Vietnam: A statue of Quan Am, the ‘Goddess of Mercy’, dominates the main altar, Thien Tru Pagoda, Perfume Pagoda, south of Hanoi

Quan Am, a female deity, is an incarnation of the male Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, whose teachings crossed the Himalayas from India more than two millennia ago. Somewhere in Chinese Central Asia or Tibet he became transformed into a goddess, and is now beloved as Quan Am in Vietnam, Guanyin in China, and Kannon in Japan. The Thien Thu Pagoda (also known as the Heavenly Kitchen Pagoda) was built in the 18th century. Chua Huong or ‘Perfume Pagoda’ is not just a single building, but a complex of around 30 Buddhist shrines and temples extending for some distance along the right bank of the Suoi Yen River and high into the limestone hills beyond.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia