Lighting Incense at Turtle Tower Under the Night Sky

On the still surface of Hoan Kiem Lake under the night sky, silver moonlight draped over the water like a thin layer of silk. A small boat glided softly across, two rowers moving gently and slowly to bring a special group toward Turtle Tower in the middle of the lake. Among them sat a teacher with calm eyes, holding sandalwood incense, its faint fragrance drifting on the chilly night breeze.

Three days before the national training camp for young Buddhist practitioners began, a friend arranged for the teacher to visit Turtle Tower at night. During the day, this area is strictly guarded; no one may approach freely because it is a sacred spiritual site of the nation. The teacher understood that this was a rare opportunity, a private moment between himself and a part of the country’s sacred soul.

The boat gently touched the stone platform beneath the tower. Six or seven disciples quietly followed the teacher up. Small yet majestic in the darkness, the three-tiered tower tapered toward its peak, each level filled with smoking incense bowls. The teacher lit the first stick of incense on the lower tier, pressing his palms together to pray for goodness for the country and for the Buddha's teachings (Dharma). His hands trembled not from the cold, but from a sacred emotion overflowing within his mind/heart.

Reaching the third tier, the teacher saw statues of the Buddha and President Ho Chi Minh placed with great reverence. He continued lighting incense, his lips softly moving in earnest prayers—not for himself, but for the entire nation. After completing his rites, he stepped onto the northern corridor, standing there to gaze at the sky and earth, feeling the vastness of heaven and land spanning thousands of years.

As the teacher moved to the southern corridor, he looked down at the lake surface about ten or twenty meters away and suddenly froze. Something dark and round was bobbing slightly on the water, moving very gently.

"The elder turtle has surfaced!" the teacher whispered, yet his voice was enough for the attentive disciples to immediately fix their eyes on the lake.

Indeed, it was neither a floating leaf nor a fish. The small, black head of the turtle rose with a look of deep contemplation. The whole group fell silent, afraid even to breathe heavily. Then, as if understanding the respectful gazes directed at him, the elder turtle began to swim.

He did not swim away, but swam back and forth in one spot, surfacing and then submerging again. For half an hour, his giant shell bobbed on the water, waving and shimmering under the lights and moonlight. At times, he fully emerged, turning his head as if to see every face on the tower clearly, then gracefully tilting his body to create sparkling ripples in the quiet, deep night.

This scene was truly moving. The teacher’s heart tightened, overwhelmed by gratitude and emotion. He pressed his palms together and slowly bowed respectfully toward the elder turtle. The disciples likewise joined their palms and bowed, silently and solemnly.

After expressing their reverence, the teacher decided to descend. Climbing down from the tower to the small grassy bank at the lake’s edge, he knelt, joining his palms in sincere devotion toward the elder turtle who was still swimming quietly.

Just then, a miracle occurred. The elder turtle tilted his body and slowly raised his hind claw high above the water, holding the pose for several seconds before gradually sinking and disappearing into the dark depths.

The teacher could not describe his emotions at that moment. Was this a greeting? Or was it a witness to the vows he had just spoken atop Turtle Tower? He only knew that the elder turtle, a sacred symbol of the nation, had been present, waving for half an hour right before him, as if to listen, to understand, and to respond.

The disciples helped the teacher board the boat to return to Ngoc Son Temple in emotional silence. On each face shone a fierce belief in the sanctity of heaven and earth, in the ancestors, and in a nation always protected.

After that night, the teacher returned to organizing the national training camp for young Buddhist practitioners. The camp was immensely successful, praised by many media outlets for its educational content, and attended by state leaders. The resonance of that event lasts to this day. But for the teacher, the most beautiful and meaningful memory remains that late night on Hoan Kiem Lake, when the elder turtle surfaced and waved—silent yet powerful—like a message from ancient times: The sacred soul of our rivers and mountains is still here, always watching over and protecting us.

The Meaning of the Story

This story reminds us of the sanctity of heaven and earth, and how ancestral spirits always protect the nation. The presence of the divine turtle Kim Quy during the incense-lighting night was a profound spiritual experience, showing the connection between genuine human reverence and the transcendent world. It also teaches the power of prayers arising from a pure mind/heart, dedicated to the common good rather than personal gain.

Compiled from the dharma talk of Most Venerable Thich Chan Quang