Travel to Asia - Vietnam 18, Hanoi, Chua Dien Huu Pagoda

Today we visit Chua Dien Huu Pagoda, which was built in 1049 at the same time as the One Pillar Pagoda which is very close by. The Pagoda itself is a small temple consisting of a courtyard and a single building that houses several shrines.
In the center of the courtyard of the Chua Dien Huu Pagoda is a statue of Quan Am, whose image is depicted in many religious sites in Vietnam. Quan Am is a bodhisattva, something akin to a saint in the Buddhist religion, associated with the virtue of compassion and is revered as what in Western terms we would describe as the "Goddess of Compassion".
The main shrine of Chua Dien Huu Pagoda is dedicated to another bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara. In this temple the image of Avalokiteśvara has 8 arms like the Hindu god Durga. According to legend, Emperor Lý Thái Tông saw Avalokiteśvara give him a son in a dream while he was sitting on a lotus flower. This inspired Emperor Lý Thái Tông, according to legend, to build the temple with a lotus pond and the One Pillar Pagoda.
From a theological point of view Avalokiteśvara is a curious character whose origins lie in Hindu belief but who became part of Buddhist beliefs from sometime between the 5th and 9th centuries and is now widely venerated by Buddhists throughout Asia .
Chua Dien Huu Pagoda also has shrines dedicated to Confucius and Guan Yu, the Taoist god of war, indicating Chinese influence on the royal court in Vietnam. These two shrines may have been added sometime after the construction of the original temple as the entire temple complex has been renovated numerous times over the centuries and it is likely that the iconography of this temple has changed over time as has happened to others temples in Vietnam, and generally throughout Southeast Asia, as prevailing belief systems have changed over time. Let's look at this beautiful sanctuary, enjoy your vision.