The Sac Tu Linh Quang Pagoda is located at 133, Da Thien Hamlet, Lac Thanh Quarter, Ward 6, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province. It is the first pagoda to lay the foundation for Buddhism in Da Lat - Lam Dong. In 1914, World War I broke out in Europe. Due to the traffic being cut off and unable to return to the motherland, the French in Saigon and the southern provinces had to find another summer resort. So, after many years of resting since being discovered by Dr. Alexandre Yersin (1893), in 1900, Governor-General Daul Doumer established the Da Lat resort, which the French flocked to. Since 1915, the French have been rushing to build infrastructure. Therefore, they recruited many local workers from the Central provinces such as Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen... At first, the workers worked for the French, then they settled permanently in this new land. However, by 1923, the population of Da Lat was only about 1,500 people.

In that context, in 1921, Venerable Thich Nhon Thu, whose secular name was Tran Xin, born in the year of Giap Ngo (1894), from Phu Yen, with the dharma name Tam Trung, and the courtesy name Tu Ly, belonging to the 43rd generation of Lam Te Lieu Quan, followed the immigrants from Khanh Hoa and set foot in Da Lat. More than a century ago, this place was just a sacred forest with wild animals, with cold fog all year round, and a sparse population. After finding a remote area of about 1 hectare on an unexplored hill (now in Ap Da Thuan, Ward 6, Da Lat City), he stopped and built a small hermitage to practice. Initially, he intended to build a pagoda near Hoa Binh area, next to An Hoa bridge (today's ward 1), but he saw the first cemetery near Cau Queo street (today's number 4 Hai Ba Trung street), so he decided to build a pagoda here to pray for the souls of the deceased. After that, he invited Venerable Thich Phuoc Tuong (Thien Buu Temple - Ninh Hoa), Venerable Thich Tu Nhan (Bat Nha Temple - Tuy An - Phu Yen) and Venerable Thich Nhon Nguyen (Linh Quang Pagoda - Dien Khanh) to jointly name this hermitage: "Linh Quang Tu". From then on, the Venerable began to propagate the Dharma, opening the source of Buddhism in Lam Dong land (at that time still called Dong Nai Thuong province). Therefore, Linh Quang Pagoda is considered the first ancestral temple of Da Lat and Venerable Nhon Thu is the founder of Lam Dong Buddhism in particular and Buddhism in the highlands in general.

On March 11, 1933, with financial support from Buddhists Do Sinh, Tran Van Tai, Truong Van Nhan, Nguyen Van Nhan and Le Van Cam, the Venerable rebuilt Linh Quang Pagoda to be more spacious with wooden walls, corrugated iron roof, with dimensions of 7m wide, 7m long, 6m high, with a drawing submitted to the French government, which was approved with a decision stating: "Permission to start building the pagoda and transfer it to the applicant according to the dimensions stated in the drawing. Mayor: A. Darles signed on March 11, 1933." (That drawing still exists today).

Because of admiration for the Venerable's virtue and knowing that Linh Quang Pagoda was the first pagoda in the "Hoang Trieu Cuong Tho" land, Dong Nai Thuong province, on September 27, 1938 (the 13th year of Bao Dai's reign), Queen Mother Doan Huy and King Bao Dai bestowed a Royal Decree on the pagoda. The decree clearly stated: "Sac Tu Linh Quang Tu, Bao Dai thirteenth year, 9th month twenty-seventh day, engraved by the Minister of Rites Ton That Quang". Up to now, although the Royal Decree no longer exists due to being burned during the Tet general offensive in the year of Mau Than (1968), the decision to bestow a Royal Decree presented by the Minister of Rites Ton That Quang is still preserved. It clearly states: “The Ministry of the Interior, in obedience to the will of the Queen Mother Doan Huy, hereby issues a royal decree to Linh Quang Pagoda in Dalat village in Haut - Donnai. The Ministry of the Interior, in obedience. The Ministry of the Interior, in obedience. Therefore, Linh Quang Pagoda would like to issue a royal decree according to the following measurements: height 5 inches 8 inches, width 1 foot 1 inch, four sides are carved in three directions, all painted in red and gilded. Therefore, the Queen Mother agrees. Now, in obedience to: The God Ton That Quang, Dong Nai Thuong province, the royal palace, the village chief of Dalat village and Tran Xin - the abbot of Linh Quang Pagoda, in obedience”.

Located on a hill about 1 hectare wide, when rebuilt in 1972, Linh Quang Pagoda has an ancient architectural style combining Chinese and Vietnamese art: curved double roof, at the four corners of the roof there are carvings of Dragons, Unicorns, Turtles, and Phoenixes with winding dragons made from many pieces of porcelain. From Hai Ba Trung Street, through a gate with the sign "Linh Quang Tu", the front of Linh Quang Pagoda faces the Northeast, the main hall is built in the shape of the letter "T" 20m long, 15m wide, including 3 interconnected rooms. The front hall has an architectural style of 3 rooms, 2 wings with double roofs. Looking from the outside, on the two ends of the roof are two dragons in the "returning dragon" position, facing a tiger face. Above the tiger face is a dharma wheel. On the edges of the upper roof are pairs of phoenixes, two dragons facing in. On the two ends of the lower roof is a pair of dragons reaching out. In the middle of the two roofs are symmetrical dragon-returning decorations through the sign in Chinese characters "Linh Quang Tu" in blue on a red stylized swastika pattern. The front of the pagoda has 4 pillars with dragons and next to the two outermost pillars are two narrow walls with embossed landscapes in Loc Uyen garden. Running along the roof is a panel with a swastika pattern carved on it. There are three main doors into the inner hall, above the middle door is the inscription "Linh Quang Pagoda".

The main hall worships the statue of Buddha sitting on a lotus throne with a radiant halo, under a canopy of treasures. On both sides are worshiped Manjushri, Samantabhadra, Dharma Protector and Tieu Dien. In addition, there is a 135kg U Minh bell. Behind the main hall is the Ancestral Hall worshiping Bodhidharma and the Venerable Patriarchs, on both sides are worshiped the souls of male and female deities. Behind the Ancestral Hall is a row of monks' houses with 12 ground floor rooms, one upstairs room and a library, built in 1990. Behind the monks' houses is a 4000m2 plot of land for growing flowers and vegetables. To the right of the main hall is a tower garden with three stupas of the founding monk and the abbots who inherited them, restored by the abbot in 2010 in the architectural style of Hue. The most prominent structure in the temple grounds is the open-air statue of Quan The Am appearing on a dragon body 100m long, 2m in diameter winding around the temple, with two unicorns and a golden turtle statue topping a bronze incense burner. Opposite is the Lumbini garden, where Buddha was born, with a 3m high, 6m long white elephant with six tusks, and the scene of Prince Siddhartha riding the horse Kien Trac and his attendant Xa Nac leaving the city to become a monk. In front of the temple is a 200m long curved road, with 10 paintings depicting the brief history of Buddha from birth to nirvana, 5 Zen masters from Tay Thien, Dong Do coming to Vietnam and the scene of Tang monk and his disciples going to get sutras... These works were all carried out in the year Canh Thin (2000), the pivotal year of the 21st century. The 100m long dragon symbolizes a century of prosperity and longevity of Buddhism and the nation. Currently, the temple is starting a major renovation of the main hall and the Patriarch's house. In the future, it is expected that construction will be carried out on the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni entering Nirvana, the 18m high statue of Maitreya Buddha, the three-entrance gate, the bell tower, the drum tower, the lecture hall, the ancestral worship tower... and some auxiliary works.

In addition to being known as the first ancestral temple of Lam Dong province, the pagoda is also a famous spiritual tourist destination, always present in the journey of pilgrims when visiting Da Lat city. In addition, Linh Quang Pagoda is also a place that regularly takes the lead in social charity work to demonstrate the spirit of serving the Dharma and the nation, continuing the vows that the founding monk and previous ancestors did in the past, maintained and promoted by later generations, the Patriarch's seal is restored, in order to benefit all living beings, repay the Buddha's grace, continue the past and present, and pass it on to future generations.

Man Duong Hong
(Recorded from documents provided by the Pagoda)