall, the monumental outdoor statue of the Buddha preaching, monastic dormitories, and pilgrim guest quarters.
- 5 - 6 December 2014Sima Boundary Consecration and Grand InaugurationA solemn Sima ordination boundary ceremony is performed according to the Theravada Vinaya, accompanied by the grand inauguration attended by leaders of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the Vietnamese Embassy in India, and thousands of pilgrims.
- 2015 - presentNational record recognition and growth as a scholarly and charitable hubRecognized by the Vietnam Records Organization as the first Vietnamese Theravada monastery in India, serving as a base for monastic researchers and local charitable relief in Uttar Pradesh.
The Sima boundary consecration celebrated in December 2014 at Dai Loc Temple carries special canonical weight in Buddhist history. Under the Theravada Vinaya discipline, a monastery becomes a fully empowered monastic precinct capable of conducting higher bhikkhu ordinations, the Pavarana ceremony at the close of the rains retreat, and the Kathina robe offering only after the Sangha has formally chanted the ecclesiastical acts establishing the Sima boundary stones. Consecrating a Vietnamese Sima ordination hall on the soil of Sarnath, where the Buddha himself ordained the first sixty Arhats of humanity, links contemporary Vietnamese Buddhism directly to the ancient lineage of the Deer Park.
IIIRose-pink monastic architecture, the Dharmachakra Buddha, and the Sima hall
The Dai Loc Temple complex occupies a rectangular plot of more than 5,000 square meters enclosed by perimeter walls and shaded by sal, bodhi, and mango trees. Its architectural design blends Southeast Asian Theravada monastic forms, Vietnamese decorative grace, and the classical sandstone sculptural heritage of Sarnath.
Painted in a warm rose-pink hue accented by gilded relief carvings, the temple buildings stand out brightly against the northern Indian sky while offering a serene, welcoming environment for pilgrims arriving from afar.
Rising in the front courtyard is a large statue of Shakyamuni Buddha seated on a high lotus pedestal, his hands forming the Dharmachakra Mudra beneath a multi-tiered parasol and an intricately carved aureole.
The central building features two spacious levels crowned by a spired roof and bodhi-leaf arched windows. The upper ordination hall houses eight carved stone pillars supporting relief panels of the Buddha's life, framed by the eight sacred Sima boundary stones.
The precinct enshrines statues of the Arhat Sivali carrying his alms bowl and staff as an emblem of abundant merit, alongside sculptural depictions of the Buddha teaching the five ascetics at the Deer Park.
Quiet residential quarters dedicated to Vietnamese monks and nuns pursuing master's and doctoral degrees at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Sanskrit institutes in Varanasi, complete with a library of Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Vietnamese texts.
A multi-story guesthouse capable of accommodating hundreds of pilgrims and a kitchen serving traditional Vietnamese vegetarian meals, offering a restorative stopover for delegations traveling across northern India.
The combination of monastic student housing and a Vietnamese refectory at Dai Loc Temple serves a vital practical need. Pilgrims traveling thousands of kilometers across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh find deep comfort in stepping into a clean Vietnamese monastery in Sarnath, hearing scriptures chanted in Vietnamese, and sharing a familiar home-style vegetarian meal beside the ancient Deer Park.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
The Buddha's teaching at the Deer Park of Sarnath is founded upon the Middle Way and the Noble Eightfold Path rather than geomantic divination. Nevertheless, when the geographic setting of Sarnath and the Dai Loc Temple plot is examined through the traditional landform methods of the Hall of Myriad Paths library, the site exhibits the clear hallmarks of an auspicious, qi-gathering sanctuary.
Viewed across the macro-hydrology of the middle Gangetic Plain, the ancient city of Varanasi and the Sarnath plateau (at latitude 25.3785 degrees North and longitude 83.0210 degrees East) sit at the most famous bend of the Ganges River (Ganga). Whereas the Ganges flows generally from northwest to southeast across most of its two-thousand-five-hundred-kilometer course, as it passes Varanasi the great river turns abruptly to flow from south to north in a sweeping crescent. Along the northern and southern edges of this crescent, two tributary rivers, the Varuna and the Assi, join the Ganges (giving rise to the name Varanasi). Sarnath and Dai Loc Temple stand on elevated ground north of the Varuna River, resting securely on an upper alluvial terrace safe from seasonal Ganges flooding.
In terms of the inner layout and qi flow, the Sarnath district forms a level, quiet tableland set apart from the dense urban bustle along the river ghats. The five-thousand-square-meter compound of Dai Loc Temple lies near the approach to the Dhamek Stupa and the Ashoka Pillar, taking the millennial spiritual precinct of the Deer Park as its supporting rear backing (hậu chẩm). The temple plan opens a broad forecourt as an inner bright hall (minh đường) where the outdoor Dharmachakra Buddha statue receives open sunlight. Enclosed on all four sides by walls and evergreen sal and bodhi trees, the compound creates a calm microclimate that shelters from the wind and gathers qi, ideal for meditation, scriptural translation, and academic study.
VKathina Robe Offering, Vesak, and pilgrimage observances in Sarnath
The ritual calendar at Dai Loc Temple combines the canonical observances of Vietnamese Theravada Buddhism with major Mahayana lunar feasts and the international winter pilgrimage season in India (reckoned by the Gregorian calendar).
| Date and calendar | Festival or ceremony | Meaning and observance |
|---|---|---|
| 1st lunar month (Lunar calendar, Lunar New Year) | New Year Blessing Assembly and Student Monastics' Tết | Vietnamese monastic scholars studying in Varanasi and visiting pilgrims gather to celebrate the traditional Vietnamese New Year, chant protective paritta suttas, and pray for their homeland. |
| Full moon of the 4th lunar month (Lunar calendar / Vesak Purnima) | Triple-Blessed Vesak Celebration | Commemorating the Birth, Enlightenment, and Parinirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha with circumambulation of the sanctuary and participation in the international Sarnath Vesak procession. |
| Full moon of the 6th lunar month (Lunar calendar / Asalha Purnima) | Asalha Puja (Dharma Day / First Turning of the Wheel) | A deeply sacred day in Sarnath commemorating the Buddha's delivery of his first discourse at the Deer Park and the beginning of the monastic three-month Rains Retreat (Vassa). |
| 15th day of the 9th to 15th day of the 10th lunar month (Lunar calendar) | Grand Kathina Robe Offering Ceremony (Lễ Dâng Y Kathina) | The largest annual Theravada festival following the three-month Vassa retreat, drawing hundreds of Vietnamese Buddhists from Vietnam and abroad to offer monastic robes to the Sangha. |
| October to March (Gregorian calendar) | Four Sacred Sites Pilgrimage Season and Dharmachakra Sutta Chanting | Welcoming Vietnamese pilgrimage delegations to Dai Loc Temple, leading chanting of the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta at the Dhamek Stupa, and distributing aid to needy families in Khajuhi. |
Each autumn during the Kathina robe-offering season in October and November, the courtyard of Dai Loc Temple in Sarnath fills with the saffron robes of international monks and the traditional ao dai and gray robes of Vietnamese devotees. Processions carrying the Kathina robes circle the outdoor Dharmachakra Buddha statue before walking to the ancient Dhamek Stupa, weaving a vibrant thread of spiritual exchange in the heart of India.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Getting there
- From Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi (about 25 km away) or Varanasi Junction railway station (about 12 km away), take a taxi or auto-rickshaw northeast to Sarnath, proceed toward the Sarnath Archaeological Museum and Dhamek Stupa, and turn into the Khajuhi neighborhood to reach Dai Loc Temple.
- Coordinates
- 25.3785, 83.021
Dai Loc Temple is both an active monastery and a residential study center for Buddhist monastics in Sarnath. Visitors should dress modestly and remove shoes before stepping into the Main Hall and the consecrated Sima ordination hall. In keeping with Theravada monastic discipline, female visitors should maintain respectful distance when bowing or offering requisites to monks. Pilgrimage delegations wishing to arrange vegetarian meals or overnight lodging should contact the temple office in advance.
Nearby places in the library
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?Quick Questions
Who founded Dai Loc Temple in Sarnath and when was it built
Dai Loc Temple (officially The Sivali Vietnamese Monastery) was founded by Venerable Thích Thiện Minh (Founder) and Venerable Thích Tường Quang (Abbot) together with Vietnamese Buddhist devotees. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on 6 December 2009, and the Sima consecration and grand inauguration were celebrated on 5 and 6 December 2014.
What is the meaning of the names Dai Loc Temple and Sivali Monastery
The Vietnamese name Đại Lộc refers both to the sacred Deer Park of Sarnath (Lộc Uyển, where the Buddha preached his first sermon) and to the Sino-Vietnamese title of the Arhat Sivali (Tôn giả Đại Lộc), the disciple foremost in receiving abundant blessings.
What historical milestone does Dai Loc Temple hold for Vietnamese Buddhism in India
Dai Loc Temple is recognized by the Vietnam Records Organization as the first Vietnamese Theravada Buddhist monastery of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha to be built and canonically consecrated with a Sima ordination boundary on Indian soil.
Why does the main Buddha statue in the courtyard hold both hands at chest level
The statue displays the Dharmachakra Mudra (Wheel-Turning gesture), symbolizing Shakyamuni Buddha delivering his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, to the five ascetics at the Deer Park of Sarnath.
Beyond hosting pilgrims, how does Dai Loc Temple support Vietnamese monastics
Because Varanasi is home to Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and major Sanskrit institutes, Dai Loc Temple serves as a residential monastery, library, and spiritual home for Vietnamese monks and nuns pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in Buddhist Studies.