Better to Know about Xa Loi Tower in Marble Mountains

Xa Loi Tower is the tallest building in the Water mountain (Thuy Son), the largest and the highest mountain in the Marble Mountains, Da Nang Vietnam. It’s located on the East side of this mountain, near Linh Ung Pagoda, one of the oldest and the most famous Buddhist temples in the area. Its height is 28 meters and has 7 storeys, representing the seven steps the Buddha took after he was born (in Lumbini, southern Nepal). It has 6 sides, representing the Six perceptions (sight, hear, nose, tongue, body/touch, mind), the Six perfections (perfect charity, perfect observation of the percepts, perfect perseverance, perfect energy, perfect meditation, perfect wisdom), the Six supernatural powers (divine sight, divine hearing, knowledge of the minds of all beings, knowledge of all forms of previous existences of self and others, power to appear at will in any place and to have absolute freedom, insight into the ending of birth and death) or the Six tastes.

About the architecture, the design of Xa Loi Tower is a harmonious fusion of Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and Roman elements. It has two tall columns with parallel Chinese sentences in the front and the mountain is in its back. Meaning that locals treat it as same as a temple. On the yard in the front of the tower, there is a mini landscape, including one water lily pond and a rock topped by bonsai trees in the middle. In Vietnam, this ‘work’ is called ‘hon non bo’ which means ‘a set of mountain and water’. The window of each tower is decorated by a Chinese word (meaning ‘long life’) or Dharmachakra (the wheel of life in Buddhism).

The first storey of Xa Loi Tower where visitors can only visit, is used to worship Gautama Buddha (middle) and two of his principle disciples: Mahakasyapa and Ananda. In other stories, all arhats and bodhisattvas have been worshipped. In the tallest storey, one of 84,000 Buddha’s relics (in his cremated ashes) has been preserved and honored. Only monks and their close Buddhists are able to climb stairs to come here. Until today, there are no other places in the area where a Buddha relic is given to.

About the history, Xa Loi Tower was constructed from 1997 to 2004 while Buddhist monk Thich Thien Nguyen led Linh Ung Pagoda (Marble Mountains) where it’s located. Thich Thien Nguyen (birthname Ho Tan) was borned in 1946 in Hoa Quy ward, Ngu Hanh Son district, Da Nang city, in a Vietnamese family with Buddhist tradition. On 19th September 2016, he passed away while staying in Linh Ung Pagoda at Son Tra Peninsula. He was the smallest amongst 10 siblings. At age of 19, he went to a Buddhist monastery and was willing to practice Buddha teachings at a temple in the Marble Mountains (a famous Buddhist mountain near his village). Later, he became the monk in the 43rd generation of Linji school of Buddhism and in the 10th generation of Chuc Thanh school of Buddhism. After going to many places in southern Vietnam, in 1975, he returned to Linh Ung Pagoda in the Marble Mountains. In 1989, he led the restoration of its main worshipping hall, construction of the monk’s house and towers. In 1999, Linh Ung Pagoda at Ba Na Hills was built from its suggestion.

If take the elevator to go up the mountain, after getting off the elevator and before visiting Xa Loi Tower, visitors will see a view to the sea on the right hand side. It’s blue and calm almost all year round. The breeze from the ocean is really cool. The coastline has white sand and big resorts filled with trees and coconut palms. On the left hand side of the bridge, there is a view to 4 of five mountains in the Marble Mountains. Clockwise, they are the Water mountain or Thuy Son (where you stand), the Wood mountain or Moc Son, the Fire Mountain or Hoa Son (the smallest) and the Metal mountain or Kim Son. The Wood mountain, due to its vertical cliffs, is still inaccessible by humans. The top of the Metal mountain is flat because the US army constructed a guard post there to protect their military base ‘Marble Mountain’ and the road below.