An official of the Steering Committee of the Southwestern Region (L) presents flowers to congratulate the Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha at the ceremony in An Giang (Photo: VNA) An Giang (VNA) –The Central Executive Committee of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha marked the 78thfounding anniversary of the Buddhist branch with a grand ceremony at An HoaPagoda in Phu Tan district, the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, on June 12.
At the event, an official of the GovernmentCommittee for Religious Affairs said Hoa Hao Buddhism was founded by ProphetHuynh Phu So on the 18th day of the fifth lunar month (which falls on June 12this year) in 1939.
Since then, the Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha haspopularised the principle of “following the Buddha and making self-improvement”to millions of people and maintained close connection with people in thesouthern region, including An Giang. Hoa Hao followers have adhered to thetraditional teachings and ethical values, helping to promote patriotism andsolidarity.
That has helped the Hoa Hao Buddhist Sangha todevelop stably and join people nationwide in the national development andprotection, the official added.
In 2016, Hoa Hoa Buddhist followers donated morethan 363 billion VND (16 million USD), over 91 billion VND (4 million USD) ofwhich came from followers in An Giang, to charity and social works.
Also on June 12, the representative board of HoaHao Buddhism in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang held a ceremony to markthe religion’s 78th founding anniversary.
There are 397 local executive committees of HoaHao Buddhism in 17 provinces and cities at present, according to the Hoa HaoBuddhist Sangha.-VNA
VNA
