Moments at Huyen Khong Son Thuong Pagoda

Located at the foot of Cham Mountain in Huong Ho Commune, Huong Tra District, Thua Thien-Hue Province , and surrounded by numerous mountains, Huyen Khong Son Thuong Pagoda is well known throughout the region for its romantic, heavenly-like scenery. The tranquil setting of this spiritual getaway is a magnet for those seeking a peaceful alternative to the city and is especially attractive to literature and art enthusiasts.

The heavenly-like scenery of Huyen Khong Son Thuong Pagoda. Relaxing moments. Ringing the bell to signal the start of an afternoon. Calligraphic works by Most Venerable Gioi Duc.  Located at the foot of Cham Mountain in Huong Ho Commune, Huong Tra District, Thua Thien-Hue Province , and surrounded by numerous mountains, Huyen Khong Son Thuong Pagoda is well known throughout the region for its romantic, heavenly-like scenery. The tranquil setting of this spiritual getaway is a magnet for those seeking a peaceful alternative to the city and is especially attractive to literature and art enthusiasts.  From the confines of the pagoda and looking towards Cham MountainValley , patrons see the left side of the mountain portraying a sleeping dragon while the right side resembling a white tiger. To the southwest stands a mountain, 309m above sea level, capped with a 100-year-old tree, hence the name "Doc thu son" or Mountain with the Old Tree. At the mountain's base lives a forest of thousands of pine trees.  Sitting like a sentry outside the pagoda gates is a large rock inscribed with calligraphic words “Huyen Khong Son Thuong”. Going further into the pagoda, visitors will have a feeling that they are lost to an elysium. Overflowing with natural beauty and wildness, visitors can still appreciate the subtle manmade additions of gardens and some delicate old Hue architecture.  The pagoda's garden is adorned with a carpet of green grass splattered with many rare plants and flowers, such as fir, little bamboo, chrysanthemums, apricots and orchids.  Artistically placed in the ground under the century-old trees are stone slabs. A little further into the pine forest and bushes of old bamboo trees, small shrines of various designs are purposefully placed. The main chamber made of wood is hidden amid the vast greenery of forests and mountains, reflecting its solemnity and secrecy. In such a tranquil atmosphere, visitors feel lost in a world of poems and arts. They are especially impressed when seeing the many beautiful calligraphic works of the pagoda's verger, Most Venerable Gioi Duc (with Buddhist name as Minh Duc Trieu Tam Anh), displayed at the Pagoda. Right from the beginning of my visit to Huyen Khong Son Thuong Pagoda, I felt I was in a heaven on earth. Never before had I enjoyed so many moments of walking in the gently blowing winds, breathing in the fragrance of lotus flowers and hearing the pagoda's bell ringing far and wide. Such moments brought me a complete peace in mind. A small shrine in the precinct of the Pagoda.