Stepping off the train at Almere Oostvaarders station at the northeastern edge of the modern city of Almere in Flevoland, a remarkable province of reclaimed land lying four meters below sea level east of Amsterdam, visitors need only walk a few minutes along a calm polder canal and the tree-lined avenue of Sumatraweg before a striking East Asian silhouette rises against the Dutch sky. Above warm golden walls soar multiple tiers of bright red tiled roofs with upturned dragon-tail eaves, a traditional Three-Entrance Gate (Tam Quan), and a white stone statue of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara mirrored in the canal waters. This is Van Hanh Pagoda (known in Vietnamese as Chùa Vạn Hạnh and in Dutch as Vạn Hạnh Pagode), the largest Vietnamese Buddhist monastery in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the only one constructed from the ground up in classical Vietnamese temple style.
Rooted in the founding of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in the Netherlands between 1984 and 1985 and the lifelong missionary dedication of the late Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác (1957 to 2025) from 1986 onward, progressing from its first temple building in Nederhorst den Berg in 1993 through more than two decades of planning and construction in Almere, Van Hanh Pagoda stands as a witness to perseverance, communal harmony, and cultural heritage in the land of tulips and canals.
IThe lineage name of Zen Master Vạn Hạnh and the sacred images of the Main Shrine
The Sino-Vietnamese name Vạn Hạnh Tự (萬行寺) was chosen by the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in the Netherlands and the late Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác in homage to National Preceptor Vạn Hạnh (who passed away in 1018 or 1025 according to historical chronicles), the eminent patriarch of the Vinītaruci Chan school during the Early Lê and Lý dynasties of Vietnam. In Vietnamese history, Zen Master Vạn Hạnh of Lục Tổ Pagoda in Cổ Pháp (Bắc Ninh, near the ancient cultural heartland of Phật Tích Pagoda) mentored King Lý Thái Tổ and guided the historic transfer of the royal capital to Thăng Long (Hanoi) in 1010, ushering in a golden age of compassionate Buddhist governance. Doctrinally, the two characters Vạn Hạnh (Myriad Practices, as in the Six Paramitas and Myriad Bodhisattva Practices) signify the countless deeds of wisdom and compassion performed for the welfare of all beings. Naming the principal temple in the Netherlands after Master Vạn Hạnh reminds overseas Vietnamese generations to unite contemplative wisdom with benevolent civic life.
The sanctuary inside the Main Shrine (Đại Hùng Bảo Điện) of Van Hanh Pagoda follows the liturgical canons of Vietnamese Mahāyāna Buddhism (within the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation in Europe). High upon the central lotus altar presides a radiant gilt statue of Śākyamuni Buddha (Đức Phật Bản Sư Thích Ca Mâu Ni) seated in serene meditation beneath an intricately carved aureole. Venerated on the accompanying altars are statues of Amitābha Buddha, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, and the Infant Buddha, flanked by the Dharma protectors Skanda (Vi Đà) and Ulkāmukha (Tiêu Diện Đại Sư). Behind and below the main hall lies the Patriarchs' Hall honoring Bodhidharma, National Preceptor Vạn Hạnh, successive lineage patriarchs, the memorial stupa portrait of founding Abbot Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác, and ancestral tablets for deceased Vietnamese residents in the Netherlands.
National Preceptor Vạn Hạnh's famous farewell poem before passing into nirvana, The body is like a flash of lightning, here then gone, all trees flourish in spring and wither in autumn, riding the rise and fall of things without fear, rise and fall are like a drop of dew on a blade of grass, served as the guiding spiritual motto throughout the building of the temple in the Netherlands. Across decades of refugee resettlement and the long administrative and financial challenges of constructing a traditional pagoda on reclaimed polder soil in Flevoland, that fearless equanimity sustained the monastic and lay community until the temple stood complete.
In some brief community summaries of Vietnamese Buddhism in the Netherlands, readers occasionally encounter simplified timelines stating that Van Hanh Pagoda began in 1987 in the Bilthoven or Utrecht area and was inaugurated in Almere around 2005 to 2006. Cross-checking with the official chronicle of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in the Netherlands (vanhanhpagode.nl) and the 40th-anniversary commemorative records clarifies the exact historical stages: the earliest spiritual seed was the Hoorn Prayer Hall (Niệm Phật Đường Hoorn) established by Venerable Thích Minh Giác in August 1986 (with outreach extending across North Holland and the Utrecht / Bilthoven region from 1987), the first Van Hanh Pagoda opened in January 1993 in the town of Nederhorst den Berg, the years from the mid-2000s (2005 to 2006) through 2012 marked the intensive phase of municipal land acquisition, architectural design, and fundraising for the new Almere site, the foundation stone in Almere was laid on December 12, 2012, and the Grand Official Inauguration Ceremony took place on October 15, 2023. The library records both accounts so that every stage of this forty-year effort is accurately preserved.
IIFour decades from a refugee prayer circle to a traditional Vietnamese temple in Almere
The story of Van Hanh Pagoda is inseparable from the resettlement of Vietnamese boat people rescued in the South China Sea and welcomed into the Kingdom of the Netherlands from the late 1970s onward. Settling across municipalities in North Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and North Brabant, Buddhist refugees soon gathered to chant sutras and preserve their ancestral faith. In August 1983, the first communal Ullambana (Vu Lan) festival in the Netherlands was celebrated. On February 25, 1984, following a New Year peace-prayer service in the port town of Enkhuizen, the Executive Board of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in the Netherlands was formed, receiving official royal and governmental recognition on April 3, 1985, under the legal name Stichting Vietnamese Boeddhistische Samenwerking in Nederland (VBSN).
To provide permanent monastic guidance, the Association together with senior European Vietnamese prelates (including the late Most Venerable Thích Minh Tâm in France and Most Venerable Thích Như Điển in Germany) petitioned the Dutch government to sponsor a Vietnamese monk from a refugee camp in Thailand. In August 1986, Venerable (later Most Venerable) Thích Minh Giác (1957 to 2025) arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and devoted the remaining 39 years of his life to building Vietnamese Buddhism in the Netherlands, leading the community from the Hoorn Prayer Hall (1986) and the Nederhorst den Berg temple (1993) to the landmark pagoda in Almere.
- February 25, 1984 - April 3, 1985Founding and official charter of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in the NetherlandsFollowing the first Vu Lan celebration (August 1983), the Executive Board formed in Enkhuizen on February 25, 1984, and was officially chartered by the Dutch government (Stichting VBSN) on April 3, 1985.
- August 1986 - 1987Arrival of Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác and early prayer hallsIn August 1986, Venerable Thích Minh Giác arrived in the Netherlands from a refugee camp in Thailand, establishing the first prayer hall in Hoorn and extending Dharma activities to the Utrecht / Bilthoven region and across the country from 1987.
- January 1993Establishment of the first Van Hanh Pagoda in Nederhorst den BergThe Association acquired a property in the town of Nederhorst den Berg (North Holland, bordering the Utrecht region) and opened the first Van Hanh Pagoda, serving the community for two decades.
- 2005 - 2011Planning and architectural design for the new pagoda in AlmereAs the Nederhorst den Berg building grew too small, beginning in the mid-2000s (2005 to 2006) Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác and the Board worked with the Municipality of Almere (Flevoland) to secure land on Sumatraweg, commission traditional architectural plans, and raise construction funds.
- December 12, 2012Foundation stone laying ceremony at Sumatraweg 350, Almere BuitenSenior monastics of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation in Europe, local Dutch officials, and hundreds of devotees celebrated the laying of the first stone for the new Van Hanh Pagoda at Sumatraweg 350 in Almere Buiten.
- October 15, 2023Grand Inauguration of Van Hanh Pagoda in Almere and 40th AnniversaryFollowing years of dedicated construction completing the Three-Entrance Gate, Main Shrine, and statue gardens (with the ceremony postponed one year due to the pandemic), the Grand Inauguration was celebrated alongside the 40th anniversary of Vietnamese Buddhism in the Netherlands.
- June 4, 2025Passing of founding Abbot Most Venerable Thích Minh GiácHaving fulfilled his lifelong vow of completing Van Hanh Pagoda for the Vietnamese diaspora in the Netherlands, Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác passed away peacefully on June 4, 2025, at the age of 69.
The life of the late Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác (secular name Nguyễn Quang Chánh, Dharma name Chơn Hương, born August 15, 1957, in Saigon, ordained in 1972 under Most Venerable Thích Thiện Huê at Đại Giác Pagoda in Phú Nhuận, received full bhikkhu ordination in 1980 at the Thiện Hòa Ordination Platform at Ấn Quang Pagoda) forms the spiritual backbone of Van Hanh Pagoda. Arriving in the Netherlands in 1986 as a 29-year-old refugee monk when not a single Vietnamese temple existed in the country, he spent nearly four decades uniting overseas Vietnamese families while fostering warm relations with Dutch Buddhist organizations (such as the Boeddhistische Unie Nederland and local Plum Village mindfulness sanghas), leaving behind an enduring architectural and spiritual jewel in Almere.
IIITraditional Vietnamese monastic architecture in the ecological city of Almere Buiten
Whereas most overseas Vietnamese temples in Western Europe occupy converted residential houses, farms, or former churches, Van Hanh Pagoda at Sumatraweg 350 (Almere Buiten) stands out as a purpose-built sanctuary constructed from the foundations up in authentic traditional Vietnamese Buddhist architecture, carefully engineered to meet modern Dutch structural, thermal, and urban-planning standards.
Framing the front courtyard is a classic Vietnamese Three-Entrance Gate crowned by two tiers of upturned red-tiled roofs, inscribed with the temple's name and parallel couplets in Vietnamese and Chinese characters.
The central monastic building rises in two storeys painted in warm imperial yellow and topped by double-tiered crimson tiled roofs with sweeping corner eaves adorned with twin dragons flanking the Dharma Wheel, phoenixes, turtles, and qilin.
Set within the landscaped courtyard directly beside the polder canal is an open-air sacred garden enshrining a tall white stone statue of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, Śākyamuni Buddha, and Maitreya Buddha amid bamboo, lotus pots, and ornamental trees.
The upper level houses the bright, high-ceilinged Main Shrine with traditional carved wooden altars crafted in Vietnam, while the ground floor accommodates the Patriarchs' Hall, Dharma lecture room, library, and a spacious vegetarian dining hall.
One of the most striking visual features of Van Hanh Pagoda is the way its curved Vietnamese roofs and golden walls mirror directly in the straight Dutch polder canal bordered by cycle paths and green belts in Almere Buiten.
Beyond serving the Vietnamese diaspora across the Netherlands, Van Hanh Pagoda's distinctive architecture and peaceful setting near the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve make it a welcoming center for intercultural dialogue: Dutch school groups regularly visit to learn about Buddhist philosophy, and local Dutch practitioners in the Plum Village mindfulness tradition (Stichting Leven in Aandacht in Almere) gather at the temple weekly for sitting and walking meditation.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
In Buddhist teaching, all phenomena arise through interdependent conditions and a peaceful mind makes any land a Pure Land: monasteries are sited where the fourfold assembly can gather in harmony rather than by geomantic divination. Even so, the location of Van Hanh Pagoda on the reclaimed polder land of Flevoland beside the great Oostvaardersdijk sea dike and the Almere canal system offers a fascinating study when viewed through classical Vietnamese landform feng shui. The reading below presents the library's comparative interpretation.
On the macro-geographical scale of the Netherlands, the province of Flevoland and the city of Almere represent a masterpiece of Dutch hydraulic engineering: this entire landscape was once the seabed of the Zuiderzee (now the vast freshwater lakes Markermeer and IJsselmeer), reclaimed by dikes and polders in 1968 to form the Zuidelijke Flevopolder. Because the ground surface in Almere lies roughly 3 to 5 meters below mean sea level, in flatland polder geomancy (bình dương pháp) the two essential elements that protect life and gather vital energy are monumental dikes acting as protective mountain ridges and regulated canals serving as nourishing water veins. Just 1.5 kilometers north and northwest of Van Hanh Pagoda rises the mighty Oostvaardersdijk embankment along the shore of the Markermeer, bordered to the northeast by the vast wetland sanctuary of the Oostvaardersplassen. That massive dike functions as a protective northern Xuanwu and northwest Qian mountain wall, shielding the neighborhood from fierce North Sea and Markermeer gales.
Located at coordinates 52.4013 degrees North and 5.2984 degrees East at Sumatraweg 350 (in the Indischebuurt district of Almere Buiten), the compound of Van Hanh Pagoda rests on level polder ground running directly along the northern bank of a tranquil canal connected to the Lage Vaart waterway. In classical flatland water geomancy (on the flat plain, a single gentle stream surpasses a thousand peaks), the calm canal flowing directly in front of and beside the temple serves as an ideal inner water-gathering bright hall (nội minh đường tụ thủy): its mirror-like surface reflects the Three-Entrance Gate and the crimson curved roofs of the Main Shrine, retaining gentle, harmonious qi within the compound. The architectural axis and entrance gate open toward Sumatraweg and the canal facing Southwest to South (looking toward Amsterdam with historic landmarks such as Westerkerk and southward toward Utrecht Dom Cathedral), welcoming warm southern sunlight and the steady stream of visitors arriving from Almere Oostvaarders station.
VMajor Buddhist festivals and cultural observances in the Netherlands
As the central monastery of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in the Netherlands, Van Hanh Pagoda in Almere upholds the full cycle of traditional Vietnamese Buddhist festivals and ancestral holidays calculated by the lunar calendar, while holding major public assemblies and meditation retreats on weekends of the Gregorian calendar so that devotees from across the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Hoorn, Eindhoven) as well as neighboring Belgium and Germany can attend.
| Season / Date | Calendar | Festival / Dharma Assembly | Ritual and cultural observance at Van Hanh Pagoda |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Eve to 15th day of the 1st month | Lunar calendar (January - February Gregorian) | Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tết Nguyên Đán) and Spring Peace Prayers | Solemn Midnight New Year ceremony, traditional firecrackers and lion dances, Medicine Buddha Sutra chanting for peace, spring blossom blessings, and a Vietnamese vegetarian New Year fair drawing thousands across the Netherlands. |
| 15th day of the 4th month | Lunar calendar (May Gregorian) | Buddha's Birthday Celebration (Đại lễ Phật Đản / Vesak) | Outdoor procession of the Buddha around the garden, Bathing the Baby Buddha rite (Mộc dục), Dharma talks, cultural performances by the Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association, and a communal vegetarian feast. |
| Early June (9th day of the 5th lunar month) | Lunar and Gregorian calendars | Annual Memorial Day of Founding Abbot Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác | Solemn memorial ceremony honoring the late founding Abbot (1957 to 2025) who pioneered the Hoorn Prayer Hall and built Van Hanh Pagoda, attended by monastics from across Europe. |
| 15th day of the 7th month | Lunar calendar (August - September Gregorian) | Ullambana Festival of Filial Piety (Đại lễ Vu Lan Báo Hiếu) | Continuing a Dutch-Vietnamese tradition begun in August 1983: rose-pinning ceremony honoring parents, chanting of the Ullambana Sutra, and requiem prayers for ancestors and boat people lost at sea. |
| Weekly (Saturdays, Sundays, and 1st and 15th lunar days) | Lunar and Gregorian calendars | Weekly Chanting, Eight-Precept Retreats, and Dutch Mindfulness Sessions | Vietnamese sutra chanting and Pure Land recitation, Eight-Precept lay retreats, youth family activities, and weekly Dutch-language mindfulness meditation sessions for local Almere residents. |
Every Lunar New Year, Vesak, and Vu Lan season, the sight of thousands of Vietnamese families dressed in colorful áo dài tunics and grey lay-Buddhist robes walking along the canal from Almere Oostvaarders station through the Three-Entrance Gate of Van Hanh Pagoda has become a cherished cultural hallmark of Almere. Beneath the curved red-tile roofs that echo their homeland, three generations of Vietnamese in the Netherlands join palms in prayer, honoring the pioneers who built the temple and passing on their spiritual heritage to the next generation.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Getting there
- Reaching the temple by Dutch public transport is straightforward: from Amsterdam Centraal or Utrecht Centraal station, take an NS Sprinter train directly to the terminus station Almere Oostvaarders (about 35 minutes from Amsterdam), then walk 5 to 7 minutes (500 meters) along Sumatraweg to Sumatraweg 350, 1335 JM Almere Buiten. By car, take the A6 motorway connecting to the A27 / N702 ring road toward Almere Buiten - Oostvaarders.
- Coordinates
- 52.4013, 5.2984
When visiting and attending ceremonies at Van Hanh Pagoda in Almere, guests are asked to dress modestly, remove shoes before ascending to the Main Shrine on the upper floor, and maintain quiet respect within the temple grounds and along the residential canal street of Sumatraweg. Because the pagoda is situated in an eco-friendly planned neighborhood of Almere Buiten, visitors arriving by car on major festival days are requested to follow the parking directions of temple volunteers so as not to block local cycle paths or residential driveways.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
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Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Chùa Vạn HạnhEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
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?Quick Questions
What makes Van Hanh Pagoda in Almere unique in the Netherlands?
Located at Sumatraweg 350 in Almere (Flevoland province), Van Hanh Pagoda is the largest Vietnamese Buddhist temple in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the only one in the country purpose-built from the ground up in traditional Vietnamese temple architecture with a Three-Entrance Gate and curved red-tiled roofs.
Who founded Van Hanh Pagoda and what are the key milestones in its history?
The temple was founded through the dedication of the late Most Venerable Thích Minh Giác (1957 to 2025) and the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in the Netherlands (formed in 1984, chartered in 1985). After establishing the Hoorn Prayer Hall in August 1986 and the first Van Hanh Pagoda in Nederhorst den Berg in January 1993, the Association developed the Almere project from the mid-2000s, laid the foundation stone on December 12, 2012, and celebrated its Grand Inauguration on October 15, 2023.
Why is the temple named Van Hanh Pagoda (Chùa Vạn Hạnh)?
The pagoda honors National Preceptor Vạn Hạnh (Thiền sư Vạn Hạnh), the eminent tenth- and eleventh-century Vietnamese Chan patriarch who mentored King Lý Thái Tổ and advised the founding of the capital Thăng Long (Hanoi) in 1010. The name Vạn Hạnh also signifies the Myriad Bodhisattva Practices of wisdom and compassion.
What are the main architectural features of the Almere complex?
Reflected in a tranquil Dutch polder canal, the complex features a traditional two-tiered Three-Entrance Gate, an open-air statue garden enshrining a white stone statue of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and a two-storey golden-walled main building crowned by upturned red roofs housing the Main Shrine upstairs and the Patriarchs' Hall, lecture hall, and refectory downstairs.
How long does it take to travel from Amsterdam to Van Hanh Pagoda by train?
From Amsterdam Centraal station, the journey takes only about 35 minutes on a direct NS Sprinter train to Almere Oostvaarders station, followed by a pleasant 5-to-7-minute walk along the canal on Sumatraweg to the temple gate.