A Kaleidoscope of Faith in South Vietnam | Linh Phước Temple, Da Lat

Julianne Chin
Jan 19
5 min read

Updated: Jan 30

After wandering through the colourful Đà Lạt’s Cao Dai Temple, I wasn’t quite done with temple-hopping just yet (since I was being the passenger princess of the day). Vietnam truly has its own way of turning belief into experience, and my next stop—Linh Phước Temple—took that idea to an entirely different level. Here, I invite you to join my journey to hell, discover how religion in Vietnam refuses to be old-fashioned and boring.

Linh Phước Temple

Nestled in the hills of Da Lat, Linh Phước Temple is a Buddhist temple located not far from Thánh Thất Đa Phước. Renowned for its elaborate decoration made from approximately 1,200 recycled glass bottles and porcelain fragments, the temple itself thrives as an impressive artwork, attracting many visitors from foreign lands. Its lively atmosphere forms a sharp contrast to the quiet, almost tourist-free serenity of the nearby Thánh Thất.

Linh Phước Temple is associated with Mahayana Buddhism, the dominant Buddhist tradition in Vietnam today. Buddhism first arrived in Vietnam through both maritime trade routes from India via Southeast Asia and overland transmission via China. Mahayana Buddhism took early root in the north during centuries of Chinese rule. In the South, long before large-scale Vietnamese migration reached the region, Buddhism existed in the forms of Khmer Theravāda Buddhism and earlier Hindu–Buddhist traditions of Champa, introduced through maritime trade networks.

From the sixteenth century onward, as Vietnamese settlers moved south during Nam Tiến (the Southward expansion of Vietnamese territory and population), Vietnamese-style Mahayana Buddhism gradually expanded into southern Vietnam. Rather than replacing earlier beliefs, it layered itself over existing traditions, absorbing local aesthetics and spiritual practices. This process of adaptation gave rise to a distinctly southern Vietnamese expression of Buddhism—richly visual, devotional, and immersive—vividly embodied in temples like Linh Phước.

Mahayana Buddhism

Mahayana Buddhism is the largest branch of Buddhism. It emerged in India around the first century BCE and later spread across East Asia, becoming the dominant Buddhist tradition in the region. It emphasises the ideal of the bodhisattva, a compassionate enlightened being who delays their own nirvana to help other sentient beings achieve liberation. Mahayana teachings highlight concepts such as compassion, wisdom, and the potential of all beings to attain Buddhahood through practice.

In all schools of Buddhist beliefs, hell is viewed as a temporary state of suffering resulting from negative karma, rather than an eternal place of punishment as seen in some religions, such as Christianity. The hell realm is one of the six realms in Buddhism—the God Realm, Demi-God Realm, Human Realm, Animal Realm, Hungry Ghost Realm, and Hell Realm. Beings are reborn in hell realms because of harmful actions driven by hatred, greed, and ignorance. Once the negative karma that caused rebirth in hell is exhausted, a being can be reborn in another realm. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to break free from the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara) and attain nirvana, ending all suffering.

Karma and Hell

The temple grounds feature multiple sculptures of Buddhist legends, folk tales, as well as a giant dragon, making it a culturally integrated experience compared to more traditional Buddhist temples. But what really made an impression was the immersive 'hell experience' in the temple basement.

After the staff at Linh Phước Temple announced it was closing time, we moved away from the main temple grounds and found a stairway leading to a basement. What we initially saw was nothing unique— a slippery stairway (ask Jana), some realistic wax monk statues, and antique-designed furniture made of wood and stone. Out of curiosity, I went off for a little stroll and discovered two familiar 'faces': Ox-Head and Horse-Face (牛頭馬面), the guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. In Vietnam, they are called Ngưu Đầu and Mã Diện, and are believed to guide people’s souls to the underworld after death.

Unlocking this secret gateway to hell was surely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could not be missed. We descended into the underworld under the guidance of Ngưu Đầu and Mã Diện and began a mini tour of the afterlife.

The 18 Levels of Hell exhibit is inspired by the Buddhist tale Mục Liên Cứu Mẹ (Mulian Rescues His Mother), which tells the story of Mulian saving his mother from suffering in the Hungry Ghost Realm with the guidance of the Buddha. It vividly displays the world of karmic actions in the afterlife through a multi-dimensional and sensational immersive experience.

Along the long and narrow corridors are multiple four-dimensional scenes of suffering and punishment— sinners being burned or boiled alive, dismembered, and stabbed by pitchforks, among many other tortures carried out by demons and monstrous figures. Sound effects of crying, screaming, and demonic laughter filled and echoed through the dimly lit environment. Each section of the display represents a different level of hell, depicting specific punishments for particular wrongdoings. There are also eerie Chinese and Vietnamese texts, crafted and painted on the walls, that tell the story behind these karmic consequences. Written in Classical Chinese—an older form of the language that is taught in schools but no longer used in modern writing—it took me quite a while to read and understand the story behind the scenes.

The entire setting initially felt like a haunted-house-style attraction, yet it ultimately revealed itself as an installation art piece that visualises moral lessons for the living. Beneath the dramatic storytelling and the unsettling yet confrontational atmosphere lies a core Mahayana Buddhist belief: suffering is shaped by karma, awareness and compassion remain the path towards release. It teaches all beings the importance of living consciously and mindfully. Through its vivid visuals, it definitely made me think twice about not wanting to end up in such a realm in my afterlife (although I am not certain where I stand on whether an 'afterlife' truly exists), encouraging me to reflect on my actions and perspectives in life.

We Create Our Own Hell

My thoughts on the idea of karma and hell as a non-religious being

Hell is created by living beings. It exists as a mental state reflected in one’s life, without the need to be reborn into it or to receive it as a consequence after death. Just like in Buddhist thought, hell is not necessarily a place one falls into after death; it can also be a condition of the mind shaped by one's negative emotions such as hatred, greed, anger, guilt, fear, and despair...

During times in my life, I have been through situations that left me overwhelmed and emotionally drained. The deeper I sank into those thoughts, the more I felt as if I were living in hell— surrounded by a cloud of negative emotions and constant self-blaming. For a while, nothing in life would feel right. I began to see that my suffering did not arise from the situation alone, but from my attachment to regret, guilt and the narratives I continuously replayed. I decided to let go and end that cycle of self-destruction by recognising that just as suffering was created by one's own mind, it could also be undone by it. In this sense, karma exists more as a process of cultivating mindfulness and self-awareness, rather than solely as punishment. As Buddhist teachings suggest, positive actions lead to rebirths in happier realms, while destructive actions lead to more intense suffering. When we choose to live consciously and mindfully, we liberate ourselves from the cycle of suffering.

'Hell' does exist. We, humans, are the ones who create our own hell— and many live in it long before they die.

Linh Phước Temple transforms Buddhism into a modern and creatively immersive experience. Its vivid depictions of hell and karma serve as lessons for many, making abstract Buddhist ideas more accessible to the public. This innovative approach demonstrates how modern Vietnamese Buddhism adapts its teachings to guide ethical behaviour in everyday life. If you ever find yourself in Da Lat, please do 'go to hell'— it might guide you toward a new perspective on life.

In part three, I will go further south to Chợ Lớn, the Chinatown of Saigon, where faith owns distinct identities and is expressed through everyday life.