"Tu Hieu Pagoda, nestled in a forest setting at the end of a dusty, red road. Amongst Hue’s 100 or so pagodas, this simple structure has one of the most interesting stories. In 1843, an abbot named Nhat Dinh gave up his position in the court and returned home to look after his ailing mother. When his mother’s condition worsened despite medicine and care, it was suggested that Nhat Dinh add fish and meat to her diet. Ever a dutiful son, he walked to the market to buy those things for his mother, accepting the shame that came from people seeing a monk buying meat and therefore contributing to the death of another living thing. Word got back to the king who praised Nhat Dinh for showing honor to his mother. The king sent money to build the Tu Hieu Pagoda, meaning 'filial piety' or the devotion that children show to their parents.
"Off to the side of the pagoda are 20 or so tombs of eunuchs who served under the Nguyen Lords. Flush with wealth from controlling which wife or concubine got to spend precious nighttime hours with the king with the possibility of providing a royal heir, the eunuchs donated to the pagoda so that they would be remembered after their death, with no heirs of their own to offer up incense to them." ("Oi Vietnam")