At a Khmer-style temple on the shore of Dong Mo Lake, about 40 km west of central Hanoi, the "Lễ dâng y tắm mưa" (ceremony of offering the rains-bathing robe) was held on July 26, 2026, ahead of the start of the Theravada Buddhist rainy-season retreat. Lasting about an hour including chanting and a sermon, gathered devotees handed robes and daily necessities to the monks. VnExpress reported it on the morning of the 27th. Modeled on temples of the Mekong Delta, this hall is one of the few places to see southern religious culture in the north, and it's an option for travelers to venture out to between days in Hanoi.
What took place at the Khmer temple in Dong Mo on July 26
The venue is in Dong Mo, Hoa Lac commune, HanoiEthnic Culture and Tourism Village's Khmer temple. According to VnExpress, the day began with sutra chanting in the main hall and homage to the Three Jewels; the faithful took the Three Refuges and Five Precepts and entered meditation, followed by a dharma talk, sutra chanting and prayers for peace, and the transfer of merit. Because the next day, the 27th, marks the 79th War Invalids and Martyrs' Day (counting from July 27, 1947), a rite to mourn the fallen was also built in. The whole thing runs about an hour — practical information for travelers, in that you can stop by without giving up a whole day.
As offerings, the article lists the "four requisites" (tứ sự)—robes, food, bedding and medicine—along with candles. Venerable Thach Sa Thuol, abbot of Vesak Temple in My Le commune, Tay Ninh province, spoke to attendees about Khmer Theravada doctrine, citing moral values, respect for parents and a life oriented toward good, and urged them to cultivate compassion, the original writes. The sermon, the prayers for peace through chanting, and the dedication of merit were led by Venerable Thich Kim Tue, abbot of this Khmer temple. Both monks' talks are given in summary, with no quotes of the remarks themselves.
What the 'rain-bathing robe' is handed over for
This rite is said to be held before monks enter the three-month rains retreat. The retreat period varies by region, explained as running from the 16th of the 4th lunar month to the 16th of the 7th, or from the 16th of the 5th to the 16th of the 8th. During the rainy season the monks stop wandering and stay at the temple to concentrate on practice and keeping the precepts—and this day's offering marks the entrance to that.
The “rain-bathing robe” is handed over as the robe monks use during those three months. Alongside the four requisites, what the original names as an indispensable offering is a large candle. Kept burning throughout the three months of the retreat, it represents the light of the true Dharma and marks the point at which a monk formally enters the retreat, it's explained. The details of ritual and doctrine differ by sect and region and aren't something an outside onlooker can describe uniformly. This article, too, stays within what can be confirmed from the original and public information.
By the numbers: how unusual it is for this temple to stand in Hanoi
| Item | Figures and details | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ceremony date and duration | July 26, 2026 / about 1 hour | VnExpress |
| The grounds of the Khmer temple | About 0.8 hectares | VnExpress |
| Total area of the ethnic culture and tourism village | 1,544 hectares | Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports |
| Distance from central Hanoi | About 40 km to the west (by Dong Mo Lake) | Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports |
| Vietnam's Khmer population | about 1.32 million (2019 census) | 2019 census tally |
| Number of Theravada Khmer temples | 452 temples, 8,574 monks (as of June 2010, concentrated in nine western provinces) | Government Committee for Religious Affairs briefing materials |
| Khmer temples in Soc Trang province | 92 temples | VOV |
Khmer residents and temples are concentrated in the western Mekong Delta. The reason a full-fledged hall in the same style stands in Hanoi in the north is that the temple itself was planned as an exhibition facility in a tourism village, reproduced after Soc Trang's Kh'leang temple. The Hanoi temple was completed in November 2013, the Buddhist outlet Giac Ngo reports.
A 60-year-old woman in attendance, and a head monk who came from Tay Ninh
Only one person's voice appears in the original. Tran Thi Nga, 60, of Thung Tien commune, Hanoi, is quoted in the article as saying her heart was at ease and she understood the value of Khmer Theravada Buddhism better. The original adds that she used to travel to Soc Trang to worship. That a northern resident touched a southern minority's religious culture within her own living area captures the character of this event well.
The second is Venerable Thach Sa Thuol of Vesak Temple, who came from Tay Ninh province. Framing Theravada Buddhism as a traditional religion bound to the Khmer people's spiritual life and culture, he is recorded as the one who conveyed its doctrine to the attendees. The third, Venerable Thich Kim Tue, appears as this temple's abbot, in the role of leading the sermon, the chanting and the merit dedication.
Around the same time, Theravada Buddhist temples such as Buu Long in Ho Chi Minh City, and others in Da Nang and Hue, held the same kind of ritual, as Buddhist outlets including Phat Su Online reported separately. The event in Hanoi is one of many observances on the same calendar scattered across the country.
Slotting a face of the south into a day trip from Hanoi
The practical meaning for travelers is that the distance of the trip shrinks. To see a Khmer-style temple and its rituals, you used to have to fly domestically to the Mekong Delta and then go overland into the towns where the temples cluster. For a business traveler on a three-night, four-day Hanoi stay, that added leg isn't realistic. A suburb about 40 km to the west means you can devote just a morning and be back.
Still, introducing this as a 'substitute for the real thing' misses the mark. What's here is reconstructed architecture and a service actually held in it — different from a Soc Trang temple functioning as the center of a town's life. If you put it in your itinerary, it sits naturally as prep before heading south, or review after. Near Hanoi there are also villages you cross by boat to watch artisans at work (A village whose alleys turn pure white: Tho Ha, reached by boat from Hanoi), and how you combine a half-day trip out of town changes how full the day feels.
One more thing to brace for: the dates are hard to read. Because the start of the rains retreat is tied to the lunar calendar, the Gregorian date shifts from year to year. Applying this year's July 26 to next year will miss. It's the same structure as northern village festivals moving by the farming calendar (Before the rice planting, the whole village goes down to the paddies: visiting a farming festival on an island in Ha Long Bay), a trip aimed at an event means checking the local calendar first, then booking the flight—in that order.
A tourism village moving from “architecture on display” to “the site of living events”
A facility that lines up the architecture of 54 ethnic groups across 1,544 hectares is a one-and-done if you're only looking at buildings. Put an actual religious service in it and the facility's meaning changes. The reason to visit shifts from 'what's there' to 'what happens that day,' giving the same person a reason to return on a different calendar date.
Timing this memorial rite to the July 27 anniversary is an extension of the same idea. Overlapping a national anniversary with a local religious event on the same date is a method seen in other parts of Vietnam, and there are cases where events built around war memory are arranged in a tourism context (A summer of prayer at the bridge of division: how to experience Quang Tri's 'Festival for Peace'). From a visitor's side, a reasonable read is that events tend to cluster around the anniversary.
Seen from a resident's angle, it means the place has become more useful as somewhere to take guests. When you want to take a business visitor from Japan out to the suburbs but Ha Long Bay is too far, there are few options you can return from in half a day.
Things to check before visiting
| Things to check | As stated in the original article | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Location | The Khmer temple inside the Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, Dong Mo, Hoa Lac commune, Hanoi | Pin down the village entrance on a map app first |
| Village opening hours | Not stated | Check that day's program via the tourism village's official announcements |
| Admission | Not stated | Same as above. Also check whether on-site payment is accepted |
| Getting there | Not stated (a separate source puts the distance at about 40 km west) | Arrange the return ride or charter before setting out |
| Next ceremony schedule | Not stated | Tied to the lunar calendar; contact the village before traveling |
| Estimated travel time | The ceremony itself is about an hour | Reckon on a half-day slot including the round-trip travel |
| Clothing | Not stated | Since you'll enter a religious site, bring clothing that covers shoulders and knees to avoid trouble |
| Exchange-rate guide | — | ¥1 ≈ 162 dong (late July 2026) |
The original doesn't touch on opening hours, admission fees, or how to get there. This article won't supply those figures either. Suburban facilities can change their operating hours by season and event, so it's surest to check the official announcements before setting out.
Summary
In Hanoi's western suburbs, a service was held following a southern minority's calendar. For about an hour, robes, candles and everyday goods were handed to the monks, and mourning continued toward the next day's anniversary. For travelers, the takeaway is the fact that a place to touch the atmosphere of a Theravada Buddhist rite — without flying to the Mekong — sits within half a day of the city center.
Three next steps. First, decide where in your itinerary to place a half-day trip out of Hanoi. Once your visit date is set, check the village's official announcements yourself for opening hours and entry conditions. And if you want to time it to an event, work backward from the lunar date to book flights and hotel. Going just to see the buildings and going to match the calendar bring back different things from the same place.
Sources:VnExpress／Phatgiao.org.vn／Phat Su Online／Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports／Giac Ngo Online／Government Committee for Religious Affairs, 'An Overview of Theravada Khmer Buddhism'／VOV
