The temple has the largest reclining Buddha statue in Vietnam

Possessing the largest reclining Buddha statue in Vietnam and a pair of stones weighing 4.2 kg floating on the water, Botum Vong Sa Som Rong Pagoda increasingly attracts tourists from near and far to visit and worship.

Giant Buddha statue

Coming to Botum Vong Sa Som Rong Pagoda (Ward 5, Soc Trang City, Soc Trang) one weekend, we couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the number of Buddhists and tourists visiting and worshiping. Most prominent are the young women wearing sarongs and long shirts - traditional costumes of the Khmer people. In brightly colored and sparklingly patterned costumes, they performed some graceful movements of the Rom Vong dance. Most of these girls are Kinh people, from Hanoi, Can Tho, Hau Giang, and Ho Chi Minh City. They want to transform into Khmer girls to fit the context of the temple with the most majestic architecture in the West.
For a long time, Som Rong Pagoda has been the pride of local people and is increasingly known to many tourists. The temple is famous for the largest Shakyamuni Buddha statue in Vietnam. Reclining Buddha statue, 63 m long, 22.5 m high, placed 28 m above the ground, painted in two main colors white and light blue. Below is the space for monks to live and study. The Buddha's head and body are exquisitely crafted, with a benevolent and kind face. The closer we get to the statue, the more each person sees how small they are.

The best time to visit the temple is at dusk. The sunset covered in brilliant yellow-orange color makes the Buddha statue become magical. At this time, the rare 1 ground floor, 1 floor sala building in the West also appeared most magnificent and splendid. The most impressive part is the sala roof with many small roofs forming a golden glow, reflecting like a castle in a fairy tale. On it is a statue of Buddha standing on nine dragons with the meaning of saving sentient beings.

The stupa has an area of ​​100 m2, about 25 m high, with 4 walkways representing the gates of compassion - joy - renunciation. Each path leading up is decorated with a statue of the snake god Naga and embossed patterns of traditional Khmer culture. The central position is the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha painted with red and gold, facing east.
The stupa has 2 floors: the upper floor stores the ashes of monks and abbots of the temple; The lower floor stores more than 400 jars of ashes of people who cannot afford to build their own towers. The unique feature of the stupa is that it is painted in gray (yellow is traditional - PV), both exuding a new look and evoking antiquity like a monolithic stone. This is a highlight that everyone does not want to miss when coming to Som Rong Pagoda.

A pair of stones weighing 4.2 kg floats on the water

Venerable Lam Binh Thanh, Deputy Abbot of Botum Vong Sa Som Rong Pagoda, said that the pagoda was built in 1785 and has undergone 12 generations of abbots. The pagoda's name is based on the name of a wild plant called Som Rong, with flowers called Botum, which grew around the pagoda a lot when it was first established. Initially, the pagoda was built with temporary bamboo and leaves; It has undergone many restorations, repairs, and constructions, until it is as spacious as it is today. With the contributions of Buddhists, the pagoda built a stupa in 2010, built a sala in 2013 and built a reclining Buddha statue in 2017. In particular, in 2018, the pagoda had another important event with the venerable Ly Minh Duc (head of the temple). Abbot of Som Rong Pagoda) invited a pair of "strange" stones from Cambodia.

To better understand the story, Venerable Lam Binh Thanh led us to the sala court, where two stones were placed. The pair of stones is solemnly displayed below the Buddha altar, carefully kept on the base, lined with cloth underneath. With the naked eye, one can clearly see that the pair of stones have a different shape, with many tiny holes spread across the surface. Next to the two stones, the temple prepared a bucket of water so everyone could experiment and verify. When you put the pair of stones in the water and press firmly down to the bottom, the stones still float up. Try dropping it vertically or horizontally, the rock won't sink.

Talking about the "background" of this pair of stones, Venerable Lam Binh Thanh said that in 2018, Venerable Ly Minh Duc visited a temple in Siem Reap (Cambodia) and a native said she owned it. a pair of stones that never sink in water. Feeling strange, he went to see and asked to buy, but this woman did not sell but donated to the temple. The pair of stones weighed 4.2 kg and was invited to the temple by Venerable Ly Minh Duc at 24:45 on January 17, 2018. Some people think that this is a type of pumice stone, containing minerals because the stone has many bubbles so it is lighter than water.