Van Hanh Zen Monastery

Thien Vien Van Hanh is a working Zen monastery on the eastern edge of Da Lat. Its main feature is visible from afar: a golden statue of the Shakyamuni Buddha about twenty-four metres high, seated on a lotus with a raised flower in his hand and a metal halo of radiating spokes behind his back. The pedestal is arranged as a stone garden with dwarf pines, bougainvillea and water, so that the figure seems to grow out of the rock. In the main hall the walls, the columns and the portals are covered from end to end with carving in wood, and the floor is laid with patterned turquoise tiles. The monastery stands away from the tourist routes of Da Lat, and there are usually few people here.

On the map