Long Son Pagoda

We explored the Long Son Pagoda this morning, the oldest temple in Nha Trang. Our motorcycle trip took us through the busy city center, and then found smaller streets to wind up to the top of a hill, overlooking the city. We started with the White Buddha, standing at a height of 24 meters and made of concrete. It was built in 1963 and is a symbol of peace and enlightenment.

As we carefully made our way down the stairs, we found the Reclining Buddha: This 14 meter long statue is a representation of the Buddha during his final moments before reaching nirvana, which is the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice. There are a few Jewish women in the group who pointed out what looked like swastika on various statues and monuments. There are two very prominent signs on the bottom of the Reclining Buddhist feet, but they are completely different. In Buddhism, this sign is considered to symbolise the auspicious footprints of the Buddha. The left-facing sauwastika is often imprinted on the chest, feet or palms of Buddha images. It is an an iconic symbol for the Buddha in many parts of Asia and homologous with the dharma wheel.Read more