Turning off Hàng Than Street through Gate 19, visitors encounter a two-tiered eight-roof front worship hall standing behind a compact courtyard containing three three-story brick stupas. Stepping into the main sanctuary and looking to the left reveals an unusual sculpture portraying a crowned ruler in royal robes kneeling on the ground and supporting a seated Buddha statue upon his back. Longtime temple-goers in Hanoi all know this statue, and most first-time visitors come here because of it.
Yet for practitioners of Zen, Hòe Nhai is remembered for another reason. Formally named Hồng Phúc tự (Vast Blessing Pagoda), this temple has served since the late 17th century as the primary ancestral seat of the Tào Động (Caodong) Zen lineage in northern Vietnam. Tào Động temples across the Red River Delta trace their Dharma transmission back to two patriarchs who resided on this ground, Zen Master Thủy Nguyệt and Zen Master Chân Dung Tông Diễn.
IAncestral seat of the Tào Động lineage
After Sixth Patriarch Huineng, Chinese Chan (Zen) divided into five houses (ngũ gia), of which the two most enduring were Lâm Tế (Linji) and Tào Động (Caodong). Tào Động takes its name from its two 9th-century founders, Dongshan Liangjie (Động Sơn Lương Giới) and his disciple Caoshan Benji (Tào Sơn Bản Tịch). In Vietnam today, most Northern Buddhist pagodas follow branches of the Lâm Tế school. Tào Động has fewer temples, and in northern Vietnam its root lies at Hòe Nhai.
Tào Động and Lâm Tế share the same Zen root aimed at seeing one's true nature, yet differ in how they guide practitioners. Lâm Tế is famed for its direct strike through shouts, the staff, abrupt exchanges, and later huatou contemplation (khán thoại đầu, holding onto the critical phrase of a koan until doubt shatters). Tào Động follows a subtle and intimate path, employing the doctrine of the Five Ranks of Lord and Vassal (ngũ vị quân thần) to articulate the fivefold relationship between the absolute and the relative, and favoring quiet, open-awareness sitting that Song-dynasty masters called silent illumination (mặc chiếu) without grasping a koan topic or awaiting a sudden flash of awakening. Put simply, Lâm Tế is like a blade cutting straight to the root, whereas Tào Động is like a farmer plowing each furrow deep.
These two approaches do not exclude each other. In Vietnam, many Tào Động masters also employed koans, and many Lâm Tế temples practiced quiet sitting. At any given pagoda, the clearest distinction lies in its lineage transmission and Dharma-name verse rather than in daily liturgy.
The master who brought the Tào Động lineage to northern Vietnam was Zen Master Thông Giác Thủy Nguyệt (secular name Đặng Giáp, a native of Thanh Triều, Hưng Nhân, former Thái Bình Province). According to the Buddhist Studies Review (Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Phật học), at age 28 he traveled to China to study under Chan Master Yiju Zhijiao (Nhất Cú Tri Giáo, 1607 to 1685), 35th-generation Tào Động patriarch in Huzhou, received Dharma transmission after six years as a 36th-generation patriarch, and returned home. Meanwhile, Nguyễn Lang's Việt Nam Phật giáo sử luận (Chapter 23) records that he traveled to China in 1664 at age 28, studied in Huzhou for three years, and returned to Đại Việt in 1667 to practice at Vọng Lão Pagoda and Nhẫm Dương Pagoda (Đông Triều), where his Linh Quang Stupa stands.
His Dharma heir was Second Patriarch Chân Dung Tông Diễn (secular name Hoàng Khắc Minh, a native of Lệ Thủy, Quảng Bình, affectionately revered in folk tradition as Patriarch Cua, or Crab Patriarch, because during his early practice at Nhẫm Dương he used to gather field crabs injured by farmers clearing grass and release them into mountain streams). Serving as abbot of Hòe Nhai, he was granted the royal title Tuệ Dung Hòa thượng Đại Tuệ Thiền sư Bảo Thiền Phụ Quốc (engraved on the 1703 stele), established the temple as the Tào Động ancestral seat in the capital, and transmitted the lamp to Third Patriarch Từ Sơn Hạnh Nhất (popularly called Patriarch Đá, or Stone Patriarch, who passed away in 1726). Sources vary slightly on the life dates of the first two patriarchs, with the Buddhist Studies Review and Nguyễn Lang giving Thủy Nguyệt as 1636 (or 1637) to 1704 and Tông Diễn as 1638 (or 1640) to 1709, while Chốn Thiêng gives Thủy Nguyệt as 1637 to 1704 and Tông Diễn as 1640 to 1711.
The northern Tào Động lineage uses its own transmission verse to assign Dharma names generation by generation, beginning with the four characters Tịnh trí thông tông (Pure wisdom penetrates the source). Each generation of monastics takes the next character in sequence as the first character of their Dharma name, allowing anyone to recognize a practitioner's generation at a glance. Because sources transcribe the remainder of the verse differently, the library cites only the opening four characters.
Many assume the Tào Động school entered Vietnam by a single route, yet there were two separate transmissions. In northern Vietnam (Đàng Ngoài), the lineage arrived through Zen Master Thủy Nguyệt and took Hòe Nhai as its main seat. In southern Vietnam (Đàng Trong) at the end of the 17th century, Chan Master Shilian Dashan (Thạch Liêm Đại Sán) sailed from Guangdong to Thuận Hóa, initiating a distinct southern Tào Động branch. The two branches share the same school name but had different transmitting masters and different ancestral seats. Calling Hòe Nhai the Tào Động ancestral temple refers specifically to the northern lineage.
IIFrom a Lý-dynasty temple to the Tào Động ancestral seat
The name Hòe Nhai means Scholar-Tree Street, a thoroughfare name dating back to the Lý and Trần dynasties. Situated beside the ancient waterway leading from the Thăng Long citadel out to the Đông Bộ Đầu landing on the Red River, the pagoda is traditionally said to date from the Lý dynasty, while its documented history begins in the Restored Lê period when the Tào Động lineage assumed the abbacy and rebuilt the complex.
- Lý dynastyTraditional foundingTemple records and historical profiles state that the pagoda originated in the Lý dynasty, echoed by parallel couplets inside the hall mentioning 'former Lý, later Lê,' though no Lý-period artifacts survive on site.
- Late 17th centuryArrival of the Tào Động lineageSecond Patriarch Chân Dung Tông Diễn (disciple of Patriarch Thủy Nguyệt) became abbot and rebuilt the pagoda under the formal name Hồng Phúc tự as the northern Tào Động ancestral seat.
- 1678 or 1687Major restorationA major restoration during the reign of King Lê Hy Tông recorded in most temple profiles.
- 1698Stele of the 19th year of Chính HòaThe earliest dated stele at the pagoda, recording the merit of King Lê Hy Tông's wet nurse Nguyễn Thị Phán (Dharma title Từ Dụ, a native of Hòe Nhai Ward) and Zen Master Chân Dung in expanding the temple, engraved with the 160-line verse Phúc Diễn Vô Cương.
- 1703Stele of the 24th year of Chính HòaThe most celebrated of the temple's 28 steles, composed by Doctoral Laureate Hà Tông Mục, explicitly locating Hồng Phúc Pagoda at the Đông Bộ Đầu landing in Hòe Nhai Ward (often called the oldest stele in press accounts, though the 1698 stele is five years older).
- 1734 and 1803Casting of the bronze chime and great bellIn the 3rd year of Long Đức (1734), a bronze chime measuring 1 meter high by 1.5 meters wide was cast. In the 2nd year of Gia Long (1803), a 1.3-meter great bronze bell was cast.
- 1899, 1920, and 1946Construction of the two front halls and relocation of old stupasThe inner front hall was built in the 11th year of Thành Thái (1899) and repaired in 1920, while the outer front hall was added in 1946. When the French opened Hàng Than Street, older patriarchal stupas in front of the main hall were relocated to Cổ Linh Pagoda (Gia Lâm).
- 1989 and 21st centuryNational heritage ranking and comprehensive restorationOn January 21, 1989, the Ministry of Culture ranked the pagoda as a national historical and cultural heritage site. In the early 21st century, the temple underwent a full restoration and erected a new five-entrance gate.
Sources list different restoration timelines. Many overviews highlight two major restorations in 1687 (or 1678) and 1899. Drawing directly on the stele inscriptions, Chốn Thiêng lists a longer sequence of dates including 1698, 1699, 1703, 1812, 1894, 1920, and 1946, adding that Monk Quang Hựu expanded the temple during the Tự Đức reign and Monk Chính Bình repaired it in 1891. These two listings complement each other by emphasizing major rebuilds versus individual stele dates, though the year 1687 is not confirmed on any stele in Chốn Thiêng's inventory. The library records both.
IIIInner-Công outer-Quốc layout and twenty-eight stone steles
Covering roughly 3,000 square meters, the pagoda follows the inner-Công outer-Quốc layout (nội công ngoại quốc), in which the inner Buddha worship halls form a Công-character (工) joining two parallel front worship halls (tiền đường), an incense hall, and an upper sanctuary, while the Patriarchs' Hall, Mother Goddess Hall, side corridors, and monastic quarters enclose the perimeter like a Quốc-character (國). This was the classic plan of large Restored Lê temples across the Red River Delta.
The outermost worship hall features a double-tiered eight-roof structure. According to Chốn Thiêng, the temple has two parallel five-bay front worship halls, with the inner hall built in 1899 and the outer hall added in 1946.
A three-bay sanctuary housing 68 statues of precious wood, compacted clay, and bronze, notably the Nine-Dragon infant Buddha, a 16th-century ceramic lotus pedestal, and the Medicine Buddha Triad and Avatamsaka Triad carved with shaved monastic heads.
A seven-bay hall enshrining the Tào Động patriarchs who presided here, headed by Zen Master Thủy Nguyệt and Zen Master Chân Dung Tông Diễn.
Twenty-eight stone steles dating from 1698 and 1703 to the mid-20th century (including memorial-date steles behind the main altar), alongside a 1734 bronze chime and an 1803 great bronze bell.
Standing in the front courtyard inside the five-entrance gate, comprising two ancient stupas (including the three-story Ấn Tổ stupa) and one stupa built in 1963. Older patriarchal stupas were moved to Cổ Linh Pagoda when Hàng Than Street was opened.
The statue of a king carrying the Buddha (Dĩ thân vi sàng)
On the left side of the main sanctuary stands a gilded lacquered wooden double statue nearly three meters tall, formally titled Dĩ thân vi sàng (using one's own body as a throne for the Buddha), depicting a crowned monarch in court robes kneeling prostrate with both hands planted on the ground while Shakyamuni Buddha sits upon his back. Temple tradition associates the statue with King Lê Hy Tông (reigned 1675 to 1705). After the king issued decrees restricting and examining Buddhist monks, Zen Master Chân Dung Tông Diễn placed a written memorial inside a box inscribed with the four characters Ngọc khai thị (Jewel of Enlightened Instruction, also recorded as Ngọc khai hóa) and asked the royal wet nurse Nguyễn Thị Phán to present it to the throne, explaining that the Buddha's teaching of wisdom and virtue is the true jewel safeguarding the realm. Moved by the petition, the king revoked the edict and commissioned the statue of himself supporting the Buddha in repentance, which is why it is also called the Repentance statue (the Hanoi Buddhism portal and Phật Sự Online also note a secondary folk account linking the kneeling figure to Lord Trịnh Kiểm).
While this story belongs to temple tradition rather than official court annals, the reign of King Lê Hy Tông at the turn of the 18th century coincides directly with Zen Master Tông Diễn's abbacy at Hòe Nhai and with the 1698 and 1703 steles erected here. The sculpture thus stands as a tangible witness to the relationship between the Lê-Trịnh court and the Tào Động lineage as the school took root in the royal capital.
Some casual observers interpret the statue as a monarch being humiliated before the monastery. Such a reading misses the Buddhist meaning of the image. In Buddhist iconography, carrying the Buddha on one's back (dĩ thân vi sàng) represents shouldering the Dharma, bringing the teaching directly into one's own life and governance. Rather than depicting a ruler cast down, the statue portrays a sovereign voluntarily taking up the protection of the Three Jewels, which is how the temple itself explains the work to pilgrims.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional feng shui rather than statements from temple steles or official records. Published profiles of the pagoda note only that its gate faces west, while the observations below represent geomantic interpretation.
The first notable feature is the westward orientation. Whereas most northern Vietnamese temples and shrines favor facing south, Hòe Nhai opens its gate to the west. Materials from Hanoi Buddhism explain that the pagoda looks toward the Buddha's land in the west. In feng shui terms, this is an orientation by doctrinal meaning rather than climate, accepting the hot afternoon sun so that the main gate opens toward the direction revered as the realm of the Buddha.
Regarding water, the pagoda stands along the ancient watercourse that connected the royal citadel with the Red River at the Đông Bộ Đầu landing. Hanoi's Old Quarter was originally alluvial riverfront land crisscrossed by channels draining into the river. In delta geomancy where mountains are absent, watercourses conduct qi, and a temple standing beside an ancient waterway sits directly along that vital current. Today the old channel has been filled into city streets, yet its memory survives in the surrounding street names.
Regarding layout, the inner-Công outer-Quốc plan forms a protective perimeter around the central worship halls. In traditional reading, the outer ring retains qi, the inner core gathers qi, and the Patriarchs' Hall positioned at the rear provides backing support. For an ancestral temple, placing the patriarchs behind the Buddha anchors the entire lineage. Finally, the scholar tree (cây hòe) from which Hòe Nhai takes its name was traditionally planted before noble households as an emblem of enduring roots, fitting for a Zen ancestral seat that has endured for over three centuries.
VPatriarchal memorial days and annual observances
As an ancestral seat, Hòe Nhai observes the memorial anniversaries of the Tào Động patriarchs alongside universal Buddhist festivals. The lunar dates below are compiled by Chốn Thiêng from the memorial stele inscriptions kept behind the main altar.
| Lunar date | Observance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6th day of the 3rd month | Memorial of Patriarch Thủy Nguyệt | Anniversary of the patriarch who brought the Tào Động lineage to northern Vietnam and founded Hồng Phúc tự. |
| 8th day of the 4th month | Buddha's Birthday and joint ancestral memorial | Traditional northern date for the Buddha's Birthday, observed jointly with a memorial offering for all patriarchs. |
| 16th day of the 7th month | Memorial of Patriarch Chân Dung | Anniversary of Zen Master Chân Dung Tông Diễn, who established the pagoda as the Tào Động ancestral seat. |
| 5th day of the 10th month | Anniversary of Patriarch Bodhidharma | Commemoration of the First Patriarch of Zen, observed across all Zen schools. |
| 14th day of the 11th month | Memorial of Patriarch Tịnh Giác | Memorial day for an eminent patriarch in the temple's lineage. |
| 17th day of the 11th month | Festival of Amitabha Buddha and joint memorial | Second joint patriarchal memorial offering of the year. |
Beyond these specific dates, the pagoda draws large crowds on the new moon and full moon days of each month and throughout the first lunar month. Monastics of the Tào Động lineage from temples across the Red River Delta regularly return to Hòe Nhai on the memorial day of Patriarch Thủy Nguyệt like descendants returning to an ancestral family hall.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Số 19 phố Hàng Than, phường Ba Đình (phường Nguyễn Trung Trực cũ, quận Ba Đình cũ), Hà Nội
- Getting there
- The pagoda is located at 19 Hàng Than Street, Ba Đình Ward, Hanoi, near the approach to Long Biên Bridge. It is a short walk north from the Old Quarter, about 900 meters from Bạch Mã Temple on Hàng Buồm Street.
- Coordinates
- 21.0424, 105.8473
Hòe Nhai is an active ancestral temple where monastics reside and study rather than a museum. Visitors should dress modestly, remove hats before entering the main sanctuary and Patriarchs' Hall, and walk and speak quietly. Do not touch the King Carrying the Buddha statue or the stone steles. Please ask permission from the temple caretakers before taking photographs inside the main sanctuary or Patriarchs' Hall, and on patriarchal memorial days yield space before the altars to officiating monastics.
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?Quick Questions
Which Zen lineage does Hòe Nhai Pagoda belong to?
It belongs to the Tào Động (Caodong) Zen lineage. Founded as a Tào Động seat in the late 17th century by First Patriarch Thủy Nguyệt Thông Giác and developed by his disciple Second Patriarch Chân Dung Tông Diễn, it is the primary ancestral temple of the northern Tào Động school.
How does the Tào Động lineage differ from Lâm Tế?
Both lineages stem from Chinese Chan Buddhism. Lâm Tế emphasizes direct breakthroughs using shouts, the staff, and huatou contemplation, whereas Tào Động favors silent illumination meditation (mặc chiếu) and the philosophy of the Five Ranks of Lord and Vassal. At an individual temple, the clearest distinction lies in its lineage genealogy and Dharma-name transmission verse.
Which king is depicted in the King Carrying the Buddha statue at Hòe Nhai Pagoda?
Formally titled Dĩ thân vi sàng (using one's own body as a throne for the Buddha), the statue is linked in temple tradition to King Lê Hy Tông, who restricted Buddhist monastics before being moved by Zen Master Chân Dung Tông Diễn's Ngọc khai thị petition box to repent and commission the statue (a secondary folk account links the kneeling figure to Lord Trịnh Kiểm).
What are the other names of Hòe Nhai Pagoda?
Its formal literary name is Hồng Phúc tự (Vast Blessing Pagoda), so it is also called Hồng Phúc Pagoda or Hồng Phúc Hòe Nhai Ancestral Temple. The name Hòe Nhai means Scholar-Tree Street, a street name dating to the Lý and Trần dynasties, located today at 19 Hàng Than Street, Hanoi.
How many stone steles are preserved at Hòe Nhai Pagoda?
The pagoda preserves 28 stone steles. The earliest dated stele from the 19th year of Chính Hòa (1698) records the expansion of the temple by royal wet nurse Nguyễn Thị Phán and Zen Master Chân Dung, while the most famous stele from the 24th year of Chính Hòa (1703), composed by Doctoral Laureate Hà Tông Mục, pinpoints the historic Đông Bộ Đầu river landing.