One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột)

Amongst a number of beauty-spots in Hanoi and Vietnam Popular Destinations, the One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột) which is one of Vietnam’s two most iconic pagodas, side by side the Perfume Pagoda) is a popular tourist attraction.The One Pillar Pagoda (Vietnamese: Một Cột Pagoda, formally Diên Hựu tự, which litterally means “long lasting happiness and good luck”) is a historic Buddhist temple in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
 

 

As you visit Hanoi, you may come to various other monuments, parks and historical places. Yet, the One-Pillar Pagoda reflects the architectural splendor that the country has grown. Where is it located? The unique pagoda is located in the western part of the city, near Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Ông Ích Khiem St., Ngoc Ha, Ba Đình District, and Hanoi.
 

 

The Legendary story:

According to legend, ageing Emperor Lý Thái Tổ of the Lý dynasty, who had no children, used to go to pagodas to pray to Buddha for a son. One night, he dreamt that he was granted a private audience to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who was seated on a great lotus flower in a square-shaped lotus pond on the western side of Thăng Long Citadel, gave the King a baby boy. Months later, when the Queen gave birth to a male child, the Emperor ordered the construction of a pagoda supported by only one pillar to resemble the lotus seat of his dream in the honor of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. According to a theory, the pagoda was built in a style of a lotus emerging out of the water.
 

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From VietnameseFood.com.vn