On the Shelf @ Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City
A s triking pagoda complex sprawling across some 6,000 square-metres, alongside the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal in District Three (read all about this historic canal area on my chronicle, here ) Chùa Vĩnh Nghiêm, or Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, is Ho Chi Minh City's biggest Mahāyāna Buddhist pagoda. Mahāyāna Buddhism is V ietnam’s most predominant religion, rooted in Chinese Mahayana traditions developed with a distinctly Vietnamese twist. Inaugurated 1971, Vinh Nghiem is also one of the city’s youngest pagodas, apparently the first in Vietnam constructed in traditional architectural style (based on the design of its 11th Century namesake in Bac Giang Province), infused with modern elements - most noticeably, concrete. And with construction funded by the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association, Vĩnh Nghiêm unusually for Vietnam incorporates Japanese and Zen architectural influences, reminiscent of Buddhist religious sites in Japan. Like most pagodas in Vietn