Heritage discovery tour, following the footsteps of the Buddha King

Heritage discovery tours, exploring Truc Lam Buddhism are what many people think of when the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem, Con Son, Kiep Bac complex becomes a world cultural heritage.

Potential

Architect Dinh Viet Phuong (3DART Design and Technology Solutions Joint Stock Company) immediately thought of the statues he had digitized when UNESCO listed Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem, Con Son, Kiep Bac (located in Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh provinces and Hai Phong City) as world cultural heritage. "This area has many relic sites with extremely beautiful Buddha statues, among which are many national treasures. Many sculptors still use statue models from pagodas in Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem, Con Son, Kiep Bac as models for their new works," said Mr. Phuong.

National treasure Tam The statue in Con Son

PHOTO: DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Architect Dinh Viet Phuong especially remembers the statues at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda that he digitized. "Vinh Nghiem Pagoda has a very beautiful statue of the Three Patriarchs of Truc Lam, a national treasure. It also has a beautiful Quan Am statue, and the Cuu Long statue is the most beautiful in the world. The same goes for Con Son and Kiep Bac, and the Amitabha statues are all beautiful. The Tam The statue at Con Son is also a national treasure," said Mr. Phuong.

However, as someone who has visited the relics in this UNESCO heritage complex for many years, architect Phuong feels regretful: "The statue of Tam The in Vinh Nghiem has a statue in the middle with a beard, meaning that the statue has a mustache, and there people cannot explain why the statue has a mustache. How can people know about that, because Vinh Nghiem itself is a sect. Going deeper into the art of statues would be very interesting, from there it is completely possible to create a pilgrimage route from Vinh Nghiem to Yen Tu of Buddha King Tran Nhan Tong".

"People come for religious reasons only. The statues there are often considered as worship statues, and craft villages still come there to ask for samples. But the explanations about the beauty of the statues are sketchy. People come and do not understand much more about those precious works. How can we increase awareness of that aesthetic value? While our statues have very graceful proportions. There must be a strategy so that those who do not know can know," architect Dinh Viet Phuong assessed.

X-ray image of the box believed to contain the relics of Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong

PHOTO: TS VAN ANH

Connecting Destinations

According to the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem, Con Son, Kiep Bac relics and landscapes complex fully represents the Truc Lam Buddhist tradition. The story from these lands is the story from the formation of ideology to the systematization of Truc Lam Buddhist philosophies expressed through steles, related relics and ritual practices. This UNESCO heritage includes a system of special national relics such as the Yen Tu relics and landscapes complex, the Tran Dynasty relic site in Dong Trieu, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Bo Da Pagoda, Con Son - Kiep Bac relic site, historical relics, An Phu - Kinh Chu - Nham Duong landscapes... In addition, there are relics, antiques, national treasures, intangible cultural heritage, traditional festivals in the area...

Architect Dinh Viet Phuong believes that it is necessary to unite to create an ecological area imbued with the spirit of Buddhism. "Those working in tourism must sit together and establish key ideas for tourism here based on the spirit of Truc Lam Buddhism. We must avoid the situation where one person communicates this way, the other person communicates that way. The most important thing is to create an ecological area imbued with the spirit of Tran Dynasty Buddhism, the spirit of Truc Lam Buddhism," said Mr. Phuong.

One of the many stories that can be told to give an idea of Truc Lam Buddhism, according to Dr. Nguyen Van Anh (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi), is the story of the box containing the relics of King Tran Nhan Tong. This relic box is currently kept at Yen Tu. This relic is considered a part of the story of Truc Lam Buddhism - "the first religious organization in the history of Buddhism in our country" (assessment by Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha - PV ). Dr. Van Anh believes that if people do not know about Tran Nhan Tong's relics, then tell them.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy (Hanoi National University) said that the recognition of the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem, Con Son, and Kiep Bac relic and landscape complex as UNESCO world cultural heritages could open up opportunities for domestic tourism. "This will affect domestic tourism more than foreign visitors. Spiritual tourism is the main story of the domestic market," said Dr. Thuy.

According to Dr. Thuy, the current demand for spiritual tourism in the domestic market is quite simple. People like to make pilgrimages to places, then worship and pray, so there needs to be more tourism products to prolong their stay at the relics. It could be a small exhibition in the relics, or videos recreating the historical story of Truc Lam Buddhism. This requires the cooperation of relevant localities as well as the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. After that, localities can work together to continue to connect destinations through building a system of accommodation locations with many cultural imprints.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/du-lich-kham-pha-di-san-theo-dau-phat-hoang-185250714222438758.htm