New Nham Duong Pagoda Festival

On April 13 (ie March 5 of the lunar calendar), at Nham Duong Pagoda, Kinh Mon Town People's Committee (Hai Duong), Thanh Quang Pagoda (the gate of the Vietnamese Cao Dong Zen sect) opened the traditional festival of Nham Duong Pagoda and commemorated the 320th anniversary of the day the Holy Founder National Master Dao Nam Thong Giac Thuy Nguyet entered nirvana (1704-2024).

This year's Nham Duong Pagoda Traditional Festival has many new features. The festival is solemnly held on a town scale, in a newly renovated and expanded yard of over 4,000 m², serving thousands of people and visitors.

In particular, this year's festival takes place in the context that the Provincial People's Committee, in coordination with the People's Committees of Quang Ninh and Bac Giang provinces, has just completed the dossier of the Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son-Kiep Bac complex to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a world heritage site. Kinh Mon town has the Nham Duong pagoda and Kinh Chu cave relics contributing to the above dossier, hopefully opening up many opportunities for tourism development.

The traditional festival of Nham Duong pagoda takes place over 2 days, from April 13-14 (ie March 5-6 of the lunar calendar), with 2 parts. The ceremony includes rituals: water procession; dragon and lion procession; chanting Buddha to pray for blessings; inviting gongs, beating drums; announcing the history of the ancestor Thuy Nguyet; offering incense. The festival part has diverse activities such as: singing cheo, folk songs; open chess tournament; folk games (tug of war, sack jumping, catching loach in a jar)...

The traditional festival is held annually to honor the merits of the Holy Ancestor Thuy Nguyet. This is a long-standing cultural activity associated with the ancestral place of the Vietnamese Cao Dong Zen sect.

Thanh Quang Ancestral Temple (Nham Duong Pagoda) was built during the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400). This place became a major Buddhist center during the Tran Dynasty and the post-Le Dynasty. From this sacred land, many eminent monks, national teachers, and famous Zen masters emerged in the cause of protecting the country and the people. In particular, around the 17th century, Cao Dong Sect was introduced to Vietnam by Zen Master Thuy Nguyet, whose dharma name was Dao Nam Thong Giac. The first patriarch - National Master Dao Nam Thong Giac Thuy Nguyet practiced and passed away in Thanh Hoa Cave. Therefore, Thanh Quang Ancestral Temple became the ancestral place of the Cao Dong Zen sect in Vietnam. The death anniversary of Saint Thuy Nguyet became the traditional festival of Nham Duong Pagoda, taking place from the 5th to the 7th of the 3rd lunar month every year.

The first patriarch of the Cao Dong sect, Thuy Nguyet, was born in 1637, in Son Nam, present-day Thai Binh. After many years of studying Buddhism, he continued to travel to China. He was given the Dharma name Thong Giac Dao Nam Thien Su. In 1667, Zen Master Thuy Nguyet returned to Vietnam and traveled to many places such as Con Son, Quynh Lam, and Yen Tu pagodas to preach and save sentient beings. Later, the Zen master became the abbot of Nham Duong pagoda. In 1704, Zen Master Thuy Nguyet passed away. He was appointed by King Le as Dai Thanh Dong Son Tue Nhan Tu Giac Quoc Su.