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The pagoda is to the West of Ha Noi and was built in the time of King Ly Thai Tong. Legend has it that the king has no sons although he was rather advanced in years. So he often frequented pagodas . One night in his dream , he saw the Goddess of Mercy , Avalokistervara , appear standing on a lotus pedestal in a square lake to the West of the city ,handing a son to him. Later a son was born to hm so he ordered a One-pillar pagoda to be built in dedication to the Kwan Yin Buddha .

The pagoda’s original structure is in the shape of the square (each side is three meters wide),look like a lotus emerging out of the water which is placed on a big pillar (its diameter is 1,20 m) in the middle of a square lake .

Every month , one the first and fifteenth, the King, together with the Queen , her attendants and courtiers went to the pagoda to pay homage to the Buddha . Every year on April 8, (lunar year ) the King went to the pagoda on the eve of the Buddha’s birthday to keep himself pure and calm and to prepare for the Buddha –bathing ceremony the following morning. On that day, there was a grand ceremony called Le Phong Sinh (animal-releasing ceremony) in front of the pagoda. After the Buddha –bathing ceremony, the King stood on a high platform , began releasing a bird . Then came turn of monks and nuns who did the same thing. So on that day sky was filled with released birds.