Tu Hieu Pagoda

A forest monastery of pines and a half-moon pond southwest of the city, famous for its story of filial piety, the tombs of royal eunuchs and as the root temple of zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Tu Hieu was founded in 1843 by the monk Nhat Dinh, who is said to have left the royal monastery to care for his elderly mother here, a story of filial devotion that gave the pagoda its name, meaning compassion and piety. In the 1890s it was enlarged with donations from the eunuchs of the Nguyen court, who had no descendants to tend their graves and were buried in a walled cemetery beside the temple that survives today. The complex sits in a pine forest with a crescent-shaped pond in front, a three-arched gate and modest halls that feel far from the city. It is best known worldwide as the home temple of zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who was ordained here as a novice in 1942 and returned to spend his final years before his death in 2022. Visit in the early morning to see monks in walking meditation, keep silence in the halls, and combine it with nearby Tu Duc Tomb.