Thefestival drew the participation of provincial authorities, thecommittee of religious affairs, local people and more than 300 monks andnuns.
Superior Bonze Thich Quang Thiet, Deputy Chief of theExecutive Board of the Bac Lieu Buddhist Shangha, made a welcome speechto open the festival. In the speech, he recalled the merits of King LyThai To and his advisers, as well as monks, in maintaining nationalpeace and integrity.
Recently, Buddhist pagodas and temples haveheld activities to celebrate the capital city’s 1,000th birthday andorganised requiems for former kings of the Ly family and monks of thattime.
The Bac Lieu Buddhist Association also used the occasion toorganise a ceremony to mark the birthday of the Goddess of Mercy andopen the 2010 Goddess of Mercy camp, drawing thousands of Buddhistfollowers. The camp will be open until July 30./.