Looking back from the viewpoint at Bản Giốc Waterfall, visitors see a steep mountain slope where newly tiled roofs rise tier by tier against the limestone cliff. Stone steps climb along the contour of the hill, opening onto wider landings at each level until the temple courtyard brings the entire cascading waterfall below into full view. The ironwood (gỗ lim) roof trusses still hold their fresh timber hue and the roof tiles keep their crisp edges, untouched by the centuries of moss seen at lowland temples.
That point should be stated at the outset, Phật Tích Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc Pagoda is a newly built temple. Ground was broken in June 2013 and the pagoda was inaugurated on December 15, 2014 within the Trúc Lâm Zen lineage. What merits attention here is therefore not an ancient chronology, but two older traditions that the temple continues, the Vietnamese Zen lineage it joins and the long-standing practice of raising Buddhist pagodas along the frontier.
IName and Zen lineage
The full name of the pagoda consists of three parts, each stating a distinct aspect. Phật Tích means Traces of the Buddha, signifying the presence of the Dharma in this borderland. Trúc Lâm (Bamboo Grove) is the Zen school to which the temple belongs. Bản Giốc is the name of the nearby waterfall. The complex is also called Thiền viện Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc (Bản Giốc Trúc Lâm Zen Monastery).
The four Chinese characters 佛跡竹林 at the head of this page represent the phrase Phật Tích Trúc Lâm, inferred by the library from the Vietnamese name rather than copied from an inscribed plaque.
Trúc Lâm is a Vietnamese Zen lineage founded by Retired Emperor Trần Nhân Tông (1258 to 1308) in the tenth lunar month of the Kỷ Hợi year 1299 after he abdicated the throne and ascended Mount Yên Tử as a monk under the title Hương Vân Đại Đầu Đà (or Trúc Lâm Đầu Đà). What distinguished this school from earlier lineages was its unification of the three Zen transmissions previously active in Đại Việt, Vinītaruci (Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi), Vô Ngôn Thông and Thảo Đường, into a single Vietnamese Buddhist order centered on the principle of cư trần lạc đạo (dwelling in the world while rejoicing in the Way). In that view, practitioners do not need to sever themselves from worldly life to seek awakening, as cultivation and daily life are not split apart.
The three Trần-dynasty patriarchs of this school, known as the Three Patriarchs of Trúc Lâm (Trúc Lâm tam tổ), are First Patriarch Trần Nhân Tông, Second Patriarch Pháp Loa and Third Patriarch Huyền Quang. After the fourteenth century the lineage gradually waned. In the late twentieth century the Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ revived the tradition by translating source texts and establishing a network of Trúc Lâm Zen monasteries, and all Trúc Lâm pagodas and monasteries built from the late twentieth century to the present, including this temple at Bản Giốc, belong to that contemporary revival.
To avoid a common confusion, the three words Phật Tích in Phật Tích Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc Pagoda coincide with the name of an entirely different monument, the ancient Phật Tích Pagoda in Tiên Du, Bắc Ninh (literary name Vạn Phúc Tự) on Mount Lạn Kha, which dates to 1057 under the Lý dynasty and preserves a celebrated stone statue of Amitabha Buddha and stone mythical beasts among the earliest masterpieces of Đại Việt Buddhist sculpture. The library maintains a separate entry for that monument.
The two sites differ in every respect, in province, in age and in character, as one is a special national heritage site holding eleventh-century Lý artifacts while the other is a modern place of worship built in the Trúc Lâm Zen tradition. Sharing the words Phật Tích is simply a matter of shared Buddhist vocabulary, since Traces of the Buddha can be used at multiple locations. Throughout this entry the library therefore writes the full phrase Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc to keep the distinction clear.
IIThe Trúc Lâm lineage and the tradition of frontier pagodas
A newly built pagoda does not possess a long building chronicle of its own, yet it connects to the history of two much older things, the Zen lineage it follows and the custom of siting temples at the edge of the realm.
Regarding the custom of raising pagodas in borderlands, this represents an old historical pattern rather than a modern invention. In traditional Vietnamese thought, a pagoda built at the outer margin of the country served as a cultural landmark where communal life, temple bells and scriptural learning reached. Both the Lý and Trần courts established pagodas across the northern uplands. The temple at Bản Giốc stands within that tradition as part of its newest layer, and in the same month of December 2014 Cao Bằng province also inaugurated Trúc Lâm Tà Lùng Pagoda in former Quảng Hòa district, another Trúc Lâm temple often paired with Bản Giốc.
For this specific building, contemporary press reports record that construction began in June 2013, the consecration ceremony for the statue of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva took place in January 2014, and phase one was inaugurated on December 15, 2014 with Senior Venerable Thích Đức Thiện as its first abbot, at a cost of about 38 billion VND raised through charitable donations. Sources differ on the site's area, as Giác Ngộ Buddhist news reports about 3 hectares while VnExpress gives about 2 hectares. The library records both figures because the difference likely reflects whether the surrounding landscape buffer is counted alongside the core building zone.
- 1299Founding of the Trúc Lâm Zen schoolIn the tenth lunar month of the Kỷ Hợi year 1299, Retired Emperor Trần Nhân Tông entered monastic life on Mount Yên Tử with the title Hương Vân Đại Đầu Đà, uniting three earlier Zen lines into the Trúc Lâm Zen school.
- 14th centuryThree Patriarchs of Trúc LâmSecond Patriarch Pháp Loa and Third Patriarch Huyền Quang succeeded the First Patriarch, expanding the monastic community, printing scriptures and training monks.
- After the 14th centuryGradual decline of the lineageOver subsequent centuries of historical upheaval, the school lost the institutional network of Zen monasteries it had maintained under the Trần dynasty.
- 20th centuryRevival of the Trúc Lâm lineageThe Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ translated Trúc Lâm texts, opened meditation retreats and founded a series of Trúc Lâm Zen monasteries, restoring the lineage to active practice.
- June 2013Groundbreaking on Mount Phia NhằmConstruction began on the slope of Mount Phia Nhằm in Đàm Thủy commune, about five hundred meters from Bản Giốc Waterfall, followed by the consecration of the Avalokiteshvara statue in January 2014.
- December 15, 2014InaugurationPhase one of the pagoda was inaugurated and opened for worship with Senior Venerable Thích Đức Thiện as its first abbot. In the same month, Trúc Lâm Tà Lùng Pagoda in former Quảng Hòa was also inaugurated.
IIIStepped layout on the mountain slope
Unlike a lowland pagoda spread across a flat courtyard, the steep terrain here requires the buildings to rise in stepped terraces up the mountainside, climbing from the triple gate at the foot to the main halls above via flights of stone steps. That arrangement requires visitors to ascend level by level, with each terrace opening a wider view over the valley and waterfall.
Construction follows traditional northern Vietnamese temple craft, using ironwood (gỗ lim) timber frames, fired clay roof tiles with sweeping curved eaves, and horizontal plaques and parallel couplets written in romanized Vietnamese script (chữ Quốc ngữ) in keeping with Trúc Lâm Zen monastery practice. By adopting familiar Vietnamese architectural forms on a remote frontier ridge, the builders deliberately anchored the new monastery in traditional visual language.
The entrance gate at the lowest terrace of the compound, facing the stone stairway climbing from the foot of the mountain.
Two symmetrical pavilions arranged in traditional northern style. The bell tower houses the 1.5-ton bronze great bell named Thiên Bảo (Heavenly Treasure), the pagoda's best-known liturgical object.
The main worship hall housing the Mahayana Buddhist statue ensemble, serving as the center for daily chanting and meditation retreats.
The hall venerating the Patriarchs of the Trúc Lâm Zen lineage alongside residential and reception buildings for monastics and lay practitioners.
Outdoor statue and landscape zones set across the terraces, including the pavilion of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the garden of Arhat statues and the Lộc Uyển (Deer Park) garden.
Beyond the Buddhist halls, the compound includes a temple to Nùng Trí Cao, the eleventh-century figure long venerated by Nùng and Tày communities in Cao Bằng, a shrine to national heroes and a Mother Goddess shrine.
Visitors should bear in mind that this pagoda holds no antique artifacts. There are no centuries-old stone steles, no gilded wooden statues from the Lê or Nguyễn periods, and no ancient woodblocks. Everything on site is newly crafted after traditional models. Stating this does not diminish the site, rather it invites visitors to read the temple for what it is, a living monastic community defined by its frontier setting overlooking the falls rather than by the age of its timber and stone.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional Vietnamese geomancy (phong thủy), not content copied from steles or project files. For a temple built in 2013 it is all the more important to note that the site was chosen for multiple practical and scenic reasons alongside traditional siting principles. The library states this clearly so readers can distinguish documentation from interpretive reading.
The first and clearest feature is that the pagoda possesses a true rear cushion (hậu chẩm). Its back rests directly against Mount Phia Nhằm, a solid limestone peak rising immediately behind the halls. In traditional land-viewing, a solid backing is the primary requirement, whereas lowland delta temples must substitute an earthen mound or a broad body of water, here the mountain stands ready-made, tall and continuous, with the halls set directly against its slope.
Second is a bright hall with living water (minh đường có thủy). Far below the front courtyard flow the Quây Sơn River and the multi-tiered cascades of Bản Giốc Waterfall. Classical manuals treat water in front of a site as a gatherer of vital energy (khí), and moving water with a resonant sound is classed as living water (hoạt thủy). A monastery looking down upon a waterfall thus unites doctrinal meaning with landscape, as the unceasing sound of falling water serves Zen practitioners as an anchor for stilling the mind. Notably, this is a high-perched prospect looking down on water rather than the waterside posture of lowland lakeside shrines.
Third is the stepped ascent by terraces. Arranging the halls across successive terraces on a steep slope is more than an engineering solution. Read in traditional terms, a tiered sanctuary channels qi upward along a vertical axis rather than spreading it horizontally, requiring worshippers to pass through each level in sequence before reaching the innermost hall, mirroring the graded stages of spiritual cultivation.
Finally comes the geomantic meaning of frontier ground. In traditional reading, the outer edge of a territory is where qi tends to disperse because no outer screen encloses it. Raising a pagoda at such a border point acts as a geomantic anchor in the broadest sense, placing a node that gathers qi where energy would otherwise scatter. Read alongside Trúc Lâm Tà Lùng Pagoda along the outer rim of Cao Bằng province, the two temples form a deliberate pair anchoring the frontier landscape.
VAnnual observances and monastic practice
Because the pagoda follows Mahayana Buddhism (Phật Giáo Bắc Tông) within the Trúc Lâm Zen school, its liturgical calendar combines standard northern Vietnamese Buddhist festivals with memorial days specific to the Trúc Lâm lineage. The table below lists these fixed lunar dates as general monastic practice, while exact annual schedules are set by the temple.
| Lunar date | Observance | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 15th day of the 1st month | Thượng Nguyên Festival | The first full-moon observance of the year in Mahayana temples, featuring sutra chanting for peace and drawing the largest crowds of the year. |
| 15th day of the 4th month | Buddha's Birthday (Lễ Phật Đản) | Celebration of the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha, featuring the bathing-the-Buddha rite and chanting. |
| 15th day of the 7th month | Vu Lan Festival (Ullambana) | Rite of filial piety and prayers for deceased ancestors based on the Ullambana Sutra. |
| 1st or 3rd day of the 11th month | Memorial of the First Patriarch of Trúc Lâm | Commemoration of the Nirvana of Buddhist Emperor Trần Nhân Tông in 1308. The Tam Tổ Thực Lục and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha observe the 1st day of the 11th lunar month, Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư records the 3rd day of the 11th month, while one online article mistakenly prints the 1st day of the 10th month. |
| 8th day of the 12th month | Buddha's Enlightenment Day | Commemoration of Shakyamuni Buddha's awakening under the Bodhi tree. |
Beyond these annual dates, the distinctive rhythm of a Trúc Lâm temple lies in its meditation retreats (khóa tu), where lay practitioners stay at the monastery for one or several days following a schedule of sitting meditation, sutra chanting, Dharma talks and communal work. That practice marks the clearest difference between a Zen monastery and a communal spirit shrine, at a shrine visitors present offerings and depart, whereas here a substantial part of temple life consists of study and silent sitting.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Núi Phia Nhằm, xã Đàm Thủy, tỉnh Cao Bằng
- Getting there
- The pagoda stands on Mount Phia Nhằm in Đàm Thủy commune, Cao Bằng province (within former Trùng Khánh district), about five hundred meters from Bản Giốc Waterfall and roughly eighty-five kilometers from the center of former Cao Bằng city via National Highway 3 and Provincial Road 206. Visitors climb stone steps on foot from the base of the mountain.
- Coordinates
- 22.8546, 106.7197
As this is an active place of meditation and study, visitors should observe temple etiquette by dressing modestly, removing hats inside the Three Jewels Hall and Patriarchs' Hall, walking quietly and speaking softly, refraining from touching statues, and never striking the Thiên Bảo great bell on their own. If a meditation or chanting session is underway, please stand quietly outside or join seated meditation at the rear rather than walking across the assembly. Because the stone steps climbing the mountain are steep, please yield the path to others on narrow sections.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Phat Tich Truc Lam Ban Gioc Pagoda
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Chùa Phật Tích Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc (Cao Bằng)Everyone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
Thầy Ưng Khiêm mời cộng đồng cùng làm giàu trang này. Ảnh chụp tận nơi, một chi tiết lịch sử chưa được nhắc, một đoạn video ngắn: mọi đóng góp đều được đọc và trả lời.
No community contribution yet. You could be the first. Chưa có đóng góp nào từ cộng đồng. Bạn có thể là người đầu tiên.
?Quick Questions
Where is Phật Tích Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc Pagoda located
The pagoda sits on the slope of Mount Phia Nhằm in Đàm Thủy commune, Cao Bằng province (in the territory of former Trùng Khánh district), about five hundred meters from Bản Giốc Waterfall. Following the 2025 administrative reorganization, Phong Nặm, Chí Viễn and Đàm Thủy communes merged to form the new Đàm Thủy commune of Cao Bằng province.
Is Phật Tích Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc Pagoda related to Phật Tích Pagoda in Bắc Ninh
No. They are two completely different places that happen to share the three words Phật Tích (Traces of the Buddha). The temple at Bản Giốc is a modern Trúc Lâm Zen pagoda inaugurated on December 15, 2014 in Cao Bằng. The ancient Phật Tích Pagoda in Tiên Du, Bắc Ninh (literary name Vạn Phúc Tự) dates to 1057 under the Lý dynasty and is a special national heritage site.
When was Phật Tích Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc Pagoda built
Ground was broken in June 2013, the Avalokiteshvara statue was consecrated in January 2014, and phase one was inaugurated on December 15, 2014 at a cost of about 38 billion VND raised through charitable contributions. Sources give its area variously as about 3 hectares or about 2 hectares, so the library records both figures.
What is the Trúc Lâm Zen school
It is a Vietnamese Zen lineage founded by Retired Emperor Trần Nhân Tông in the tenth lunar month of 1299 on Mount Yên Tử under the title Hương Vân Đại Đầu Đà, uniting the three earlier Zen lines of Vinītaruci, Vô Ngôn Thông and Thảo Đường around the teaching of cư trần lạc đạo (dwelling in the world while rejoicing in the Way). Its three Trần-dynasty patriarchs were Trần Nhân Tông, Pháp Loa and Huyền Quang, and the lineage was revived in the twentieth century by the Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ.
Who is worshipped at Phật Tích Trúc Lâm Bản Giốc Pagoda
The Three Jewels Hall venerates the Buddhas according to Mahayana tradition, while the Patriarchs' Hall venerates the Patriarchs of the Trúc Lâm Zen lineage. The compound also includes the Avalokiteshvara pavilion, the Arhat garden, the Lộc Uyển garden, a Mother Goddess shrine, a shrine to national heroes and a temple dedicated to the eleventh-century historical figure Nùng Trí Cao.