One Pillar Pagoda, Hanoi

1 more image

The One-Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot) is located between the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Ho Chi Minh Museum. The pagoda was built in 1049 (uncertain) and resembles a giant lotus blossom. According to a legend, King Ly Thai To was childless and dreamt one night that he met the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Goddess of Compassion), who handed him a baby son while seated on a lotus flower. The King later married a young woman and a son was born to them. As a symbol of gratitude, he had the pagoda built and dedicated it to the Goddess.

The One-Pillar Pagoda is regarded as one of Vietnam's most iconic temples, but is quite small and only took a few minutes to visit. However, it’s free to visit the One-Pillar Pagoda, and if you go you should also visit the Dien Huu Pagoda and take a look at the bo tree, which was a gift to Ho Chi Minh during a visit to India in 1958.

The one pillar pagoda, or Chua Mot Cot as it is called in vietnamese is a small pagoda that stands in a lotus dam just around the corner from the Ho Chi Migh mausoleum.
It was build way back in 1049 and was standing on it´s one pillar until 1954 where the french blew it up in anger over being thrown out of Vietnam as colonial masters, but they have now rebuild it and you can visit it again.
The godess inside the timple with the hundred arms is being visited by many young vietnamese couples who want to have children as it´s believed that she can help in this aspect.

2 more images

One Pillar Pagoda is a small pagoda with one pillar in the middle if a lotus pond. This unique pagoda was built by an emperor Ly Thai Tong, ruled Vietnam between 1028-1054, to gratitude Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara to gave him a new born son as he was dreaming Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara while seated on a lotus flower handed him a baby son. This Pagoda is built of wood on a single stone pillar 1.25m in diameter and it is designed to resemble a lotus blossom.

It was rebuilt after it was destroyed by the french.

It is located west of Hanoi, 500m from Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

Opening hours 8am-5pm.

The One Pillar Pagoda was originally built in the 11th Century. The story goes that the king wanted a son. After he dreamed about the Lady Buddha, his wife gave birth to a boy, and he built this little pagoda in appreciation. It is the smallest one in Viet Nam.

It rises from a pond on a single concrete pillar, and is supposed to represent a lotus. It isn’t original—the French blew it up in the 1950s, and it was rebuilt.

Open 8-5, free.

1 more image

Situated about a ten minute walk from Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum or the Ba Dinh Square visiting here offers one a chance to sit and relax in a park like setting on benches that line the perimeter of the man made lake where the pagoda sits.

Its unique design is of a three square meter wooden structure resembling a “lotus blossom”, the Buddhist symbol of Enlightenment. It sits on a concrete support (pillar) that replaces the original wooden one.

The original structure is thought to date from about 1049 during the Ly dynasty but the factual history is not clear. The pagoda has been damaged and restored many times. The last major demolition came at the hands of the French in 1954 and since then has been re-built into the version that you see today.

I sat and did some people watching here for a little while, and did not venture to look inside because of the flow of people making prayer.

There's a small stand where you can buy drinks and snacks to enjoy if you decide to sit and relax for a while.

Access to the pagoda is 0800 AM to 1700 PM daily and there is no charge to access the grounds where the pagoda is located

4 more images

Within the vicinity of Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, the One Pillar Pagoda attracts a steady stream of tourists and devotees alike. Unlike the grand mausoleum, the pagoda is petite and looks delicate - it stands on a single pillar in the center of a pond, resembling a lotus flower.

The interesting story behind the pagoda talks about an 11th century emperor, Ly Thai Tong, who build the pagoda is an act of thanksgiving to the goddess of mercy for giving him a wife, and more importantly a male heir.

The sad part of the story, is that of the pagoda itself. The one standing today is not the original pagoda built by the emperor - credit goes to the French colonialists who destroyed the original structure before they left the city. Sounds senseless.

4 more images

This rather strange and, therefore, unique structure is located just to the right of the Ho Chi Minh Museum entrance. Originally built in 1049 of wood by Emperor Ly Thai To during the Ly Dynasty, the pagoda was vandalised and burned by the French in 1954 as they retreated from Hanoi - only to be rebuilt the following year out of wood again but attached to a concrete pillar. Legend states that the Emperor had a dream that he was given a son by the goddess of mercy, Quan An, while seated on a lotus flower. Soon afterwards, the Emperor married a peasant girl and had a son. The Emperor built the pagoda to honour the goddess, and it contains a statue of her and many sculptures of lotus flowers. Built over a lotus pond, the pagoda is extremely popular with childless couples and is also believed to have miraculous healing powers.

Open: 6-11.30am & 2-6pm.

This pretty little pagoda dates from the 11th century. It rests on a single stone pillar that rises out of a lotus pond. It was built to honor Quan Am, the Goddess of Mercy by Emperor Ly Thai Tong, because she came to him in a dream in which she was sitting in the centre of a lotus flower presenting him with a son. Not long after, he married a new wife, who did indeed give him a son.

If you would like to give birth to a baby soon, visit the One Pillar Pagoda and give your offerings. Legend has it that King Ly Thai To built this pagoda more than a thousand years ago as a sign of gratitude to goddess Quan Am after his dream for a baby came true.

Entrance is free. The one pillar pagoda as its name suggest is an ancient pagoda sitted only one one concrete pillar in a lotus pool.

The One Pillar Pagoda is often mentioned to be one of Hanoi's most beautiful pagodas. Every tourist guidebook mentions it as a must-see. It's more or less the number one sight in Hanoi. You HAVE to see it!
Well, do you? It' basically only a pagoda standing on one pillar. While this surely is an interesting way to build a pagoda, Chua Mot Cot (in Vietnamese) is nothing but that. Standing on one pillar in a little dirty pond, supposedly looking like a lotus blossom, and being overrun by hordes of tourists and Vietnamese alike, I'd recommend skipping it. If you want to go there, combine it with a visit to Ho Chi Minh Museum or Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, both of which are just around the corner. Chua Mot Cot is okay, but there are several other pagodas that are more interesting. Furthermore, the original pagoda was destroyed by the French in 1954, so the one you see is only a copy of the original from 1049.