The pagoda is located in a sector of rolling hills. In the background is the Co Tien Mountain range and to the left is that the batiks of the Luc River. Farther away is that the Thuong River that covers with the Luc River to create the Phuong Nhon Junction. In front of the pagoda are vast ricefields dotted with villages and hamlets hidden behind green bamboo groves. Looming within the distance is the ninety nine Nham Bien Mountain range, wrapped in a very poetic and mystical air.

Duc La Pagoda was built in  the twelfth century, was the centre of the Truc Lam Trinity: King Tran Nhan Tong, Phap Loa and Huyen Quang resident monks who opened a faculty of Buddhist preaching and established the Truc Lam non religion sect. They were in command of believers through the country.

The main architecture of the pagoda located on a Southwest axis and consists of 4 principal blocs. The primary bloc homes the Ho Pagoda, Thien Huong Palace and Buddhist Temple.

The interior of the Ho Pagoda is adorned with several statues; at 2 gables there are two Thap Dien niches, 2 colossi as high as the roof, also as statues of Thien Wong, Dia Tang and Long Than.

The Thien Huong Palace is splendidly embellished with 3 horizontal panels and a gilded door; the primary compartment is for bonzes to mention prayers, the second is for the show of Buddha statues and statues of Arhats. The Buddhist Temple is a world of Buddha statues bearing several architectural imprints of the Le Dynasty.

A brick yard isolates the second bloc from the primary and is an ancestral shrine built an easy architectural style with wood planks and cloud - similar to decorations.
 
The panel is inscribed with the words "Truc Lam ho thuong "(A rendez-vous of the Truc Lam Trinity) in Chinese characters and is seen on top of the 3 statues of the Truc Lam Trinity.

The third bloc is that the 2 - roofed bell tower and the fourth is that the second ancestral shrine hosting 2 statues symbolic of the art of sculpture in the Nguyen Dynasty.

More than 700 years have elapsed however all four architectural structures stay pristine. Duc La Pagoda remains a significant coaching centre of Buddhism with wood shelves for the printing of Buddhist sutras still reserved as proof of the vital role of Vinh Nghiem Tu.

The native authorities and people have maintained the advanced well, creating the realm a nonstop sanctuary of the Vinh Nghiem Buddhist sect.

Source: vietnamimpression

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