Khanh An Monastery - The Japanese Temple in Ho Chi Minh City

Address: 1055/3D Quoc lo 1A, An Phu Dong Ward, District 12

Opening hours: 5 AM - 12 PM, 1:30 PM - 8:30 PM (or open until 10 PM on repentance night and big Buddhist occasions)

Notes for visitors:

The general rules when going to any temples or pagodas in Vietnam are to:

• dress moderately
• put your shoes outside of the halls
• no smoking
• don’t make loud noises or talk too loud

There is a parking lot for motorbikes and cars in the monastery’s yard. It is free, but there is a wooden box near the front gate and the driveway to put a little donation if you want to.

The gate of Khanh An Monastery

“Please leave your shoes outside” reminder

The parking lot

How to Get to Khanh An Monastery

Khanh An Monastery is located in a big alley on a highway about 15 km to the north of Ho Chi Minh City’s center, so the most convenient way here is by taxi (VND 160,000 - VND 200,000, approximately 30 minutes - 1 hour). From the highway, go into the alley, through a local market, and you will see Khanh An Monastery on your left.

Motorbike is not recommended for safety reasons, and the bus routes to Khanh An from the city center are not developed (long walk or inconvenient transit).

The big sign on the highway

How Khanh An Monastery Was Built

At first, Khanh An Monastery was only a small temple established by Tri Hien Abbot in 1905. During this time, the monastery and its neighborhood (An Loc Dong and Hanh Phu villages - later known as An Phu Dong Village/Ward since 1947), where the patriots gather, was under many fire attacks by the French army. The temple was left heavily damaged with downgrade structure, leaking walls, and flooded halls.

It was not until 2006 that the temple underwent a complete renovation in 10 years' time to revive into the new and noble Khanh An Monastery. The renovation was taken on the previous place including the small temple and 6 hectares of contributed land. The financial support of this renovation was from the locals' fundraising started by Thich Tri Chon Abbot. It is now one of the famous temples and pagodas in Ho Chi Minh City for its unique architecture.

The New Architecture of Khanh An Monastery

Khanh An Monastery now has its main hall, ancestor hall, meditation hall, preaching hall, and community hall. Opened partly since 2016, many areas in the monastery are still under construction in 2018 but the halls for the Three Jewels in Buddhism, which are Buddha (main hall), Dharma (meditation hall), and Sangha (community hall), have been completed.

A scale model of Khanh An Monastery’s plan

Many parts are still under construction

The main hall for chanting (“Phat Duong Tinh Thuc, at the top level) and the meditation hall (“Phap Duong Chanh Niem”, at the lower level) are constructed in one building of two levels. This building is the biggest construction in Khanh An Monastery. The steps and handrails are made of stone with sophisticated sculptures of lotus, a sacred symbol of Buddhism. The doors, windows, floors, and most of the interiors are made of wood with golden plated patterns.

A monastery’s door (“triple-gate”) in front of the main hall

The stair to the main hall

The lotus sculpture on handrails

Outside of the main hall

Inside of the main hall

 

Altars for Buddha

 

An altar at the back of the main dais and a monk is preparing offering for the altar

Shelves of Buddhist books

Wisdom box to donate books

 

Inside and outside of meditation hall

An altar in the meditation hall

The bell tower

A lotus pond on the rooftop

 

Decorations on the posts and ceiling

 

Patterns on windows and doors

The community hall (Khach Duong Thanh Thoi) is built on the opposite of the main hall and meditation hall, across the yard. This was a private area and limited to visitors. It is also the construction that made Khanh An Monastery name appear on many local papers, and given the title “the Japanese temple in Ho Chi Minh City”. The roofs are curved at the end, wooden doors, posts, and walls are painted with two colors: red and white, and the decoration sculptures are tinted golden color.

A stupas near community hall

The high golden and pointed top with few dragon or phoenix sculpture, which is rarely seen in Vietnamese temples but popular in Japan

The floors stacked up on top of one another, the golden patterns and paper lanterns on the roof also resemblance Japanese temples

Behind the community hall is the two-story wooden gazebo on water (they call it “Gac ngam Phat”, or the gazebo to admire Buddha)

The entrance to the community hall

The garden is another beautiful architecture. Consistent with the Japanese temple theme, there are a lot of details in the garden complete the design like rough-edged stone pavement, paper lamps, stone lights, and small garden monk statue. And at the end of the driveway is a man-made pond with a magnificent statue of “Quan Am” or Avalokitesvara.

Quan Am statue

 

The fountain and stream in the middle of the yard

The bridge cross over the man-made pond to Quan Am dais

On the left of this dais and at the back of the main hall is the place for the monks with a stone step path over a small stream

 

The rows of paper lamps and a stone light in the garden

A small garden monk statue

A stone plate with the monastery name on it “Tu Vien Khanh An”

The reception between the driveway and the main hall

When You Should Visit Khanh An Monastery

The way to Khanh An Monastery is quite far and not convenient, so the monastery is more lively on weekends, filled with young locals coming here to take pictures with the beautiful architecture, or Buddhist followers from far places. However, to fully enjoy the sacred atmosphere, you should pay a visit on big events of Buddhism like Phat Dan Vesak (15th of the fourth month in lunar calendar), Vu Lan (15th of the seventh month in lunar calendar), mid-autumn (15th of the eighth month in lunar calendar). Other big events of the temple are the death memorials of past abbots.

You can also come here to learn Buddhism. There are many meditation and mindfulness courses bringing Buddhism closer to the locals’ life. A regular course is “Song Tinh Thuc” (Mindful Living), held on the last Sunday of each month, lasts for the whole day from 6 AM to 6 PM. The language of the courses is Vietnamese so you should contact the monastery first to ask if there is any translation assistance before joining them.

Check out our private motorbike tours with professional local guides for fun and insightful trips in Ho Chi Minh City!

Summary of Khanh An Monastery - the Japanese Temple in Ho Chi Minh City

If you want a half-day out of the city and embrace a peaceful atmosphere, going to Khanh An Monastery could be a great idea. Not only its amazing architecture but the vibes here will bring you a refreshing and relaxing time.

The goodbye sign with a meaningful send-off "Tranh Ac Lam Lanh", meaning avoid the evils and do good deeds

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