One Pillar Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam

The temple was originally built by the Emperor Ly Thai Tong. Thus, One Pillar Pagoda architecture is featured with the Ly style of designs. The emperor Ly Thai Tong was the ruler between the years 1028 and 1054. The lack of a child and heir plagued Ly Thai Tong until one night in his dreams he met the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. He handed him a baby son while sitting in his serene posture on a lotus flower. After this, the emperor married, and his wife bore him a son, in gratitude for which he constructed the One Pillar Pagoda temple in 1049.

The temple itself has been renovated many times, but the most recent occurrence was in 1955 during the evacuation of France. If one visits Vietnam, One Pillar Pagoda in Hanoi is a site that should not be missed out on; given that it remains one of the most revered and respected sites, and has a beautiful garden which is the perfect place to indulge in tranquil contemplation. There is a shrine located inside the pagoda which is to worship the Vietnamese Buddhist deity Quan Am.

One of the major attractions in the pagoda is the famous Bo tree. It grows behind the pagoda and is said to be the offshoot of the Banyan tree under which Buddha attained enlightened in Bodh Gaya. The tree was gifted to Vietnam by Government of India as an act of goodwill in 1958.