A Buddhist Festival was held in the Mekong delta province of Bac Lieu on July 28 as part of preparations by Buddhists nationwide to celebrate the 1,000th birth anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The festival drew the participation of provincial authorities, the committee of religious affairs, local people and more than 300 monks and nuns.

Superior Bonze Thich Quang Thiet, Deputy Chief of the Executive Board of the Bac Lieu Buddhist Shangha, made a welcome speech to open the festival. In the speech, he recalled the merits of King Ly Thai To and his advisers, as well as monks, in maintaining national peace and integrity.

Recently, Buddhist pagodas and temples have held activities to celebrate the capital city’s 1,000th birthday and organised requiems for former kings of the Ly family and monks of that time.

The Bac Lieu Buddhist Association also used the occasion to organise a ceremony to mark the birthday of the Goddess of Mercy and open the 2010 Goddess of Mercy camp, drawing thousands of Buddhist followers. The camp will be open until July 30./.