Wat
Chùa Khedol
Chùa Khedol (Chùa Botum Kirirangsay) is a Khmer Theravada Buddhist Wat in Thạnh Đông quarter, Bình Minh ward, Tây Ninh province, Vietnam, founded in 1811.[1][2]
History
Its Pali name, Botumkirirangsey, means "radiance of the lotus near the mountain". Many people call it Chùa Sđo after Phum Sđo, the one Khmer village left of the old Khedol settlement at the foot of the mountains. Founded in 1811, the Wat moved several times; it was finally rebuilt on a gravel mound that US forces had raised for an unfinished military post. The old Wat was built of leaves, wood and brick and was repaired many times. In 2013 Venerable Phát, from Trà Vinh, began restoring it and building a new main hall. The mounds of three earlier Wats survive nearby.[2]
Architecture
The main hall stands at the center, with the sala (meeting hall) on its left and the monks' quarters on its right, under old rain trees. Its layered roofs suggest an opening lotus. Seated Buddha images face out from both the front and the back; the front looks east over rice fields toward a large reclining Buddha, and at the back two tall flagpoles are wrapped by four intertwined naga (serpent deity) figures. Inside are many Buddha images in Khmer style, with murals of the life of the Buddha on the walls and ceiling.[2]
Religious life
The Wat holds the Khmer festivals and Buddhist ceremonies of the year and teaches Khmer script to local children.[2] On the evening of April 14, 2025, the first night of Khmer New Year (Chol Chnam Thmey), many Khmer families and neighbors came to offer incense, chant and receive the monks' blessing.[3] On April 16, 2026, the ward held its New Year gathering for the Khmer community at the Wat, where most of the ward's 229 Khmer households live nearby.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Báo và phát thanh, truyền hình Tây Ninh, Phường Bình Minh: Họp mặt mừng Tết Chol Chnam Thmay (April 16, 2026)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Du lịch Tây Ninh, Di tích chùa Khmer Khedol (undated)
- ↑ Báo Tây Ninh, Rộn ràng ngày đầu năm tết Chol Chnam Thmay của đồng bào dân tộc Khmer (April 15, 2025) (archived April 21, 2025)