Giac Lam Temple

VIETNAM, Ho Chi Minh City

Giac Lam means Enlightened Grove. It was built in 1744 and has been repaired and renovated at different times. It is listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site.
The principal buildings include the main gate, main hall, relic pagoda, a lecture hall, and patriarch stupa area. The main hall stands on a stone base platform. It has a hip-and-gable roof with a short central ridge and long hips, with dragon heads at the end. Inside the hall there is a 65 cm high statue of seated Sakyamuni Buddha made of jackfruit wood. There are also statues of the Eighteen Arhats lining both sides of the hall.
The seven-story, hexagonal relic pagoda is 32.7 m high and was built in 1994. Its eaves curve upward at the corners and it has a pyramidal roof. The Buddha relic is enshrined on the topmost level. There is a standing statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in front of the pagoda.
The patriarch stupa area consists of stupas that are mainly two or three tiers high. The temple houses a total of 113 statues, 23 horizontal inscribed boards, and 86 couplets, all of which are fine works of art.