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There is a very famous
pagoda in Gia Thanh - Gia Vien - Ninh Binh province
(considered to be the 3 most beautiful pagodas in
Vietnam) that is Dich Long pagoda. It's legendary that
the cave was found out in 1739 with many stalitiles and
stalimites especially buddha-like one and it is
worshipped since.
The pagoda is the grotto, as large as a house with 10
compartments, there are statutes like arhant, guardian
spirit... or the stone tables or the stone door
inscribed with 6 characters "Nham Son Dong, Co Am Tu"
(co Am pagoda, Nham Son grotto) visitors and pilgrims
have to climb up to 105 stone-steps to the pagoda. This
is naturally made pagoda. In the pagoda, there is a big
bell, 1m high and 1 tori in weight due to high location,
abound in stalactites and stalac, when the wind blows
in, there echoes with sounds like flutes, the grotto
itself is a colosal flute made of stone by nature,
echoeing for ages now - so is grotto named, when we
strike lightly against the stalic, there are sounds like
from the drums, and the bell. That's the musical band
given by nature.
Interesting is it that, once we are here, not only we
come to pray for goodness, but we, are lost among
imaginative elephants, water jars, crouching tigers,
dancing pea -cocks, overwhelming dragons each stone wall
is a picture of art, carved by nature, even we can find
a well here with very clean water, a way up to the heav-
ens and away down to the hell.
The whole grotto is a nice scope, a good combination of
yin and yang of light and darkness, of music of poem, of
the fairyland and worldly life.
 More temples & pagodas
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