Bamboo Forest Meditation Centre

Set in a bamboo forest on the outskirts of Dalat, Thien Vien Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest Meditation Centre) was built in 1993 with donations from Vietnamese living in other countries – mainly America.

It is a Zen Buddist monastery with 90 monks and 100 nuns in residence.

A large hall contains a statue of Buddah holding a lotus flower, and the alter is covered in lotus paraphernalia.

Sitting on top of a hill overlooking Paradise Lake it is very peaceful.

Van Mieu 3

Still in Van Mieu, The Temple of Literature in Hanoi - it covers an area of 14 acres, so there is a lot to see.

The Gate of Great Success leads to the Courtyard of Sages in which is found.....

The Great House of Ceremonies......

where a statue of Confucius is kept flanked by his four closest disciples.

More from inside the Great House next post.

Chua But Thap

Goddess of Mercy Quan Yin with her thousand eyes and arms to see all and help those in need.


Wooden statues of Buddha dating from 17th century, recognized as some of best in Vietnam.

This wooden prayer tower from the 17th century, is built in the form of lotus petals.

Chua But Thap

Located outside Hanoi, near Dinh To village, is the ancient Chua But Thap, built in the 13th century. Seven houses align on a 100 metre axis flanked by 32 long corridors of 26 column bays.

This pagoda has the finest examples of Buddhist statuary in the country, so will show you some of them in the next post.