Unlike other Asian nations, Vietnam doesn’t have many large or massive temples and pagodas. As Tim Tran and others have already stated, Vietnamese culture is heavily influenced by Confucianism. However, it’s wrong to say that Vietnam has NO HISTORICAL SITES IN THE FORM OF TEMPLE. Just because we didn’t build it big doesn’t mean we own none. Vietnamese believe in the harmony of nature so every shrine, temple and pagoda is always built within nature like on mountain, by the river/stream, etc. Furthermore, most of Vietnamese religious building (except for Christianity) tend to bend Buddhism, Taoism and indigenous religions together so they are considered highly sacred, seeking spirituality rather than emphasising on the architecture and size. Most of Vietnamese temples are small YET SUBTLE in terms of the decorating. Below are some of my favourite temples and pagodas.
Chùa Hương (Perfume Pagoda)
To get to Perfume Pagoda, you must sail through this beautiful stream
Chùa Một Cột (One Pillar Pagoda)
Chùa Đồng (Dong/Copper Pagoda) built at 1068m above sea level
Keo Pagoda, built around 400 years ago, still in its best preservation condition
Ngọc Sơn Temple
Interior in an unknown shrine
P/s: Not a temple but this is Phát Diệm Cathedral, one of the most beautiful cathedral I’ve ever seen, bending Vietnamese traditional architecture and Western Christian architecture, built over 100 years ago.
I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn.
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I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC.
I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters.
I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law.
I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam.
In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship.
Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam.
I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN.
I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism.
In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net).
I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries.
I have written these books, published by Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi:
"Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống) (Oct. 2011)
"10 Core Values for Success" (10 Giá trị cốt lõi của thành công) (Dec. 2013)
"Live a Life Worth Living" (Sống Một Cuộc Đời Đáng Sống) (Oct. 2023)
I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.
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CVD 