HANOI, Vietnam – Their Majesties the King and Queen visited Quan Su Pagoda in Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on September 16. Traveling by royal motorcade to the historic Buddhist temple, Their Majesties were greeted by Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, president of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.
Inside the main ordination hall, His Majesty the King presented ceremonial gold and silver trees, along with floral offerings, incense sticks, and candles before the principal Buddha image. Their Majesties then lit incense sticks and candles in homage as 30 Vietnamese Buddhist monks chanted prayers and blessings. Following the ceremony, Their Majesties paid homage before the Buddha image and returned by royal motorcade to the Fairmont Hanoi.
Quan Su Pagoda dates to the Le Dynasty and was originally a small temple that received Buddhist religious emissaries from abroad. The site was later expanded and restored in accordance with the traditional architecture of Buddhist temples in northern Vietnam. The main hall houses gilded Buddha images on tiered altars, including representations of the Three Jewels, Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, and Shakyamuni Buddha with his disciples.
Today, Quan Su Pagoda serves as the headquarters of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and as a center for Buddhist worship, education, and scholarship. The complex also includes a school for Buddhist teachings and monastic discipline, a research facility, a Dhamma hall, and a library containing the Tipitaka and other Buddhist texts. (NNT)
