a species of which Prince Siddhartha sat under while gaining enlightenment to become Gautama Buddha. The tree present in the garden was brought to Vietnam from Sri Lanka by the famous 20th Sinhalese Theravada Buddhist monk Narada, known for his worldwide efforts in propagating the dharma. The tree arrived on June 18, 1953, and was also accompanied by the arrival of a sample of the relics of Gautama Buddha. Seven-stories stupa On June 17, 1994, the Unified Buddhist Congregation of Vietnam staged an opening ceremony for a large stupa that was built for the purpose of the storing the relics of the Buddha. The ceremony was accompanied by the arrival of the Buddha's relics from Long Vân Temple in Bình Thạnh, where the relics had been stored since their delivery in 1953 by Venerable Narada. The stupa is seven storeys high, on hexagonal shape, and each storey comprises tiled roofs and doors. The construction of the stupa began in 1970 under the architectural plans of Vĩnh Hoằng, until construction was temporarily in 1975 following the fall of Saigon to communist North Vietnam and the chaos of the dissolution of South Vietnam. However, construction was put on hold for a long time, and did not resume until 1993. The tower stands 32 m and looks eastwards. It currently is one of the tallest Buddhist towers in the city and is a noted landmark of the city. Pagoda The main building of the temple itself is of rectangular shape, measuring 65 m in length and 22 m in width. The building comprises three main rooms: the main ceremonial hall, the dharma preaching hall and the meal hall, notwithstanding the other accessory rooms and buildings. In all, there are 98 pillars in the temple. On the pillars are carved 86 phrases, continuously around the temple, with inscriptions in gold paint in an articulate way. The entrance to the building is adorned with dragons. The altars in the main ceremonial hall are made from precious wood, which makes it particularly sturdy. The main altar is dominated by a statue of Amitabha Buddha. In front of Amitabha is a row of five seated figures: they are Sakyamuni Buddha and the four principal bodhisattvas: Samantabhadra, Manjusri, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahasthamaprapta. They form a group that is typical for Mahayanist pagodas of southern Vietnam. In all, Giác Lâm Temple has 112 historic statues, made from wood with gold