Vietnamese expatriates in Laos celebrate Buddhist Vu Lan festival at the Phat Tich Pagoda in Vientiane (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnameseexpatriates in Laos and India held grand ceremonies to mark the Buddhist Vu LanFestival on August 25.
The Vu Lan festival falls on the fifteenthday of the seventh month in the lunar calendar. On this month’s full moon,wandering souls are believed to return to their former homes.
The festival is based on the legend thatonce when mediating, a Buddha’s disciple named Muc Kieu Lien saw his mothersuffering hell’s tortures. Following Buddha’s advice, on the seventh full moonof the year, Lien gathered monks and devotees to pray for his mother.
Therefore, the festival is also an occasionfor children to express their gratitude towards their parents (especiallymothers) and help ancestors’ souls find their way back to the earth.
In Vientiane, Laos, the ceremony took placeat the Phat Tich Pagoda, gathering representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy,associations of Vietnamese in Vientiane and Laos, and thousands of Vietnamese monksand expatriates.
Speaking at the event, Head of Phat TichPagoda Venerable Thich Minh Quang said the annual Vu Lan ceremony promotessolidarity and mutual support among Vietnamese communities in Laos.
It was estimated that approximately 100,000Vietnamese people are residing, studying and working in Laos, most of themfollow Buddhism. Many see Vietnamese pagodas in Laos as common houses not onlyfor religious practices but also for meeting each other.
Laos is now home to 13 Vietnamese Buddhistpagodas, including three pagodas and one monastery in Vientiane.
A similar ceremony took place the same dayat the Buddha Vihara Pagoda in New Delhi, India.
The ceremony is an annual activity of theVietnamese community in India.-VNA
VNA
