Illustrative image (Source: VNA)HCM City (VNA) - Domestic and international researchers on Buddhism will gather at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on November 13-14 to discuss the development of the age-old religion in the Mekong region.
Among the participants are more than 40 scholars hailing from the US, China, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The event, the largest of its kind, is jointly held by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (HCMUSSH) and the Vietnam Buddhist Research Institute.
The seminar aims to create a bridge for countries in the Mekong Sub-region to promote Buddhism’s commitments to peace, environmental security and sustainable development as well as to boost regional cooperation in economy, culture, environmental protection and cultural heritage preservation in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals, said HCMUSSH Rector Vo Van Sen at a press briefing on November 9.
The event will also make clear the role of Buddhism in the Mekong region in maintaining peace and territorial integrity on the basis of respecting international law and sustainable development.
The organising board said the seminar has drawn nearly 150 reports, including more than 40 submitted by foreign scholars and researchers.
Buddhism is a major religion in many Mekong countries, such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.
In Vietnam, Buddhists constitute the largest religious community in Vietnam with over 12 million followers, 40,000 monks and nuns, and almost 15,000 temples, monasteries and other places of worship.-VNA
