One Pillar Pagoda

The One Pillar Pagoda, also known as Lien Phai Pagoda, or the Pagoda of the Lotus Sect, is a unusual little temple in Hanoi. It dates to the time of the Trinh Lords in the 18th century.

According to ancient chronicles, one day a big stone in the shape of a lotus was discovered in the garden of Lord Trinh Thap's palace. The lord took this as an omen that he should forsake the pleasures of the world and become a monk.

He order the construction of the One Pillar Pagoda on the spot where the rock was found. It was completed in 1726. Lord Trinh Thap spent the rest of his life as a monk. After he died, his ashes were interred in the pagoda.

The Lotus Sect is a sect founded by Lord Trinh Thap. It honors the Amitabha Buddha, and sought to rid oneself from desire through the chanting of the Buddha's name. Through this, the devotee believes that he can be reborn into the Western Paradise, or Sukhavati. The sect continues to have a following in China and Japan.

Following the partition of Vietnam, the monks of Lien Phai Pagoda fled south to Ho Chi Minh City, where they established the One Pillar Pagoda of Thu Duc.

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