Wat
Chùa Pôthi Somrôn
Chùa Pôthi Somrôn is a Khmer Theravada Buddhist Wat in Ô Môn ward, Cần Thơ, Vietnam, dating its founding to 1735.[1][2]
History
The first Wat, built in 1735, was made of wood and leaves. It stood first at the mouth of the Ô Môn river and later at Bo Rích, before moving to its present site in the former Châu Văn Liêm ward.[1][3] In 1856 it was rebuilt of hardwoods, among them căm xe and thao lao, with a fish-scale tile roof. Nearly a century later, Hòa thượng (Most Venerable) Thạch Khiêng, abbot from 1950 to 1988, brought a new design from architects in Phnom Penh. Work began in June 1950 and the new Wat was finished in 1952; it keeps that form today.[1]
During the wars against the French and the Americans, the Wat sheltered many young men avoiding conscription and served as a base for the revolution. Đại đức (Venerable) Lý Kiều, who practiced at the Wat, was sentenced to death in 1961 for his revolutionary activity.[1] On April 13, 2006, the eve of Khmer New Year, the city of Cần Thơ recognized the Wat as a historical and cultural relic.[1]
The main hall faces east and has a three-tiered roof with dragons along its ridges; carvings of the celestial maiden Kennâr and the bird deity Krud appear to hold up the roof. In front of the hall stands an ossuary stupa of laterite and brick from the 18th century. The Wat keeps more than 100 sets of palm-leaf scriptures, 17 wooden images nearly 200 years old and a central Buddha image carved in 1885. A sala tree, believed to have come from India, was planted in the courtyard in 1969. The grounds cover more than 8,600 m² (2.1 acres).[1]
Religious life
Hòa thượng Đào Như came to the Wat at the age of 12 and became its abbot in 1988.[1] As of 2010, the Wat was the main site of the city's moon festival (Ok Om Bok), and children practiced the five-tone (ngũ âm) ensemble there every day.[1] On May 28, 2026, a delegation from the central government visited Hòa thượng Đào Như, the monks and the lay followers of the Wat for the Buddha's birthday (Visak Bochea). He was then vice president of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, rector of the Khmer Theravada Buddhist Academy and head of the Sangha's board for Cần Thơ.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Báo Cần Thơ, Chùa Pôthi Somrôn (January 9, 2010)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Báo Cần Thơ, Đoàn công tác của Ban Tuyên giáo và Dân vận Trung ương chúc mừng Đại lễ Phật đản tại TP Cần Thơ (May 28, 2026)
- ↑ Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Phật học, Pôthi Sômrôn: nét đặc trưng của kiến trúc Phật giáo Nam tông Khmer (undated)