Yen Tu Buddhist spring festival kicks off

Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan beat the drum, opening the Yen Tu Pagoda Spring Festival in northern Quang Ninh Province Saturday, the tenth day of the first lunar month.

Prominent at the ceremony were Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan and the Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Executive Council, Most Venerable Thich Thanh Tu.

Buddhist dignitaries, monks, nuns, followers and visitors joined in offering incense to King Tran Nhan Tong, who reigned over the country from 1279 to 1293 and then left the throne to devote his life to Buddhism.

They also joined another ceremony to pray for peace to the country and people.

Yen Tu has so far welcomed over 20,000 visitors since the first day of the lunar year and the festival will last three months during spring. The site received over 2.1 million visitors in 2010.

Yen Tu mountain is located about 50km from Ha Long City. The route of the pilgrimage, which winds from the foot of the mountain to its highest peak, is almost 30km. Dong Pagoda, which sits atop the mountain’s highest peak, is more than a kilometre above sea level.

The area’s beautiful natural landscape and awe-inspiring scenery, along with surrounding ancient pagodas and hermitages, are said to have been the reason that King Tran Nhan Tong passed the throne to his son so that he could devote his life living as a Buddhist monk at Yen Tu mountain. Whilst there, he founded the Truc Lam meditation sect, which has led to Yen Tu being recognised as the country’s leading centre for Buddhism.

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Yen Tu Buddhist spring festival kicks off

Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan beat the drum, opening the Yen Tu Pagoda Spring Festival in northern Quang Ninh Province Saturday, the tenth day of the first lunar month.

Prominent at the ceremony were Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan and the Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Executive Council, Most Venerable Thich Thanh Tu.

Buddhist dignitaries, monks, nuns, followers and visitors joined in offering incense to King Tran Nhan Tong, who reigned over the country from 1279 to 1293 and then left the throne to devote his life to Buddhism.

They also joined another ceremony to pray for peace to the country and people.

Yen Tu has so far welcomed over 20,000 visitors since the first day of the lunar year and the festival will last three months during spring. The site received over 2.1 million visitors in 2010.

Yen Tu mountain is located about 50km from Ha Long City. The route of the pilgrimage, which winds from the foot of the mountain to its highest peak, is almost 30km. Dong Pagoda, which sits atop the mountain’s highest peak, is more than a kilometre above sea level.

The area’s beautiful natural landscape and awe-inspiring scenery, along with surrounding ancient pagodas and hermitages, are said to have been the reason that King Tran Nhan Tong passed the throne to his son so that he could devote his life living as a Buddhist monk at Yen Tu mountain. Whilst there, he founded the Truc Lam meditation sect, which has led to Yen Tu being recognised as the country’s leading centre for Buddhism.

 

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India tempts more travellers from Viet Nam

HCM CITY — The Indian Consul General Abhay Thakur last week said there was good potential to make more direct flights between Viet Nam and India, and visa facilitation for Vietnamese travellers to the South Asian nation.

Speaking at the presentation Incredible India: Buddhist Destination on, Abhay Thakur, stressed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement during his visit to Viet Nam in October that the country would grant visas on arrival to nationals of Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines from beginning of next year.

"There are at least 28,000 people travelling between India and Viet Nam every year, or about 540 travellers every week," Thakur said at the opening of the presentation, which was attended by leading tour operators, tourism and hospitality companies.

Thakur said there was a good chance direct flights would be increased to two or three times weekly between the two countries.

"It will make it easier for Vietnamese to travel to India," he said.

Currently, AirAsia, Thai Airways International and Malaysia Airlines fly between Viet Nam and India via their hubs in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

Buddhist train tour

At the presentation, Nalin Shinghal, director of tourism and marketing at the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, introduced the Mahaparinirvana Buddhist circuit train package in India to attract more Vietnamese to visit India's Buddhist sites, as the country is a major Buddhist pilgrimage destination.

Shinghal said the tour starts in Delhi and takes in major Buddhist sites including Bodh Gaya where Buddha attained enlightenment and Sarnath where Buddha preached his first sermon.

The eight-day tour by train also visits Lumbini in Nepal where Buddha was born and Rajgir where the first Buddhist Council was held after Buddha attained Nirvana.

There will be two train package tours every month until March next year, Shinghal said. — VNS

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Statue honours patriotic monk

Self-sacrifice: The statue of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc is unveiled in HCM City on Saturday. — File Photo

HCM CITY — A statue of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc, who immolated himself to protest repression against Buddhism by the former Sai Gon regime, was inaugurated in HCM City on Saturday.

The inauguration ceremony was organised by the HCM City's Culture Department and the municipal Buddhist Sangha to honour the venerable monk's piety, courage and patriotism.

The bronze statue is 6.3m tall and stands amidst a 2,000sq.m park at the busy intersection of Cach Mang Thang Tam and Nguyen Dinh Chieu streets, where the self-immolation took place.

Behind the statue is a 16m long, 3m high relief work depicting the patriotism displayed by both Buddhist clergy and laity in the nation's revolutionary struggles. It is surrounded by trees and a pond with blooming lotus flowers.

The model of the statue was selected after a competition launched in 2007, and the park was designed by the HCM City Architects Association headed by Truong Luu.

At midday on June 11, 1963, the Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc took a ride in a car to the corner of Phan Dinh Phung and Le Van Duyet streets in central Sai Gon (now Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Cach Mang Thang Tam streets). Pouring petrol over himself, he sat in the middle of the junction, struck a match and immolated himself.

The Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc, whose lay name was Lam Van Tuc, was born in 1897 in a small village in a province in central Viet Nam.

In 1963, after four years of increasing oppression by the US-backed Ngo Dinh Diem administration towards Buddhist priests and the Buddhist community, he decided to sacrifice himself to highlight Buddhist demands for religious equality in South Viet Nam.

The self-sacrifice captured the imagination and admiration of millions around the world, and gave added impetus to the nation's reunification struggle. — VNS

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