Tay Thien is located 600 meter-high mountain in Dai Dinh Commune, Tarn Duong District, Vinh Phuc province. It is dedicated to fairy Nang Thi Tieu. According to myth, she was one of the seven fairies Jade Emperor sent to the earth to treat diseases to save human beings. She married to Lang Lieu, the sixth Hung King and was conferred the title of Quoc Mau Tay Thien (Mother of the country), besides, religious structures, Tay Thien has beautiful landscapes with forests, waterfalls, streams.
Some of Tam Dao National Park’s famous sites such as: Thac Bac (The Silver Fall) and Rung Rinh peak – and finally reached the slopes of Thach Ban Mountain, one of the Tam Dao range’s three greatest peaks.
There sits Tay Thien, a well-known complex that is home to a cornucopia of historical Buddhist relics and temples. The complex boasts splendid architecture, rich history and breathtaking natural scenery.
Although the annual Tay Thien Spring Festival organised from the 15th-17th of the second lunar month each year – has yet to come, the pagodas and temples here were still numerous visitors.
There is now a cable car station at the mountain foot, next to Cau Temple. The ride just opened last month and gave us a wonderful view of the mountain surrounded forests, thick, lush and dense with vegetation and life.
Cable car in Tay Thien
Tay Thien is considered to be the birthplace of Vietnamese Buddhism. A Buddhist monk from India came here in the 3rd century BC chose this mountain as the spot from which to propagate the religion.
We saw several temples, many of which have been mostly lost to time, and others that have been fairly well preserved or restored.
Another attractive site in Tay Thien is the Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery, which together with a Zen Monastery in Da Lat and one at Quang Ninh Provinces’s Yen Tu Mountain, is one of the three largest monasteries in Vietnam.
Built in 2005 on the ruins of an ancient pagoda called Thien An Thien Tu, the Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery sits on the mountain’s peak and offers a stunning view of several other temples and pagodas scattered along the pine-decorated hills.
The site itself is at once tranquil and grandiose. The courtyards are very spacious and the buildings tall and striking. The monastery is decorated with ornate carvings on its doors and embossed works on its walls, ceilings, and pillars.
The monastery includes a library, a museum, a meditation house, guesthouses and a mess hall serving vegetarian food for visitors.
The Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery has become an increasingly popular training center for young students each summer. Here spend those months essentially living like monks: they eat vegetarian, wear monks’ robes and give up a lot of their “worldly” possessions.
