03.08.2010
A week of Buddhist celebrations to acknowledge the capital city’s 1000th anniversary closed on August 2 at the Thang Long Royal Citadel, recognised as a world cultural heritage site.
Reviewing the organisation of the festivities, Venerable Thinh Bao Nghiem, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Executive Council, affirmed this is a traditional cultural spiritual activity, the largest of its kind held in Hanoi, leaving deep impressions on in monks and nuns, Buddhist followers inside and outside the country as well as foreigners.
During the week, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha prayed for and handed over tablets belonging to foreign soldiers who had died during the wars in Vietnam to their embassies in Vietnam, showing Buddhism’s mercy and Vietnam’s freedom of religion, said Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs.
The week, which began on July 27, included a procession of tablets that belonged to King Ly Thai To and Van Hanh, a Buddhist monk who had raised the King after his mother died of giving birth, and Buddha’s sari, from Quan Su Pagoda to the Thang Long Royal Citadel.
It also included a ceremony to pray for peace and the people, a requiem for fallen combatants, an exhibition showcasing ancient Buddhist artifacts and works of art, a seminar on Buddhism and the capital city, and a night festival with garlands of flowers and coloured lanterns and a theatrical performance themed “Imprints of Thang Long”.
Source: VOV News
