VN Buddhists celebrate 30 years of Sangha
HA NOI — A grand ceremony was held in Ha Noi yesterday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha with the participation of over 1,500 delegates, including State leaders, nuns, monks and members of organisations.
In his message to the ceremony, Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue, general secretary of Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee, said "With the great achievements gained during the last 30 years, we can assert once again that the operating motto of Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha, namely "Dhamma – Nation – Socialism" is right and comes into play widely and deeply in all activities of the sangha."
Tue said Buddha's message called upon leaders of the Viet Nam Sangha at all levels, along with Vietnamese monks, nuns and Buddhist followers at home and abroad, to overcome the current shortcomings and attempt to accomplish Buddhist activities.
Most venerable Thich Thien Nhon, vice-chairman and general secretary of committee said: "The achievements of the sangha throughout the last 30 years were continuous, regular and very satisfactory, all thanks to the harmony, solidarity spirit and supportive agreement of all organ-isations of Buddhist sects in a common house of the sangha, of monks and nuns and Buddhists from inside and outside Viet Nam."
Most Venerable Thich Gia Quang said the sangha had more than 14,700 places to worship Buddhism, nearly 46,500 monks and nuns, four Buddhist universities – in Ha Noi, HCM City, Hue and Can Tho City – and 30 other schools across the country.
He said charity was one of the most prominent activities of the sangha. At present, there were hundreds of medical units that provided check-ups and medicines to tens of thousands of patients with a yearly expenditure of more than VND5 billion (US$238,100).
The sangha's charity expenditure was estimated at VND2 trillion ($96.1 million) over the past 30 years.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan confirmed Buddhism's nice philosophy has contributed to creating the value of Vietnamese traditions. Viet Nam's history showed that at any time Buddhist venerables and monks had helped the country.
"Buddhism's contributions to the construction and defence of the country have proved that Viet Nam Buddhism is a religion of patriotism and always goes along with the nation," Nhan said.
Also at the event, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan awarded the Ho Chi Minh Order to the sangha for the second time to recognise its great achievements in construction and defence of the nation.
Two days ago, the committee donated VND500 million ($23,809) to the educational development fund. — VNS