11 of Vietnam’s Most spectacular temples and shrines (Part 3)

5. Jade Emperor Pagoda

This shrine-saturated, very Chinese temple which crowds into a complex in the heart of Saigon looks old but was commissioned in the early 20th century by a wealthy Hoa merchant (Cantonese-Vietnamese). It’s nominally Taoist – dedicated to a kind of Taoist Beowulf, who defeated a series of terrible monsters at the dawn of creation in China and then ascended into heaven. But there are sanctuaries to a whole host of other Buddhist and Confucian figures, as well as a to an obscure sea deity all but forgotten in China today. Be sure to visit the pavilion of the city god and rub his palm. A Chinese inscription on his hat reads ‘Look at Me Once to Receive Money’. Palm rubbing is apparently even more providential.

6. The Thich Quang Duc Shrine

There can be no religious monument more poignant than this striking sacred statue set in a little park in central Saigon. It marks the spot where in 1963 Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk, set himself on fire, holding prayer beads and chanting ‘Nam mô A Di Đà Phật’ (Homage to Amitābha Buddha). The photographs of the monk sitting silent and serene while being engulfed by fire shocked the world and won Malcolm Browne the World Press Photo of the Year. The self-immolation was a protest at the persecution of Buddhists by the Southern Vietnamese government. The statue of the monk, framed by flames as if sitting in the centre of a mandala is deeply moving and there are often pilgrims praying or leaving flowers at his feet. The car in which Quảng Đức traveled to his self-immolation is on display at the Thiên Mụ Pagoda in Hue.

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