Phi Lai Pagoda

IThe place of Phi Lai Pagoda within the Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa tradition

The Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa tradition (formerly called the Way of Venerating Forebears or the Hiếu Nghĩa Way by followers, now organized as the Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Buddhist Association) was founded by Master Ngô Lợi (also known as Ngô Viện or Năm Thiếp, 1831 - 1890) on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month of the Đinh Mão year (1867). Regarding the place where the faith was founded in 1867, publications of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, People's Deputies Newspaper, and researcher Nguyễn Phong Vũ identify Cù Lao Ba (Vĩnh Trường Commune, An Phú District, An Giang Province), whereas the Gazetteer of An Giang names the Ba Chúc area. According to Nguyễn Phong Vũ's study in Religious Studies Review, before settling permanently at Mount Tượng, Master Ngô Lợi built the faith's first pagoda in Bình Long Commune and Bửu Khánh Pagoda on Cù Lao Ba. In 1876, he led his disciples into the wilderness around Mount Tượng (present-day Ba Chúc Commune) to clear farmland and gather settlers into the four villages of An Định, An Hòa, An Lập, and An Thành.

Upon first arriving at the foot of Mount Tượng, Master Ngô Lợi had a temporary shrine built on the present site of Phi Lai Pagoda so followers had a place for worship. Once community life stabilized in 1877, he had An Định Communal House and the full-scale Phi Lai Pagoda constructed on the site of that temporary shrine in the communal-house-in-front, pagoda-in-back arrangement. Directly across the road, he also established Tam Bửu Pagoda (begun in 1876 as a farm camp or thatched hermitage and completed as a full-scale temple in 1882), which housed the Royal Palanquin Throne (Long Đình) and became the central patriarchal seat (Tổ đình). Thus, in the sacred land of Ba Chúc, Tam Bửu Pagoda and Phi Lai Pagoda form the twin central sanctuaries of An Định Village, serving both as ritual centers and as spiritual anchors for residents of the four villages.

IIHistorical milestones from the founding of the four villages to the present

• 1876 - 1877Clearing land for the four villages and building Phi Lai Pagoda and An Định Communal House
  After leading settlers to the foot of Mount Tượng to establish the four villages of An Định, An Hòa, An Lập, and An Thành and erecting a temporary shrine in 1876, in 1877 (on January 19 or November 19) Master Ngô Lợi had Phi Lai Pagoda built in bamboo and thatch together with An Định Communal House and the Phi Lai mộc hương pavilion.
• 1885 - 1888Temple burnings and two rebuildings during Master Ngô Lợi's lifetime
  In the first lunar month of the Ất Dậu year (1885) and again in the Đinh Hợi year (1887), French colonial troops and forces led by Trần Bá Lộc marched into the four villages around Mount Tượng, burning temples, shrines, and homes. After each raid, Master Ngô Lợi and his followers returned to rebuild Phi Lai Pagoda and An Định Communal House in 1886 and 1888.
• 1949, 1969, 1979Three permanent reconstructions in the 20th century
  After Master Ngô Lợi passed away in 1890, the pagoda was cared for by senior disciples and the ritual opera troupe within the faith. According to Nguyễn Phong Vũ's research, during the 20th century Phi Lai Pagoda underwent three major renovations in 1949, 1969, and 1979 (with the mộc hương pavilion inside the grounds also renovated in 1979), resulting in the spacious two-tiered tile-roofed structure seen today.
• July 10, 1980Ranking as a National historical heritage site
  On July 10, 1980, Phi Lai Pagoda and the surrounding heritage complex in Ba Chúc were ranked as a National historical heritage site.
• 2010 - 2020Consolidation of the Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Buddhist Association
  The community of followers consolidated its collective religious life under the name Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Religious Association from 2010, and since the Third Congress of Followers in 2020 has carried the name Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Buddhist Association, with Tam Bửu Pagoda and Phi Lai Pagoda in Ba Chúc serving as its central ritual complex.

IIICommunal-house-in-front, pagoda-in-back layout and aniconic altar system

IVThe lie of the land backed by Mount Tượng and facing the Ba Chúc plain

Mount Tượng (known in Sino-Vietnamese as Liên Hoa Sơn, Lotus Peak) is one of the seven emblematic peaks of the Seven Mountains range, rising about one hundred and forty-five meters amidst the low-lying plain of Ba Chúc Commune, with Mount Dài (Ngọa Long Sơn, Reclining Dragon Mountain) stretching across the southeast. In the late 19th century, the land around the base of Mount Tượng was still dense wilderness with secluded terrain, chosen by Master Ngô Lợi as a refuge to gather patriotic settlers and followers into four self-governing villages.

Phi Lai Pagoda and An Định Communal House sit on the level terrace east of the foot of Mount Tượng, only about two hundred meters from the cliff face and directly across the road from Tam Bửu Pagoda. Together, the two pagodas and two communal houses formed the architectural nucleus of old An Định Village, their backs resting against the rocky peak and their fronts looking out over the expansive rice paddies of the Ba Chúc plain.

VKỳ Yên festivals, major commemoration days, and Studying Buddhism and Cultivating Human Virtue

At Phi Lai Pagoda and An Định Communal House, the religious life of Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa followers unfolds throughout the year according to the traditional ritual calendar. The largest observances include the Kỳ Yên peace-praying festival held at the communal house and mộc hương pavilion, the anniversary of the founding of the faith (the 5th day of the fifth lunar month, coinciding with the Đoan Ngọ Festival), the birth anniversary of Master Ngô Lợi (also the 5th day of the fifth lunar month), and the death anniversary of Master Ngô Lợi (the 13th day of the tenth lunar month). On these occasions, tens of thousands of fellow practitioners (who affectionately address one another as thân bằng) from 16 provinces and cities across the Mekong Delta and Southeastern Vietnam make the pilgrimage to Ba Chúc to worship at both Tam Bửu Pagoda and Phi Lai Pagoda.

Followers of Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa practice lay cultivation at home, observing vegetarian fasts four or ten days each month and taking the repayment of the Four Heavy Debts of Gratitude (to ancestors and parents, to the country, to the Three Jewels, and to compatriots and humanity) as their foundation. When entering Phi Lai Pagoda for ceremonies, elders and followers wear traditional black or white bà ba shirts or side-buttoned tunics (áo vạt hò), keep their hair coiled in an onion-shaped bun fastened with a hairpin, and chant scriptures such as the Bát Dương Sutra, Amitābha Sutra, Vajra Longevity Sutra, and Universal Gate Sutra to the solemn rhythm of bells and wooden fish.

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