Tam Bửu Pagoda

IWhy Tam Bửu Pagoda is the patriarchal seat of Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa

Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa is an indigenous religion born in the Mekong Delta in the second half of the 19th century, continuing the Studying Buddhism and Cultivating Human Virtue (Học Phật Tu Nhân) teaching of the Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương tradition 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 the foundation of practice. Its founder was Master Ngô Lợi (also known as Ngô Viện or Năm Thiếp, 1831 - 1890), who proclaimed the faith 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.

In 1876, Master Ngô Lợi led his disciples into the wild land around the foot of Mount Tượng to clear rice fields and gather settlers into the four villages of An Định, An Hòa, An Lập, and An Thành. In An Định Village, he had two major temple complexes built opposite each other, namely Phi Lai Pagoda (joined with An Định Communal House) and Tam Bửu Pagoda (joined with Tam Bửu Communal House). Because Tam Bửu Pagoda was where Master Ngô Lợi regularly resided, expounded the Dharma, issued membership certificates (lòng phái) to followers, and enshrined the Long Đình dedicated to the Buddha King, all followers revere it as the central patriarchal seat (Tổ đình), and it currently serves as the headquarters of the Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Buddhist Association.

IIHistorical milestones from early land clearance to the present

• 5th of 5th lunar month, 1867Master Ngô Lợi founds the Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa religion
  Ngô Lợi founded the faith on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month of the Đinh Mão year (1867) at Cù Lao Ba (according to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs and Nguyễn Phong Vũ) or in Ba Chúc (according to the Gazetteer of An Giang), teaching Studying Buddhism and Cultivating Human Virtue and issuing membership certificates (lòng phái) to followers.
• 1876 - 1882Founding the four villages around Mount Tượng, crafting the Long Đình, and building Tam Bửu Pagoda
  Beginning in 1876, Master Ngô Lợi brought followers to the foot of Mount Tượng to establish four villages and initial worship structures. In the Kỷ Mão year (1879), he drew the design for skilled carpenters to craft the Long Đình from cam đàn wood harvested on Mount Dài. On June 26, 1882, Tam Bửu Pagoda joined with Tam Bửu Communal House was completed.
• 1885 - 1888Temple burnings, seizure of the Long Đình, and two rebuildings
  In the first lunar month of the Ất Dậu year (1885), French colonial troops and Trần Bá Lộc raided Mount Tượng, burning temples and seizing the Long Đình to take to Cái Bè (in 1935 Trần Bá Lộc's son Trần Bá Tư donated it to the Saigon Museum). After raids in 1885 and 1887, Master Ngô Lợi and his followers returned to rebuild the pagoda in 1886 and 1888.
• 1890Master Ngô Lợi passes away at Mount Tượng
  On the 13th day of the tenth lunar month of the Canh Dần year (1890), Master Ngô Lợi passed away. Thereafter the faith did not appoint a successor patriarch, and religious affairs were overseen by senior disciples and temple management boards at Tam Bửu Ancestral Pagoda and the four villages.
• 1949, 1970, 1971, 1980Three 20th-century renovations, return of the Long Đình, and national heritage ranking
  According to Nguyễn Phong Vũ's research, during the 20th century Tam Bửu Pagoda underwent three major renovations in 1949, 1970, and 1980. In May 1971, the original Long Đình was escorted by followers from Saigon back to Tam Bửu Pagoda. On July 10, 1980, the pagoda was ranked as a National historical heritage site.
• 2010 - 2020Headquarters of the Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Buddhist Association
  From 2010, the community of followers organized its collective life as the Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Religious Association, and since the Third Congress of Followers in 2020 has carried the name Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Buddhist Association, with its central headquarters at Tam Bửu Pagoda.

IIICommunal-house-in-front, pagoda-in-back layout, two sanctuary halls, and the Long Đình

IVThe lie of the land at the foot of Mount Tượng in the Ba Chúc ancestral complex

Tam Bửu Pagoda sits on elevated ground east of the foot of Mount Tượng (Liên Hoa Sơn, rising about one hundred and forty-five meters) in old An Định Village, now the center of Ba Chúc Commune. The pagoda stands about two hundred meters from the rocky base of Mount Tượng and directly across the main road from Phi Lai Pagoda, forming the core religious complex of the four-village settlement.

Surrounding the Ba Chúc plain are peaks of the Seven Mountains range, the nearest being Mount Tượng standing isolated in the plain and farther to the southeast the long ridge of Mount Dài (Ngọa Long Sơn) running like a natural rampart. In the 1870s, this combination of mountain forest and low-lying plain gave Master Ngô Lợi and his disciples both fertile soil to clear for villages and protective terrain sheltering the pioneer community.

VGrand ceremonies at the ancestral seat and the community life of fellow practitioners

As the central patriarchal seat of the Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa Buddhist Association, Tam Bửu Pagoda hosts the most important annual ceremonies of the entire religion. Foremost among them are the Grand Anniversary of the Founding of Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa combined with the birth anniversary of Master Ngô Lợi on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month (the Đoan Ngọ Festival), the death anniversary of Master Ngô Lợi on the 13th day of the tenth lunar month, and the Kỳ Yên peace-praying festivals at Tam Bửu Communal House. During each grand festival, tens of thousands of followers from 16 provinces and cities across the Mekong Delta and Southeastern Vietnam gather at the ancestral seat, creating a solemn and closely knit pilgrimage atmosphere.

Followers of Tứ Ân Hiếu Nghĩa address one another as fellow practitioners (thân bằng), maintaining a gentle way of life and mutual aid in farming as well as family weddings and funerals. When attending ceremonies at Tam Bửu Ancestral Pagoda, followers wear black or white side-buttoned tunics (áo vạt hò) or bà ba outfits with their hair coiled in an onion-shaped bun fastened by a hairpin, present purely vegetarian offerings of incense, lamps, tea, fruit, fresh flowers, and clean water, and chant scriptures exhorting people to cultivate human virtue, fulfill filial piety toward parents and ancestors, and uphold loyalty to compatriots and country.

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