| “ Vietnam Tours “ - The northern province of Bac Giang is working with several state agencies to put forward a case for the treasure of Buddhist prayer woodblocks in Vinh Nghiem Pagoda to be recognised by UNESCO as a World Documentary Heritage. The Truc Lam Buddhist Zen prayer woodblocks in the pagoda are now seen as culturally priceless as the 3,050 separate woodblocks were carved during the late 19th century to early 20th century. |
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According
to historians, they are the only Buddhist woodblocks of prayers
belonging to Truc Lam Buddhist Zen, an outstanding Zen sect of
Vietnamese Buddhism. They are also an extensive and diverse documentary
heritage of the history of Buddhism and the religious thoughts and
culture of the Truc Lam Buddhist Zen. They also document the history of
woodblock carving and the printing industry as well as the biography
and career of several eminent monks who contributed greatly to the
development of the country’s culture.
Apart from their
historical value, the woodblocks are a valuable documentary source for
studying the early days of the Vietnamese language and Demotic scripts.
According
to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the
woodblocks, which were carved in Han (Chinese) or Demotic scripts on
wooden boards, were recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism as a national historical and cultural heritage – grade A in
1964.
Sitting on a site of over 10,000m² in Tri Yen Commune, Yen
Dung District, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda was turned into a Zen monastery by
King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong, the founder of the Truc Lam Buddhist Zen, in
the late 13th century.
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(Source:
VNA) |
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