The Solemn Celebration of Buddha's Birthday in Buddhist Calendar 2567 by the Board of Directors of the Buddhist Sangha of Vu Thu District.

By Tâm Hoa - 26/05/2023

On the morning of May 25, 2023 (the 7th day of the 4th lunar month, Year of Cat), Keo Pagoda, Duy Nhat commune, Vu Thu district, hosted a grand Buddha's Birthday celebration (Buddhist Calendar 2567, Gregorian Calendar 2023) organized by the Board of Directors of the Buddhist Sangha of Vu Thu District.

The ceremony was attended by Venerable Thich Thanh Duc, Deputy Patriarch of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; Venerable Thich Thanh Hoa, Member of the Central Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Head of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Thai Binh Province, along with other esteemed monks from the Council of Elders and the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; and the Buddhist Sangha boards of various localities within the province.

On the government side, the ceremony was attended by comrades Nguyen Tien Thanh, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Nguyen Van Giang, Member of the Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Department; and leaders of several provincial departments and Vu Thu district. Additionally, representatives from the District Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee, Fatherland Front, and mass organizations of various communes in Vu Thu district, representatives of schools, businesses, social organizations, and numerous local Buddhists attended.

In the solemn and serene atmosphere of the Vesak, the assembly listened to the representative of the provincial Executive Board of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha read the message from the Dharma Master of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha on the occasion of Buddha's Birthday, Buddhist Calendar 2567; and the speech for the Buddha's Birthday celebration, Buddhist Calendar 2567.

At the ceremony, the Executive Board received beautiful bouquets of flowers congratulating the Great Ceremony from the esteemed Buddhist leaders of the city and distinguished leaders representing various levels of government.

The Buddha's Birthday celebration is an occasion for monks, nuns, laypeople, and Buddhists to reflect on the tradition of 'protecting the nation and bringing peace to the people,' which has been crystallized over more than 2,000 years of Vietnamese Buddhist history. With the compassionate and altruistic philosophy, Buddhist teachings have adorned Vietnamese culture with the virtue of benevolence, a spirit of harmony, tolerance, and a desire for the happiness of all.

At the Buddha's Birthday celebration, delegates along with monks, nuns, and Buddhists conducted the chanting ceremony to honor the Buddha's birth, the ritual of bathing the Buddha, offered flowers to the Buddha, and prayed for peace and prosperity for the country.