Buddha's birthday ceremony at the sacred peak of Fansipan

From May 15 to 18, at the sacred peak of Fansipan, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Lao Cai province will hold the Buddha's birthday celebration. The highlight of this year's ceremony is the offering of thousands of lanterns carrying prayers written by Buddhists and tourists, promising to bring a magical and sacred scene to the sacred peak of Fansipan.

Buddha's birthday is one of the three biggest Buddhist holidays of the year, commemorating the birth of Buddha Shakyamuni in the 7th century BC. Since 1999, Buddha's birthday on April 15 of the lunar calendar has been recognized by the United Nations as a world spiritual cultural festival.

This year's Buddha's birthday ceremony at the spiritual complex on the sacred peak of Fansipan will take place from May 15 to 18 (April 8 - 11 of the lunar calendar), with many unique rituals and spiritual cultural events. The event is expected to have the participation of more than 350 monks, nuns, Buddhists of the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam (GHPG) from all over the country along with thousands of tourists coming to Fansipan on this occasion.

Preparing for the great ceremony, all spiritual architectural works at Bich Van Thien Tu from an altitude of 2,900m to the sacred peak of Fansipan will be decorated with thousands of five-colored festival flags and tens of thousands of fresh flowers. The highlight of the space is a 3m high flower waterfall and the word Buddha's birthday made of chrysanthemums and red apricot blossoms.

Accordingly, from May 15 to 17, tourists and Buddhists worshiping at Bich Van Zen Monastery or the Great Amitabha Buddha Statue at the Fansipan spiritual complex will be instructed to write their wishes and place them in flower trays to offer. posting and vowing to post on the evening of May 18.

On May 18, with Fansipan chosen by the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha of Lao Cai province as the main location for the 2024 Buddha's Birthday, the ceremony will be solemnly held with traditional Buddhist rituals. Accordingly, the program will include a ceremony to recite Buddha's blessings and read the message of Buddha's birthday 2568 of His Holiness the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam. Buddhists and tourists attending will celebrate Buddha's birthday together, including offering incense, chanting sutras, and bathing the Buddha.

According to Buddhist concepts, each bucket of water to bathe the Buddha represents a wish: The first bucket to bathe the left shoulder - vows to abandon all evil; The second ladle is bathed on the right shoulder - vow to do all good deeds; The third ladle is bathed from the knees to the feet: Praying to save all sentient beings. The ritual of bathing the Buddha is also considered as bathing oneself to keep the body and mind peaceful and clean. In the solemn space of the ceremony, listening to the reverberations of chants mixed with the sound of the wind, all worries seemed to be left outside the meditation gate, in each person's mind there was only peace and purity.

Attending this year's Buddha's Birthday, visitors will also be able to attend the thousand-lantern offering ceremony to Buddha at Bich Van Thien Tu on the evening of May 18. Thousands of flower lanterns on which visitors have previously written their wishes will be lit and released into the lake. All together will create a masterpiece of light, bringing a shimmering, magical scene to the sacred peak of Fansipan.

According to Buddhist concepts, flower lanterns are a traditional ritual, as a tribute to Buddha, who transmitted the light of wisdom to monks and Buddhists. At the same time, through each lighted lantern, each person sends prayers for peace and health for their family and sentient beings.

In addition to traditional rituals, the ceremony also has art programs based on Buddhist songs and elegant lotus dances. Also on the holiday, the resort will prepare its own vegetarian cuisine with a variety of attractive dishes for tourists and Buddhists at Van Sam restaurants, Van Son Tra restaurant and Do Quyen restaurant at the arrival station. .