Bút Tháp Temple (,
chữ Hán
( , ) are the Chinese characters that were used to write Literary Chinese in Vietnam, Literary Chinese (; ) and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in Vietnamese language, Vietnamese. They were officially used in Vietnam after the Red River Delta region ...
: 寧福寺, Ninh Phúc tự) is a Buddhist temple located near the dyke of the
Đuống River,
Thuận Thành District,
Bắc Ninh Province,
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. The temple is also popularly called Nhạn Tháp Temple. The temple was built in the 13th century. The temple houses the biggest
Quan Âm statue with one thousand eyes and a thousand arms. Bút Tháp Temple is one of the most famous temples in Vietnam. Inside, there are various valuable ancient objects and statues, which are considered to be Vietnamese masterpieces of 17th-century wood carving. During the same time the temple had become famous for the venerable abbot and
Zen master Chuyết Chuyết ("thiền sư Thích Chuyết Chuyết") 1590 - 1644.
The complex has 10 buildings spreading for 100 meters from the three-entrance gate to the bell-tower and back house. Inside the temple are more than 50 statues of different sizes including the Triad Buddha, Manjusri (Văn Thù) on a blue lion and Samantabhadra (Phổ Hiền) on a white elephant. The most remarkable is the thousand-handed and thousand-eyed Quan Âm, which is described as a sculptural masterpiece of Vietnam.
File:Chùa Bút Tháp.jpg, Bút Tháp Temple
File:But Thap Temple - 06.jpg, One of the 17th-century wood statues displayed inside the main building.
File:But Thap Temple - 12.jpg, The thousand-handed and thousand-eyed Guanyin
Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...
.
File:Quan âm chùa Bút Tháp 01.jpg, The thousand-handed and thousand-eyed Guanyin
Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...
.
File:Quan âm chùa Bút Tháp 02.jpg
The architecture, sculpture and decoration of the temple were exclusively confined to the 17th century, so it was the best intact and typical example of Vietnam's classical Buddhist art.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:But Thap Temple
Buddhist temples in Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Bắc Ninh province
Tourist attractions in Bắc Ninh province