Over 2,000 dignitaries, monks, nuns and Buddhist followers are attending a national Dharma conference which began on May 6 in the southern province of Kien Giang.

The four-day event is being jointly organised by the Dharma Promotions Department of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) Central Committee and the executive board of the VBS’ Kien Giang chapter.

At the event, the participants discussed the spread of Dharma in relations with the public, young people, charities and overseas Buddhists. They also shared their views on issues like the environment and climate change, the construction of pagodas, religious tourism and spreading the word of Dharma in the integration period.

Within the framework of the symposium, a number of activities took place such as lighting candles to pray for fallen soldiers, painting, photo and calligraphy exhibitions and performances of Buddhist art.

On the occasion, Buddhist followers and individuals presented 200 houses worth three million VND for poor families and another three billion VND will be handed over to Vietnamese heroic mothers, disadvantaged students with outstanding academic achievements and the rest used to upgrade health care and rural infrastructure./.