Exploring Bich Dong Pagoda: The Historic Three-Tiered Temple

Bich Dong Pagoda was originally formed in 1428, at the beginning of the Later Le Dynasty, as a small pagoda on a mountain peak. In 1705, two monks, Tri Kien and Tri The, both from Nghia Hung District, Nam Dinh Province, met and became sworn brothers. Both monks were deeply devout and wished to travel to many places to spread Buddhism and build pagodas. Upon arriving here, seeing that Bich Dong Mountain possessed an exceptionally beautiful terrain and already had a pagoda, the two monks decided to stay. They personally repaired the old pagoda and went on fundraising missions to rebuild it into three separate pagodas for their spiritual practice: Ha (Lower), Trung (Middle), and Thuong (Upper) Pagodas. In 1707, Monks Tri Kien and Tri The cast a large bronze bell, which still hangs in Toi (Dark) Cave today. The inscription on the bell is considered the pagoda's official epitaph, written in Han characters, which includes the following excerpt: Ha Pagoda and Trung PagodaAccumulating merits across these mountainsBlessed to meet by heavenly destinyCarving mountains and chiseling rocksLeaving behind a legacy of pure energy. In the Year of the Horse (1774), Lord Trinh Sam visited the pagoda. Beholding the panoramic view of mountains, caves, rivers, fields, and trees all draped in lush greenery—where the pagoda seemed to be the focal point of this emerald landscape—he named it Bich Dong (Green Pearl Grotto). As an ancient architectural work, Bich Dong Pagoda, like many other traditional pagodas, was constructed from ironwood (go lim) with custom-made, un-pegged Vietnamese tiles featuring rounded edges. The corners of the roofs feature sweeping, upward-curving eaves shaped like blade tips or phoenix tails. This gives the roofs a fluid, undulating appearance like tidal waves, looking in profile like a spectacular dragon boat floating on water or a pair of birds spreading their wings to take flight. Surrounded by mountains, with waters flowing through four seasons,Lightly the small bamboo boat glides, its oars in a gentle race.Waves rustle and splash around the cave,While mist spreads hazily across the Pagoda scenery. Bich Dong Pagoda was built in the layout of the Han character "Tam" (三 - Three), consisting of three separate, disconnected structures arranged in tiers along the mountainside, leaning into the terrain from low to high into three distinct pagodas: Ha, Trung, and Thuong. The unique feature of Bich Dong Pagoda is how the mountain, the cave, and the pagoda complement one another, hidden amidst lush green ancient trees, seamlessly blending the pagoda into the spectacular natural scenery. The entire landscape resembles a majestic mountain painting adorned with a relief of three ancient pagodas with moss-covered tiled roofs, encapsulating all eight beautiful vistas that the ancients called "The Eight Landscapes of Bich Mountain" (Bich son bat canh). These three pagodas are built on the high mountainside, while Xuyen Thuy Cave runs right underneath them. The stupa garden (tomb garden) is located right near the entrance to the pagoda complex.