Organizing the Lighting Festival to honor Vu Lan season 2023

On August 19 (July 4 of the lunar calendar), at Dong Dac Pagoda, Dong Huong Commune (Kim Son District), the Central Cultural Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in coordination with the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Ninh Binh Province organized the Lighting Festival to honor Vu Lan season 2023.

Attending the festival were Senior Lieutenant General Tran Quoc To, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security ; Most Venerable Thich Thanh Duc, Deputy Supreme Patriarch of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; representatives of a number of central ministries and branches; representatives of the Cultural Center of the Embassy of India in Vietnam, and the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.

On the side of Ninh Binh province, the Festival was attended by comrades: Mai Van Tuat, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Pham Quang Ngoc, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; leaders of a number of departments, branches, sectors and districts and cities of the province. Also attending were representatives of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of a number of provinces and cities and thousands of monks, nuns and Buddhists inside and outside the province.

Organizing the Lighting Festival to honor Vu Lan season 2023 — Delegates attending the Festival.

The festival "Lighting up gratitude for Vu Lan season 2023" takes place with many meaningful activities: Dharma talk on the four great graces; rituals to pray for national peace and prosperity; commemorating the souls of heroic martyrs; commemorating the 30th anniversary of the passing of Most Venerable Elder Thich Duc Nhuan - the First Patriarch of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; robe offering ceremony; praying for peace ; activities to show gratitude to heaven, earth, country, and parents.

Along with that are social charity activities; art exhibitions... In particular, the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement to implement the Project on Language, Dharma Costumes, Architecture, and Cultural Heritage of Vietnamese Buddhism took place between the Central Cultural Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the Executive Committees of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of 12 northern provinces and cities and the art program "Lighting up the gratitude of Vu Lan season" with the theme "Golden Lotus, Fourfold Grace" was broadcast live on An Vien TV Channel on the evening of August 19.

The festival is held to express gratitude and repay the great contributions of the famous person Nguyen Cong Tru to the nation and Buddhism; to commemorate the merit of birth, upbringing and the four great favors; to praise the homeland, praise the country, and contribute to building the great national unity bloc...

The festival also prays for world peace, national prosperity, favorable weather, good harvests, the elimination of epidemics, safety from disasters, prosperity and happiness for the people, and stable borders and islands... At the same time, it encourages and motivates the patriotic spirit of Buddhist monks and nuns, compatriots; honors, inherits and promotes the cultural and ethical values of Buddhism and the ideology, traditions, ethical and humanistic values of the nation.

In particular, through the activities of the Festival, it aims to spread the four projects of Vietnamese Buddhism: Language, robes, architecture and rituals. To praise, acknowledge and honor groups and individuals who have made many contributions to religion and life; to strengthen the great national unity bloc, to demonstrate the concern and consistent policies on freedom of belief and religion of the Party and State of Vietnam.

The festival "Lighting up the gratitude for Vu Lan season 2023" is also an activity to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the successful August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2023) and the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2023).

Hong Giang - Minh Duong

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