From Trần Phú Street, you step through a triple gate molded with lotus buds and the Wheel of the Dhamma, and then begin to climb. The path is a flight of stone steps winding up the northern slope of Big Mountain (Núi Lớn), rising gradually from just three meters above sea level to twenty-nine meters. The higher you go, the thicker the forest canopy overhead, and every few dozen steps a white statue appears among the trees, from a newborn infant standing on a lotus pedestal and a prince cutting his hair beside a white horse, to an awakened sage seated beneath a Bodhi tree and a colossal figure reclining on his side.
There is no grand main hall and no temple roof covering those statues. This is an open-air monument complex where the life of the Buddha is narrated by spacing statue groups along the elevation of the mountain. Visitors do not stand in one spot to look, but must climb the whole slope to read the story to the end.
IThe name and the Buddhist tradition
This site bears two names and comprises two distinct layers set one within the other. Thiền Lâm Tự (Thiền Lâm Pagoda) is the temple built first on the upper terrace of the grounds. Thích Ca Phật Đài (Terrace of Śākyamuni Buddha) is the monument complex built afterward, surrounding the pagoda and occupying most of the area. The term phật đài means a Buddha terrace or platform built to enshrine statues outdoors, unlike tự, which denotes a monastery where monks reside and practice. The Chinese characters 釋迦佛臺 at the head of this article correspond to the name and are supplied by the library following standard Sino-Vietnamese usage rather than copied from a plaque on site.
This is an institution of Southern Buddhism (Nam tông), or Theravada, the lineage transmitted from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia, as distinct from Northern Buddhism (Bắc tông), which accounts for the majority of pagodas in northern and southern Vietnam. The difference is immediately visible in the layout, because Theravada Buddhism worships only the historical Śākyamuni Buddha and does not worship the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Mahayana canon, so visitors here will not encounter statues of Avalokiteśvara (Quán Thế Âm), Kṣitigarbha (Địa Tạng), or Amitābha (A Di Đà) as in Northern pagodas.
Using four stages of the Buddha's life as the axis of the entire complex is also rooted in doctrine. Buddhist tradition speaks of the Four Sacred Places (tứ động tâm) that move the human heart, namely the sites of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, first sermon, and Parinibbāna. Ancient Buddhists made pilgrimages to those four sites in India, while building four statue groups along a mountain slope is a way of bringing those four milestones close to home.
Historically, the site began in 1957 when Lê Quang Vinh, a retired provincial mandarin (Đốc phủ sứ), went up the slope of Big Mountain to build a small temple named Thiền Lâm Tự and later ordained as a monk under the dharma name Thích Giác Pháp. The person who suggested building a large Buddhist monument complex on this land was Most Venerable Narada Maha Thera, a Sri Lankan Theravada elder who visited Vietnam several times to spread the Dhamma and presented Buddha relics and a propagated Bodhi sapling to Vietnamese Buddhists. The project was carried out by the Vietnamese Theravada Sangha Congregation (Giáo hội Tăng già Nguyên thủy Việt Nam) with the active mobilization of lay practitioner Nguyễn Văn Hiểu, President of the Vietnam Theravada Buddhist Association.
Regarding the designer and sculptors, sources record two different sets of names. Records from Xá Lợi Pagoda and Giác Ngộ Newspaper state that archaeologist and lay Buddhist Hồ Đắc Thăng drafted the master plan and directed construction on site, while sculptor Bùi Quang Điển (recorded in some sources under the birth name Bùi Văn Thêm, dharma name Phúc Điền) and his apprentice Hoàng Gia Thuận sculpted the statues. Meanwhile, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism and several local documents state that architect Võ Đình Diệp designed the complex and sculptor Lê Văn Mậu executed the statues. The library records both accounts in full.
The most common misunderstanding here concerns the Buddhist sect. Many visitors call the site Thích Ca Phật Đài Pagoda and enter expecting a Northern Buddhist temple, looking for an altar to Guanyin, an altar to Kṣitigarbha, or a desk to register memorial petitions. None of those exist here, and their absence is because this is a Theravada sanctuary rather than an oversight by the temple. Theravada Buddhism follows the Pali canon, venerates the single historical Buddha, and observes different rituals.
The second point is that Thích Ca Phật Đài is not the name of the pagoda. The pagoda inside the grounds is named Thiền Lâm Tự, while Thích Ca Phật Đài is the name of the monument complex created four years later.
IINineteen months on the mountain slope
The entire monument complex was built within a remarkably brief span of about nineteen months on steep, rocky terrain. That is the most striking feature of its history. Rather than accumulating overlapping layers of restoration across centuries like ancient temples, it was built all at once according to a single preconceived plan.
- 1957Founding of Thiền Lâm TựLê Quang Vinh, a retired mandarin, built a small temple on the northern slope of Big Mountain named Thiền Lâm Tự and ordained with the dharma name Thích Giác Pháp. This was the first layer of construction on the site.
- 1960Planting the Sri Lankan Bodhi treeOn November 2, 1960 (the 14th day of the 9th lunar month, Canh Tý year), Most Venerable Narada Maha Thera brought a Bodhi sapling propagated from the sacred Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) and planted it on the grounds.
- 1961Stone-laying and groundbreakingAfter renovating Thiền Lâm Tự in early 1961, the first stone was laid at the Relic Stupa site on June 4, 1961, and construction of Thích Ca Phật Đài officially began on July 20, 1961.
- 1962Completion of the Stupa and enshrining of relicsStructural work on the Relic Stupa finished on January 30, 1962. On August 18, 1962, the building committee enshrined three Buddha relics inside the main Buddha statue and thirteen relics inside the Relic Stupa.
- 1963Completion and inaugurationAfter nineteen months of construction, the entire complex was completed. The grand inauguration ceremony was held on March 9 and 10, 1963 (the 14th and 15th days of the 2nd lunar month, Quý Mão year).
- 1989National heritage siteIn December 1989, the complex was ranked as a national historical, cultural, and scenic heritage site.
- From 1990Subsequent restorationsOver the following decades, the site underwent several rounds of repair to its stepped paths, ceremony courtyards, and open-air statues exposed year-round to sun, rain, and sea salt.
Sources diverge noticeably on measurements here, so the library states each figure plainly instead of picking one at random. Regarding the area of the complex, some sources record nearly 3 hectares, the stone stele erected at the entrance records the temple and Buddha terrace land as 5 hectares, and several press articles give the total forest and mountain area of the heritage site as 28 hectares. These figures measure different boundaries, namely the built statue garden and courtyards, the religious land plot recorded on the stele, and the entire protected forest landscape on the slope of Big Mountain.
A similar divergence appears in the dimensions of the Relic Stupa (Bảo tháp Xá Lợi) and the main statue Kim Thân Phật Tổ. Records from Xá Lợi Pagoda and Giác Ngộ Newspaper give the octagonal stupa's height as 17 meters, whereas the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism gives 19 meters. For the main Buddha statue (Kim Thân Phật Tổ), Xá Lợi Pagoda records state that the statue body is 6 meters high and 4 meters wide, seated on a lotus throne and octagonal base 7 meters high, making a total height of about 13 meters. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism records the combined height of statue and lotus pedestal as 10.2 meters (a 6-meter statue on a 4.2-meter pedestal), while other sources cite 5.1 meters or 11.6 meters. Because different accounts include or exclude the lower stone platform, the library records all of these figures.
IIIThree terrain levels and the statue groups
This site does not have a flat ground plan in the usual sense because it is built on the northern slope of Big Mountain. Sources describe its overall layout as a crescent wrapping around the hillside from southeast to northwest, divided into three levels rising from about 3 meters to about 29 meters above sea level. The first level holds the triple entrance gate and flower gardens. The second level contains rest pavilions and exhibition halls. The third and highest level holds Thiền Lâm Tự together with the Buddhist monument garden and the Relic Stupa.
That division is designed not merely to classify buildings but to guide the visitor's footsteps. Climbing from the gate to the third level takes a steady ascent, along which visitors encounter the statue groups in the exact sequence of the scriptural narrative. In flatland pagodas, the life of the Buddha is usually told through wall murals inside the main hall where viewers stand in one place to look. Here, visitors must climb the entire slope, and the physical effort of the ascent becomes part of the storytelling.
The entrance at the lowest level at 608 Trần Phú Street, featuring four pillars molded with lotus buds and the Wheel of the Dhamma. The eight-spoked wheel symbolizes the Noble Eightfold Path, a motif characteristic of Theravada sanctuaries.
An octagonal stupa 17 meters high (some sources record 19 meters) fronted by a ceremony courtyard of about 300 square meters. Inside is enshrined a golden casket holding thirteen Buddha relics presented by Most Venerable Narada Maha Thera, while at the four corners of the base stand four large urns holding sacred soil brought from the Four Sacred Places in India.
The principal monument depicting Śākyamuni Buddha seated in meditation on an open-air lotus throne, enshrining three Buddha relics within the statue body. Beside and behind it grows the Bodhi tree propagated from Sri Lanka and planted in 1960. Sources record the combined height of statue and pedestal as between 10.2 and 13 meters.
Placed on the lower slope, the Birth group depicts newborn Prince Siddhartha standing on a lotus pedestal with one hand pointing to the sky and one to the earth. Nearby, the Renunciation group shows the prince cutting his hair with his sword (a 2.7-meter statue) beside his white horse Kanthaka (Kiền Trắc) and his kneeling attendant Channa (Xa Nặc).
Following the enlightenment scene beneath the Bodhi tree is the Turning of the Wheel of the Dhamma at the Deer Park (Vườn Lộc Uyển), housed inside an octagonal pavilion. Inside sits a 1.2-meter statue of the Buddha preaching his first sermon to the five ascetics led by Koṇḍañña (Kiều Trần Như), whose kneeling statues measure 0.6 meters high.
A colossal statue 12.2 meters long and 2.4 meters high set on a 4.2-meter pedestal facing west, depicting the Buddha reclining on his right side in his final moments. In front of the pedestal kneel nine weeping bhikkhu disciples with clasped hands, four in the front row measuring 1.8 meters high and five in the back row measuring 0.7 meters high.
The elephant and the monkey offering alms
Alongside the major milestones above, the grounds contain a smaller statue group that visitors accustomed to Northern Buddhist pagodas often do not recognize, showing the Buddha seated on a rock (a 2.7-meter statue on a 1-meter base) while an elephant and a monkey present offerings. This scene comes from the Parileyya forest account in the Pali canon, which relates how the Buddha retired alone into the forest for the rains retreat after a dispute arose among the monks at Kosambi, and there a bull elephant brought him water while a monkey offered him a honeycomb.
That detail highlights the scriptural foundation of the entire complex, drawn directly from the Pali canon familiar to Theravada Buddhists and rarely seen in Northern Buddhist iconography.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
This section is the library's reading through the eyes of traditional feng shui, not something recorded in the heritage dossier. It should be added that Theravada Buddhism does not treat geomancy as doctrine, since monastery sites in this tradition are chosen primarily for seclusion and suitability for meditation. The library offers the reading below as a comparison for readers familiar with traditional Vietnamese land-reading.
First, this is one of the few sites in the library's Places section that possesses both mountain and sea in full, exemplifying the classic pattern known as sitting on the mountain and facing the water (tọa sơn hướng thủy). On flat delta plains where there are no hills, builders must borrow an earthen mound or a pond for support, whereas here nothing needs to be borrowed. Big Mountain serves as the backing pillow (hậu chẩm), the bay waters form the bright hall (minh đường), and that bright hall stretches all the way to the horizon.
Second is the three-level terrace. Traditional land-reading views a mountain slope as the path along which qi flows, called a vein, so buildings on a slope should follow the natural grade upward step by step rather than leveling the hillside into a single flat platform. This complex does exactly that, linking three levels by stone stairways where each terrace acts as a landing. In the old reading, that approach preserves the mountain vein, and each flight of steps acts as a settling beat so the atmosphere grows quieter the higher one climbs. The crescent layout wrapping around the hillside also follows the classic pattern called embracing (hoàn bão), where qi entering the curve gathers rather than rushing straight out.
Third is the placement of statues by elevation. The Birth group stands near the bottom and the Parinibbāna group near the top, so climbing from bottom to top follows the chronological narrative. Seen through traditional eyes, this arrangement lets the terrain carry the weight of time, turning each upward step into a stage of life. Whereas ancient builders on mountains usually placed a grand worship hall at the summit, here the highest zone is given to the scene of the Buddha's passing into Nibbāna, culminating in stillness rather than a towering altar hall.
Finally, regarding the facing, the library does not fix a single compass degree for the whole site, because the Relic Stupa, the main seated Buddha statue, and the west-facing Reclining Buddha are oriented along different axes on the hillside. What can be said is that the overall outlook is governed by the northern slope of Big Mountain itself, opening out toward the slope descending to the bay.
VFestivals according to the Theravada calendar
The ritual calendar here differs markedly from that of Northern Buddhist pagodas, something visitors should know when planning a trip. Theravada Buddhism reckons its major holy days on lunar full moons, but assigns them meanings that differ from the familiar Northern Buddhist calendar.
| Lunar date | Festival | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Full moon of the 1st lunar month | Magha Puja (1st Full Moon) | Commemorates the day when one thousand two hundred and fifty Arahant monks gathered spontaneously without prior appointment to hear the Buddha deliver the Ovādapāṭimokkha exhortation. |
| Full moon of the 4th lunar month | Vesak (Threefold Sacred Day) | The greatest festival of the year, commemorating the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and Parinibbāna on a single day, unlike Northern Buddhism which separates the three events onto different dates. |
| Full moon of the 6th lunar month | Asalha Puja (Turning the Wheel of the Dhamma) | Commemorates the first sermon delivered by the Buddha to the five ascetics led by Koṇḍañña at the Deer Park. |
| 16th day of the 6th month to full moon of the 9th month | Rains retreat (Vassa) | The three-month period when monks remain in residence at the monastery for intensive practice without traveling far, concluding on the full moon of the 9th lunar month. |
| 16th day of the 9th month to full moon of the 10th month | Kathina robe offering | The season when lay Buddhists offer new robes to monks who have completed the three-month rains retreat. Each Theravada temple holds this ceremony only once during the one-month window. |
Among those five observances, the two most notable for visitors accustomed to Northern Buddhism are the full moon of the fourth month and the robe-offering season. Vesak (Đại lễ Tam hợp) combines the birth, enlightenment, and Parinibbāna into a single day following the Pali tradition, so there is no separate Enlightenment Day on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month as in Northern pagodas. The Kathina robe offering has no exact counterpart in Northern Buddhism, as it is the ritual in which laypeople present new robes to the Sangha after the three-month rains retreat, and under Vinaya rules each monastery may receive it only once a season.
Outside festival days, because all the monuments stand outdoors along stepped hillside paths, visiting here resembles a mountain pilgrimage more than a conventional pagoda visit, as visitors walk the full circuit of statue groups in sequence before reaching the Relic Stupa and Thiền Lâm Tự at the top.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Sườn núi Lớn, số 608 đường Trần Phú, phường Vũng Tàu, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
- Getting there
- The complex lies on the northern slope of Big Mountain (Núi Lớn) at 608 Trần Phú Street, Vũng Tàu Ward (formerly Ward 5, Vũng Tàu City), Ho Chi Minh City, just north of the Bãi Dâu area. From the entrance gate, visitors climb a flight of stone steps to reach the monument terraces.
- Coordinates
- 10.3744, 107.0707
This is an active Theravada sanctuary whose customs differ in several ways from Northern pagodas. Visitors are asked to dress modestly, remove hats when entering the monument and stupa zones, walk softly and speak quietly, and refrain from climbing onto statue pedestals or touching the outdoor sculptures. Around the Relic Stupa, the customary circumambulation is clockwise, keeping the stupa on one's right hand. The stone steps are steep and can be slippery in the rain, so visitors should pace themselves carefully.
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?Quick Questions
Which Buddhist tradition does Thích Ca Phật Đài belong to
It belongs to Southern Buddhism (Theravada), built by the Vietnamese Theravada Sangha Congregation. Theravada Buddhism follows the Pali canon and venerates only the historical Śākyamuni Buddha, so the complex does not have statues of Mahayana figures such as Guanyin, Kṣitigarbha, or Amitābha.
Are Thích Ca Phật Đài and Thiền Lâm Tự the same thing
Not quite. Thiền Lâm Tự is the pagoda founded in 1957 on the highest terrace of the grounds. Thích Ca Phật Đài is the open-air monument complex built from 1961 to 1963 surrounding that pagoda. The two were created four years apart and differ greatly in scale.
What is enshrined inside the Relic Stupa at Thích Ca Phật Đài
The octagonal stupa stands 17 meters high (some sources record 19 meters) behind a ceremony courtyard of about 300 square meters. Inside is a golden casket containing thirteen Buddha relics presented by Most Venerable Narada Maha Thera of Sri Lanka, and at the four corners of its base stand four large urns holding sacred soil from the Four Sacred Places in India. Three more Buddha relics are enshrined inside the main seated Buddha statue (Kim Thân Phật Tổ).
How tall is the main Buddha statue (Kim Thân Phật Tổ)
Sources give different figures. Records from Xá Lợi Pagoda state that the statue body is 6 meters tall and 4 meters wide, seated on a 7-meter lotus pedestal and base, making a total height of about 13 meters. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism gives 10.2 meters for the statue and lotus throne combined, while other sources cite 5.1 meters or 11.6 meters. The variation mainly reflects whether the lower stone platform is included, so the library records all of them.
When was Thích Ca Phật Đài built
Thiền Lâm Tự was built first in 1957. The monument complex broke ground on July 20, 1961, took nineteen months to build, and was inaugurated on March 9 and 10, 1963 (the 14th and 15th days of the 2nd lunar month). It was ranked as a national heritage site in December 1989.