Kien So Temple of Hanoi
Kien So Temple is located about 19 kilometers east of central Hanoi by road, and about 900 meters northwest of the banks of the Duong river.
It is one of a handful of surviving temples in the Red River delta whose origins extend back to the period of Chinese domination prior to the late tenth century (other such nearby temples include the Phat Tich and the Dau or Phap Van temples).
Although the temple is ancient, most of the surviving buildings date to the early 19th century when the temple was reconstructed largely atop its original ancient foundations.
The name “Kien So” means “Place of the First Meeting”, a reference to the monk Vo Ngon Thong who resided here in the early 9th century.
Vo Ngon Thong was originally from China, where he was known as Wu Yantong. In his final decade he made the difficult journey from southern China to what is now Phu Dong village in north Vietnam.
Although the region was under the control of the Tang dynasty it was far from a backwater, as the area was renowned as a center of Buddhist learning, with the famed Vinitaruci having preached here in the late 6th century. Here, the monk found fertile soil to practice “Wall Contemplation” (biguan), which evolved from the teachings of the monk Bodhidharma who was active in 6th century China.
When Vo Ngon Thong died in 826, his mantle was taken up by his disciple and “dharma heir” Cam Thanh, who built a stupa on Mt. Tien Du to house the ashes of his master.
Although Kien So was already flourishing in Vo Ngon Thong’s era, the site was probably originally a place of reverence for the tutelary gods of the Phu Dong village. The local spirit of the earth, also named Phu Dong, was accorded the title of “celestial king” and provided with his own spacious hall at the front of the temple (the majority of photos in the above series are of the interior of this temple dedicated to Phu Dong).
The co-mingling and appropriation of various local gods within Buddhist religious practices is not uncommon; for example, at the nearby Dau temple the local deity responsible for rain was assimilated and revered as the Phap Van Buddha.
These co-opted deities even held sway beyond their provincial origins; for instance, the Phap Van deity was recalled to Thanh Hoang (Hanoi) by the emperor Ly Nhan Tong (1072-1128), and was also used for rain-making ceremonies in the Later Le dynasty (1428-1789).The temple is also famous as the place where the future dynastic founder Ly Cong Uan studied during his childhood. Legend says that while residing here it was prophesied that he would become an emperor, which indeed took place when he ascended the throne in 1009 as Ly Thai To, the first of eight Ly dynasty emperors.
