Turning onto the street named after the pagoda in the old center of Thủ Dầu Một, visitors first spot a colossal reclining Buddha statue resting high atop the temple roof, over fifty meters long and leaning on one side. Yet once one steps through the gate and enters the main hall, the atmosphere shifts completely. The light is dim, rows of dark timber pillars stand close together, and on the altars rest nearly one hundred gilded jackfruit-wood statues whose faces have been smoothed by more than a century of incense smoke.
The great statue atop the roof was inaugurated only in 2010. The antiquity of this site resides inside that timber sanctuary. This is Hội Khánh Ancestral Pagoda (Tổ đình Hội Khánh), a Lâm Tế (Linji) temple founded by Zen Master Đại Ngạn in 1741, where ten generations of abbots have succeeded one another across nearly three centuries. Buddhists in the Thủ Dầu Một region call this place an ancestral temple (tổ đình) because that lineage transmission has never been broken.
ITen generations of abbots at a Lâm Tế ancestral temple
Hội Khánh belongs to the Lâm Tế (Linji) Zen school, the most widespread Buddhist lineage in Southern Vietnam, which entered the southern realm in the late 17th century and branched into several sub-lineages. According to Giác Ngộ newspaper, the founding patriarch Đại Ngạn (Dharma title Từ Tấn) belonged to the 37th generation of the Liễu Quán branch, the third abbot Most Venerable Toàn Tánh - Chánh Đắc belonged to the 37th generation of the Chúc Thánh branch, and the current tenth abbot Most Venerable Nhựt Minh - Huệ Thông belongs to the 41st generation of the Lâm Tế Gia Phổ branch. This convergence of the Liễu Quán, Chúc Thánh, and Lâm Tế Gia Phổ branches across ten generations of abbots at a single ancestral temple is a notable historical feature of Buddhism in the Thủ Dầu Một region.
The complete roster of ten generations of abbots from 1741 to the present is recorded by both Giác Ngộ and Phật Sự Online, differing only in the transition dates for the first three generations. A temple is called an ancestral temple (tổ đình) not because of its physical size, but because its abbatial succession has remained unbroken, with each generation receiving the temple from the previous one and surrounding temples tracing their roots back to it. Ten uninterrupted generations across nearly three hundred years are what define Hội Khánh as an ancestral seat.
| Generation | Abbot and lineage branch | Abbatial years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zen Master Đại Ngạn, title Từ Tấn, founder (37th generation of Liễu Quán branch per Giác Ngộ) | 1741 to 1812 (Giác Ngộ) or 1741 to 1788 (Phật Sự Online) |
| 2 | Minh Huệ Chân Kính | 1812 to 1839 (Giác Ngộ) or 1788 to 1815 (Phật Sự Online) |
| 3 | Toàn Tánh Chánh Đắc (37th generation of Chúc Thánh branch per Giác Ngộ) | 1839 to 1869 (Giác Ngộ) or 1815 to 1869 (Phật Sự Online) |
| 4 | Chương Đắc Trí Tập | 1869 to 1884 |
| 5 | Ấn Long Thiện Quới | 1884 to 1906 |
| 6 | Chơn Thinh Từ Văn | 1906 to 1931 |
| 7 | Ấn Bửu Thiện Quới | 1931 to 1941 |
| 8 | Thị Huê Thiện Hương | 1941 to 1971 |
| 9 | Đồng Bửu Quảng Viên | 1971 to 1988 |
| 10 | Nhựt Minh Huệ Thông (41st generation of Lâm Tế Gia Phổ branch per Giác Ngộ) | since 1988 |
In Zen teaching, what is transmitted from master to disciple is the mind seal (tâm ấn), the confirmation that the disciple has realized what the master realized. The physical temple is simply where that stream has lingered the longest. Consequently, in Lâm Tế ancestral temples, the most important chamber for lineage identity is not the main Buddha hall but the Patriarchs' Hall (nhà Tổ), where the spirit tablets of successive abbots are arranged in order. To stand before that row of tablets is to stand before the living genealogy of the temple.
Many people assume that at a Lâm Tế ancestral temple all ten generations of abbots must follow a single transmission verse. Documentary records from Giác Ngộ at Hội Khánh show otherwise, as founding patriarch Đại Ngạn belonged to the Liễu Quán branch, third-generation patriarch Chánh Đắc belonged to the Chúc Thánh branch, and the tenth-generation abbot belongs to the Lâm Tế Gia Phổ branch. In historic Southern Vietnamese temples, the abbacy was sometimes entrusted to a respected senior monk from another Lâm Tế branch, which explains why the initial characters of their Dharma names (Đại, Minh, Toàn, Chương, Ấn, Chơn, Thị, Đồng, Nhựt) do not fall along a single poem. The Chinese characters at the top of the page are written by the library from the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the temple's name.
IIFrom the hilltop down to the foot of the hill
The pagoda was founded in the Tân Dậu year, the 2nd year of the Cảnh Hưng reign of Emperor Lê Hiển Tông (1741), atop a high hill. According to the Department of Cultural Heritage and the Xá Lợi Pagoda website, in 1861 when French forces seized Thủ Dầu Một, the old hilltop pagoda was burned and destroyed in the fighting (whereas Giác Ngộ simply notes that the old temple had fallen into severe disrepair). Most Venerable Toàn Tánh Chánh Đắc then relocated the temple to the northern (or northeastern) foot of the hill, about one hundred meters from the original foundation, beginning reconstruction in 1861 and completing it in 1868. The temple visitors see today stands on that 1868 foundation.
- 1741Founded on the hilltopZen Master Đại Ngạn, Dharma title Từ Tấn, founded the pagoda in the Tân Dậu year, 2nd year of Cảnh Hưng, atop a high hill.
- 1861 to 1868Relocated to the foot of the hillAfter the hilltop temple was destroyed in 1861, Most Venerable Toàn Tánh Chánh Đắc moved the temple to the foot of the hill about one hundred meters away and completed its reconstruction in 1868.
- 1883Casting the great bronze bellThe great bell was cast in the Quý Mùi year during the abbacy of the fourth patriarch Most Venerable Chương Đắc Trí Tập, donated by a local lay follower according to the Xá Lợi Pagoda website and Phật Sự Online.
- 1885Carving the sutra printing woodblocksThe fifth abbot Most Venerable Ấn Long Thiện Quới commissioned the carving of sutra printing woodblocks in the Ất Dậu year. Tạp chí Văn Hóa Phật Giáo records this as the earliest woodblock collection in Thủ Dầu Một.
- 1917Rebuilding the lecture hall and east wingThe sixth abbot Most Venerable Chơn Thinh Từ Văn rebuilt the lecture hall and the eastern corridor wing. In 1920 he traveled to Marseille (France) to give Dharma talks and helped establish Hội Khánh Pagoda in France, according to Giác Ngộ.
- 1923 to 1926Residence of scholar Nguyễn Sinh SắcJunior Doctor (Phó bảng) Nguyễn Sinh Sắc stayed at the pagoda during this period, practicing traditional medicine and conversing with Most Venerable Từ Văn and scholar Phan Đình Viện (Tú Cúc), according to the Department of Cultural Heritage.
- 1990 to 1992Major restorationGiác Ngộ records a comprehensive restoration of the temple during these years, following repairs to the west wing in 1984.
- 1993National heritage siteRanked as a national historical and cultural heritage site under Decision No. 43-VH/QĐ on January 7, 1993.
- 2010Inaugurating the Reclining Buddha statueThe 52-meter statue of the Buddha entering Parinirvana atop the temple roof was inaugurated. Sources differ on the exact date, as detailed below.
Regarding restoration dates, two sources give different lists. Giác Ngộ records 1917, 1984, and the major restoration of 1990 to 1992. The Xá Lợi Pagoda website lists 1891, 1906, 1917, 1991, and 1999, adding the restoration of the temple gate in 2004 and the nine-stupa patriarchal garden in 2006. The two lists overlap directly in 1917 and align closely in the early 1990s restoration, so the library records both.
Regarding the inauguration date of the rooftop Reclining Buddha statue, Tạp chí Văn Hóa Phật Giáo records January 22, 2010, whereas the Xá Lợi Pagoda website and Phật Sự Online record the full moon of the second lunar month of the Canh Dần year, namely March 30, 2010. Because the full moon of the second lunar month is the traditional Buddhist observance of the Buddha's Parinirvana, the library records both dates.
Beyond ritual worship, Hội Khánh also served as a center for woodblock sutra printing. Tạp chí Văn Hóa Phật Giáo notes that the 1885 woodblocks were used to print the Amitabha Sutra, Repentance Sutra (Hồng Danh), Ullambana Sutra (Vu Lan), and Universal Gate Chapter (Phổ Môn) for monastics and lay Buddhists across the region. In 1995 the temple opened a Buddhist college for monks and nuns, continuing the educational role of an ancestral temple.
IIITimber main hall and nearly one hundred statues
The pagoda follows the classic layout of historic Southern Vietnamese temples, with the front hall (tiền điện), main hall (chánh điện), and lecture hall (giảng đường) aligned along a central axis, flanked by paired eastern and western corridor wings (đông lang, tây lang) covering a combined hall area of about 700 square meters. The Xá Lợi Pagoda website records that the entire timber structure rests on 92 precious wooden pillars built in the trùng thềm trùng lương (interconnected halls with overlapping eaves and linked tie-beams) style. Inside the hall hang three gilded openwork wooden archways (bao lam) intricately carved with the Four Sacred Animals, Four Seasons, Nine Dragons, and Eighteen Arhats according to Giác Ngộ, while in the courtyard stand four century-old dipterocarp trees (cây dầu).
The most prized heritage inside the main hall is a collection of nearly one hundred lacquered and gilded jackfruit-wood statues, including Shakyamuni Buddha, Bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Ksitigarbha, the Arhats, and the Ten Kings of Hell (Thập Điện Minh Vương). The set of Eighteen Arhats, each standing about 0.86 meters tall according to Giác Ngộ, along with two wooden bas-relief panels carving the Eighteen Arhats and Bodhisattvas, was sculpted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Each figure carries a distinct posture and facial expression.
The main hall, lecture hall, and east-west wings cover 700 square meters on 92 precious timber pillars in the interconnected Southern style, featuring three carved wooden archways (bao lam) and two bas-relief panels of the Eighteen Arhats.
Nearly one hundred lacquered and gilded statues, including the late-19th to early-20th-century set of Eighteen Arhats (about 0.86 meters tall) and the Ten Kings of Hell.
Cast in the Quý Mùi year (1883) under the fourth abbot Most Venerable Chương Đắc Trí Tập, donated by a local lay follower according to the Xá Lợi Pagoda website.
Carved in the Ất Dậu year (1885) under the fifth abbot Most Venerable Ấn Long Thiện Quới to print widely chanted sutras. Chốn Thiêng notes that the temple preserves woodblocks over 120 years old.
Measuring 52 meters long atop the roof of the Patriarchs' Hall and lecture hall at a height of 24 meters above the ground, with 20 bas-relief panels of the Buddha's life around the base. Recognized by the Asia Book of Records as the pagoda with the longest rooftop statue of the Buddha entering Parinirvana in Asia.
A garden of nine patriarchal stupas restored in 2006 and a multi-story stupa erected in 2007 (the Xá Lợi Pagoda website lists 7 stories and 27 meters high, while Giác Ngộ lists 8 stories and 30 meters high).
The two newest structures are also the two points where sources differ most. The stupa built in 2007 is described by the Xá Lợi Pagoda website and Chốn Thiêng as seven stories and 27 meters tall, whereas Giác Ngộ records eight stories and 30 meters tall. For the rooftop Reclining Buddha statue, all sources agree on the 52-meter length, but the statue's height is given as 12 meters by the Xá Lợi Pagoda website, Phật Sự Online, and Chốn Thiêng, or 22 meters by Tạp chí Văn Hóa Phật Giáo. Because Chốn Thiêng notes that the lower building supporting the statue base is 22 meters high, and the Xá Lợi Pagoda website and Phật Sự Online state that the statue rests 24 meters above the ground, the 22-meter figure likely refers to the supporting building below rather than the statue body itself. The library records both numbers for comparison.
Many visitors know Hội Khánh through the colossal Reclining Buddha on the roof and assume it is the temple's primary heritage. It is not. The statue was inaugurated in 2010, whereas the national heritage ranking dates back to 1993, seventeen years before the statue existed. The recognized heritage value lies in the 19th-century timber main hall, the jackfruit-wood statues, the 1883 bronze bell, and the 1885 sutra woodblocks. Visitors to Hội Khánh should spend more time inside the old wooden sanctuary than in the newer outdoor courtyard.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional Vietnamese geomancy (phong thủy), not a statement copied from temple steles or documents. The sources reviewed by the library state only that the pagoda was founded on a hilltop and moved to the foot of the hill after the 1861 destruction, without recording whether Patriarch Đại Ngạn or Most Venerable Chánh Đắc used geomantic formulas or what compass bearing the main hall follows. The library states this clearly so readers can distinguish documentary record from geomantic reading.
Thủ Dầu Một sits on a belt of low hills and mounds along the northern bank of the Saigon River, where the terrain rises gradually inland from the riverbank. The original 1741 pagoda stood on the summit of a hill. In traditional geomancy, a hilltop offers open air and quietude but is exposed to strong winds where qi easily scatters. After the hilltop pagoda was destroyed in 1861 and Most Venerable Chánh Đắc relocated the temple to the foot of the hill (completing reconstruction in 1868), the temple shifted from standing atop the hill to backing against the hill. The old hill became a firm support behind the hall, what geomancy texts call the rear pillow (hậu chẩm), while the ground in front sloped gently downward.
Read in traditional terms, the lower site at the foot of the hill suited a long-lasting temple better than the exposed summit because it retained the elevation of the hill as a backing while sitting closer to worshippers and sheltered from wind. The distance of roughly one hundred meters between the two foundations was just enough to transform the lie of the land without leaving the founding hillside.
The Reclining Buddha statue completed in 2010 rests high atop the roof of the Patriarchs' Hall and lecture hall, stretching fifty-two meters across. Read through traditional eyes, a long horizontal mass raised high above the courtyard resembles a low mountain ridge, adding a protective screen hill (án) across the compound. That layer of meaning belongs to modern times rather than the 18th-century founder.
About 520 meters from the pagoda stands Phú Cường Cathedral, and about 710 meters away stands Thiên Hậu Temple of Thủ Dầu Một. Three places of worship from three distinct traditions standing within walking distance on the same hillside mound reflect the character of a riverside town where diverse communities have lived side by side for generations.
VAnnual observances and monastic life
As a Lâm Tế ancestral temple, Hội Khánh observes the major festivals of Northern-tradition Buddhism alongside the memorial days of its successive abbots. Available sources do not record the specific lunar death anniversary of founding patriarch Đại Ngạn, so the library omits that date. Tạp chí Văn Hóa Phật Giáo notes that the pagoda serves as the regional center for Buddha's Birthday, Vu Lan, and the annual three-month rains retreat for monks in the area.
| Lunar date | Observance | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 15th of the 2nd month | Buddha's Parinirvana (Vía Đức Phật nhập Niết Bàn) | Commemorates Shakyamuni Buddha's entry into Parinirvana in the Northern tradition. At Hội Khánh this date is specially linked to the rooftop Reclining Buddha statue, which the Xá Lợi Pagoda website and Phật Sự Online record as inaugurated on the full moon of the 2nd lunar month of Canh Dần (2010). |
| 15th of the 4th month | Buddha's Birthday (Phật Đản) | Celebrates the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha, noted by Tạp chí Văn Hóa Phật Giáo as a major regional festival at the temple. |
| 15th of the 4th month to 15th of the 7th month | Rains Retreat (An cư kiết hạ) | Three-month period when monks remain in one place for intensive study and practice. The temple serves as the rains-retreat center for regional monks according to Tạp chí Văn Hóa Phật Giáo. |
| 15th of the 7th month | Vu Lan (Ullambana) | Festival of filial piety honoring parents, coinciding with the Pavarana (tự tứ) ceremony concluding the rains retreat. |
At an ancestral temple, the three-month rains retreat is when monks from surrounding pagodas gather to live and practice together before the spirit tablets of ten generations of abbots, keeping Hội Khánh alive as a place of monastic training rather than a museum monument.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Số 29 đường Chùa Hội Khánh, phường Thủ Dầu Một (phường Phú Cường cũ, thành phố Thủ Dầu Một cũ, tỉnh Bình Dương cũ), Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
- Getting there
- The pagoda is located at 29 Chùa Hội Khánh Street (Chốn Thiêng and older sources list 35 Yersin Street), Thủ Dầu Một Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Phú Cường Ward, Thủ Dầu Một City, former Bình Dương Province). Phú Cường Cathedral stands about 520 meters away.
- Coordinates
- 10.981, 106.6588
Hội Khánh is an active ancestral temple with resident monastics in training, so visitors should observe temple etiquette. Please dress modestly, remove hats before entering the main hall and Patriarchs' Hall, and walk and speak quietly inside the historic timber sanctuary. The jackfruit-wood statues and carved woodblocks are fragile antiques, so please do not touch the statues or lean against the wooden pillars. Visitors wishing to view the sutra woodblocks should ask permission from the resident monks beforehand.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Hoi Khanh Pagoda
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Tổ đình Hội KhánhEveryone 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
Which Buddhist lineage does Hội Khánh Pagoda in Bình Dương belong to
The pagoda belongs to the Lâm Tế (Linji) Zen school. According to Giác Ngộ newspaper, founding patriarch Đại Ngạn (Từ Tấn) belonged to the 37th generation of the Liễu Quán branch, the third abbot Most Venerable Toàn Tánh Chánh Đắc belonged to the 37th generation of the Chúc Thánh branch, and the tenth abbot Most Venerable Nhựt Minh Huệ Thông belongs to the 41st generation of the Lâm Tế Gia Phổ branch.
When was Hội Khánh Pagoda built
Zen Master Đại Ngạn founded the pagoda in the Tân Dậu year, 2nd year of Cảnh Hưng (1741), atop a high hill. After the hilltop temple was burned and destroyed in the fighting of 1861, Most Venerable Toàn Tánh Chánh Đắc relocated it to the foot of the hill about one hundred meters away and completed its reconstruction in 1868. The present temple stands on that 1868 foundation.
How long is the Reclining Buddha statue at Hội Khánh Pagoda
The statue measures 52 meters long, rests atop the temple roof 24 meters above the ground, and was recognized by the Asia Book of Records as the pagoda with the longest rooftop statue of the Buddha entering Parinirvana in Asia. Its height is recorded as 12 meters by the Xá Lợi Pagoda website and Phật Sự Online (Tạp chí Văn Hóa Phật Giáo records 22 meters, which matches the height of the supporting building below according to Chốn Thiêng). It was inaugurated in 2010.
What historic artifacts does Hội Khánh Pagoda preserve
It preserves a 92-pillar timber main hall with three carved gilded archways (bao lam), nearly one hundred gilded jackfruit-wood statues including a late-19th to early-20th-century set of Eighteen Arhats, a great bronze bell cast in 1883, and sutra printing woodblocks carved in 1885. The pagoda has been a national heritage site since 1993.
Is Hội Khánh Pagoda a national heritage site
Yes. The pagoda was ranked as a national historical and cultural heritage site under Decision No. 43-VH/QĐ on January 7, 1993. Its heritage status recognizes the 19th-century wooden main hall and antique artifacts, which predate the 2010 rooftop Reclining Buddha statue by seventeen years.