Long Son Pagoda

Location

The pagoda stands on the south side of đường 23 tháng 10, the road that leaves the centre of Nha Trang westward, about 400 m west of the railway station^[3]. Behind it rises Trại Thủy hill, on whose ridge stand three other pagodas: Hải Đức, Bửu Phong and Lôi Am^[2]. Wikidata and the English Wikipedia article place the pagoda at 12.2516 N, 109.1808 E^[1][3].

The address was in Phương Sơn ward until 1 November 2024, when Resolution 1196/NQ-UBTVQH15 of 28 September 2024 merged Phương Sơn (0.46 km², 9,993 people) into Phương Sài ward (0.83 km² and 23,035 people after the merger)^[3][5]. On 16 June 2025 Resolution 1667/NQ-UBTVQH15 merged Phương Sài and Ngọc Hiệp wards with four communes into the new Tây Nha Trang ward, whose government began work on 1 July 2025^[6]. The Vietnamese Wikipedia article and the national press now give the address as Tây Nha Trang ward^[2][4].

History

The founder, born in 1856 in Vĩnh Xương district, belonged to the 39th generation of the Lâm Tế (Linji) lineage^[2]; the English Wikipedia article adds that before entering the sangha he had fought in the anti-French resistance^[3]. In 1886 he built a thatched hut on the summit of Trại Thủy hill, on the spot where the white Buddha now stands, and named it Đằng Long tự^[2]. In 1900 (the year Canh Tý) a storm brought the hut down, and he rebuilt at the foot of the hill under the name Long Sơn^[2][4].

In 1936, following the founder's wishes, the pagoda was given to the An Nam Buddhist Association of Central Vietnam as its provincial headquarters; the association became part of the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam in 1981, and Long Son remains the Sangha's seat in Khánh Hòa^[2]. In 1938, the 14th year of Bảo Đại, the court granted the title Sắc tứ Long Sơn tự^[2]. The association's chairman Tôn Thất Quyền and the lay Buddhist Võ Đình Thụy rebuilt the pagoda; the Vietnamese article dates the work to 1941 and the English article to 1940^[2][3].

The tiled roof was damaged by the war in 1968^[2][3]. In 1971 Thích Thiện Bình began a rebuilding to a design by the architect Võ Đình Diệp, which was about 60 per cent complete when it was halted in 1975^[2][3]. The pagoda has had three abbots since its foundation: Thích Ngộ Chí (1886 to 1935), Thích Chánh Hóa (1936 to 1957) and Thích Chí Tín (from 1957)^[2][3].

The buildings and statues

The main hall (Đại Hùng bảo điện) covers 1,670 m² and holds a bronze statue of the seated Buddha 1.6 m high and weighing about 700 kg^[2]. From the hall a stairway climbs the hill; the Vietnamese sources count 193 steps to the summit^[2][4], the English Wikipedia article 152 stone steps^[3]. At the 44th step lies the reclining Buddha, 17 m long and 5 m high, placed in 2003 and carved in granite, backed by a relief of 49 disciples^[2][4]. Above it stands a bell tower with a bell 2.2 m high and weighing 1,500 kg, given by Buddhists of Huế in 2002^[2][4].

The Kim Thân Phật Tổ on the summit is a white concrete statue of the seated Buddha preaching, 24 m high from the ground with a lotus base of 7 m^[2][3][4]; the English article gives the figure itself as 14 m and the height from the base as 21 m, with a pair of dragons 7.20 m long in front, and names the sculptor as Kim Điền and the sponsor as Thích Đức Minh, head of the provincial Buddhist association^[3]. Each petal of the lotus base carries a relief portrait of one of seven monks who burned themselves to death in 1963 in protest at the treatment of Buddhists under Ngô Đình Diệm^[2]. The base also houses a room for the ashes of local Buddhists' relatives^[2]. As of 2011 the statue was the largest outdoor Buddha in Vietnam^[2].

Dates in dispute

The sources disagree on three points. The founder's name is given as Thích Ngộ Trí by the Vietnamese Wikipedia article, which notes that some documents write Ngộ Chí^[2]; the English article and the national press use Ngộ Chí^[3][4]. The white Buddha is dated 1963 in the Vietnamese sources^[2][4] but the English article says it was cast in 1964 and installed the following year^[3]. The steps are counted as 193^[2][4] or 152^[3]. This article gives both in each case.