The pagoda was built 1049 in the Ly Thai Tong Dynasty. King Ly Thai Tong (ruling from1028 to 1054) dreamed that he met the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who handed him a baby son while sitting on a lotus flower. When he woke up, he told the mandarins about his dream and the monk, Thien Tue, advised him to build a pagoda in the middle of a lotus pond, similar to his dream. 

Past the dynasties of Tran, Post-Le and Nguyen with some restore, the pagoda retains its original architecture. It seem to be a lotus flower emerging from the water’s surface that shows the aesthetic taste and Buddhist enlightening philosophy. “The Mot Cot Pagoda is the symbol of Buddhism and has a great significance. Although it is small, its architecture is most unique and contemporary architectural works can not be compared with it,” said Monk Thich Duc Nghiep, Vice General Secretary of the Vietnam Buddhist Shangha.

 The pagoda was built of wood on a single stone pillar and likes a lotus blossom that makes unique. The pagoda’s roof is decorated with dragons flanking the moon. In the pagoda, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is placed on a wooden and red-lacquered Buddha’s throne at the highest position.

With great values in terms of architecture, history and  culture,  Mot Cot Pagoda has become one of the most famous pagodas in Vietnam and a exciting destination.