The pagoda was formerly called Dang Long Pagoda, located at number 22, 23rd October street, Phuong Lan Quarter at the foot of Mount Trai Thuy in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province. In this area, there are two famous Pagodas, the lower is of which Long Son and the upper, Hai Duc.
Long Son was once built on the mountain top in 1886 by the Most Vrnerable Abbot Thich Ngo Chi (1856-1935). A native of Vinh Xuong District, Khanh Hoa Province, he had been engaged in the war of resistence against the French Colonialists before he renounced the world and entered upon a religious life. In Canh Ty year, the Year of the Mouse (1900), the pagoda was moved cownwards to its present location after a heavy storm. In 1936, it was used by the Local Buddhist Association as the seat of the Khanh Hoa Buddhist Sangha (Order of monks).
In 1940, Mr Ton That Quyen, Chairman of the K.H Buddhist Association and Mr. Vi Dinh Thuy, a lay Buddhist, played the lead in renovating the pagoda and then in 1968, its roof was ruined again by war. In 1971, the Venerable Thich Thien Binh took charge of the reconstruction of the pagoda, but only 60% of the building plan drawn up bu the Architect Vo Binh Diep was carried out until early 1975.
Since its beginning up to now, the pagoda has been governed by its founder, the Most Venerable Abbot Thich Chanh Hoa (1036 - 1975) and the Venerable Thi tin (from 1975 onwards).
From Long Son Pagoda, there is a fairly large road leading up to Hai Duc Pagoda on hillslope and to the Statue of the Buddha's Golden-Hued body on the hill top. The concrete Statue was set up on whart used to be the ground of Long Son Pagoda. The statue casting was started in 1964 and completed in 1965 by the Venerable Thich Duc Minh, the then Chairman of Khanh Hoa Buddhist Association, and the Scilptor Kin Dien. As a whole, the Statue is 24 metres high from the ground, and 21 metres high from its pedestal, the statue itself being 14 metres high, its lotus pedestal, 7 metres high, and the lotus diameter, 10 metres high. Around the pedestal are the images of the Seven Buddhist Martyrs. In front are a pair of dragons, 7.2 metres long. Nothbound and Southbound passengers, whether by car or by train, can watch the majestic statue of the Buddha with a calm smile on his benevolent face.
The beautiful scenery of the Long Son Pagoda complex and its favourable position are very attractive to visitors. Though near a bustling street, it remains tranquil and secluded on an airy high spacious ground covered with verdant shady trees. It is the Buddhist Institute, its offices, and the monastery together with the imposing pagoda that form a well-integrated ensemble hidden under the giant foliage of the lines of big Bodhi trees (a kind of fig tree) and orchards around. From the pagoda yard, one can admire the vivid colourful picture of nature intermingled with the urban like in Nha Trang, forming a network of houses, streets, crossroads, orchards and coconut groves along the river bank and far away, the immense sea extending to the horizon. |
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