Wat
Chùa Sóc Lớn
Chùa Sóc Lớn is a Khmer Theravada Buddhist Wat in Lộc Hưng commune, Đồng Nai province, Vietnam, and the oldest Khmer Wat of the former Bình Phước province.[1][2]
History
The Wat was built from 1931 and inaugurated in 1937. Until the 2025 provincial merger it stood in Lộc Khánh commune, Lộc Ninh district, Bình Phước province.[1] During the wars against France and the United States it sheltered resistance fighters. In 2016 it was named among the 100 favorite places of cultural and spiritual tourism in Vietnam.[3]
Architecture
The grounds are wide and lined with dipterocarp trees and sugar palms. The main hall stands at the center on a raised base and faces east, toward the sunrise. Its eaves carry figures of celestial maidens and the krud (Garuda, a bird deity), and naga (serpent deity) figures are carved along the galleries.[3] Reliefs of deities decorate the upright columns, and the cross beams show Rahu, who swallows the moon. Garuda figures support the roof of the sala (preaching hall), and the wall around the grounds tells the story of Hanuman and the twelve animals of the zodiac.[1]
Religious life
As of 2023, the Wat hosted the major Khmer festivals of Bình Phước[3] and was also a school where Khmer children learn to read and write Khmer and study Buddhist ethics.[1] In September 2025, for Sen Dolta, the festival for ancestors, a delegation of the Đồng Nai Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs visited the Wat with gifts for its monks and community.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 VietnamPlus, Chiêm ngưỡng kiến trúc độc đáo của ngôi chùa Khmer Sóc Lớn (March 10, 2023)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sở Dân tộc và Tôn giáo tỉnh Đồng Nai, Sở Dân tộc và Tôn giáo tỉnh Đồng Nai thăm, tặng quà các chùa Khmer nhân dịp Lễ Sen Dolta năm 2025 (September 25, 2025)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Phật giáo Việt Nam, Sóc Lớn: chùa Khmer cổ nhất Bình Phước (August 16, 2023)