Vientiane (VNA) – Overseas Vietnamesein Laos held a Vu Lan festival in the central province of Savannakhet onSeptember 2 to express their deep gratitude towards parents.
Hundreds of Vietnamese Buddhist followers andmonks were present at the event, which also aims to commemorate soldiers whosacrificed their lives to protect the country’s seas and islands, and pray fornational peace and prosperity.
The Vu Lan festival falls on the fifteenth dayof 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 that oncewhen mediating, a Buddha’s disciple named Muc Kieu Lien saw his mothersuffering hell’s tortures.
Following Buddha’s advice, on the seventh fullmoon of the year, Lien gathered monks and devotees to pray for his mother.
Therefore, the festival is also an occasion forchildren to express their gratitude towards their parents (especially mothers)and help ancestors’ souls find their way back to the earth.
On the occasion, overseas Vietnamese people inSavannakhet often flock to Bao Quang pagoda, one of the three biggest pagodasof Vietnamese in the Lao province, to observe the Vu Lan festival.
Venerable Thich Tanh Nhiep explained the meaningof the festival in Buddhism and called on the Vietnamese community in Laos tostrengthen solidarity to nurture the Vietnam-Laos close relations.
As planned, Vietnamese Buddhists and monks willgather at Trang Nghiem pagoda in the southern province of Champasak onSeptember 3 to observe the festival and pray for national peace and prosperity.-VNA