Recently, monk Thich Khai Quang has received a lot of attention on the social network TikTok thanks to his humorous and witty videos. From these videos, Thach Long Pagoda - where monks practice - is also known to many tourists and Buddhists from all over the world.
Thach Long Pagoda is located in Cao Ky Commune, Cho Moi District, Bac Kan Province, 150km from Hanoi. The pagoda is located at an altitude of nearly 300m above sea level, hidden among the vast mountains and forests and is known as the "sacred pagoda in the grotto".
The reason the pagoda is named Thach Long (meaning stone dragon) is because it is located in a cave in the rocky mountain. The cave entrance is likened to a wide dragon's mouth.
The pagoda has two main areas: Thien Pagoda (Hung Pagoda) and Am Pagoda (Mother Pagoda). Thien Pagoda is located high up, with a rock steps from the foot of the mountain leading straight to the gate. The tallest stand worships Buddha Shakyamuni.
In the central chapel, on the highest altar, there is a statue of Uncle Ho. In the heart of Thien Pagoda, the natural stone jars fall down like sacred sky curtains covering the Buddha brothers sitting below.
Am Pagoda has a more difficult path, having to go around the mountainside. The entrance to Am Pagoda is narrow, and the cave entrance is not as wide as Thien Pagoda. It is estimated to be about 6m high, 6m wide and have a deep eating lane inside. However, both Thien Pagoda and Am Pagoda have many beautiful and impressive Buddha statues.
According to legend, the statue of Buddha Shakyamuni was once brought here with the "mental imprint of a Dieu".
During the resistance war against France, the cave was a place to hide weapons, a place where Uncle Ho visited and inspected the logistics work three times, leaving many important historical traces.
Previously, Thach Long Pagoda was quite deserted because it was located high up, deep in a cave. The pagoda only welcomes many visitors from all over the world during the festival on the 7th of January every year. Buddhists mainly offer incense, pray for luck and happiness for their families in the new year.
However, recently, the pagoda has welcomed a large number of visitors to worship and visit thanks to a series of million-view videos of monk Thich Khai Quang.
According to the leader of the People's Committee of Cao Ky commune (Cho Moi district, Bac Kan province), the real teacher's name is Luu Van Quynh (37 years old, Quang Ninh). The teacher went to Thach Long Pagoda to practice and manage for about 8 years.
Mr. Thich Khai Quang's Tiktok channel currently has 1.3 million followers and 7.7 million likes. In the videos, he introduces the pagoda, local culture, stories about Buddhism and monasticism.
In addition, he also discussed and sold local agricultural products such as incense mushrooms, dong vermicelli... to have a source of funding for daily life and repairing the pagoda's facilities.
