Every year, the Quan The Am Festival is held at Quan The Am Pagoda (Ngu Hanh Son District) in the warm spring weather and in the excitement and pride of the people of Da Nang City towards the anniversary of Da Nang City Liberation Day (March 29).
The Quan The Am Festival originated from a purely Buddhist festival to honor the generosity, tolerance, compassion, and forgiveness of the Bodhisattva Quan The Am. The image of the Bodhisattva Quan The Am Buddha is associated with the Buddhist community around the world as the embodiment of salvation and relief from suffering.
The image of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is also respected and worshiped by the majority of Asian people, especially in Vietnam, China, Japan, India, Thailand... as the image of a Mother with a gentle, virtuous wish to protect and help all living beings.
Through the ups and downs of time, today the Quan The Am Festival, Ngu Hanh Son, Da Nang city has become one of the traditional folk festivals imbued with Buddhist beliefs, associated with the special national relic Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot, becoming a national intangible cultural heritage and playing an important role in the spiritual life of the local community.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee, Head of the Festival Organizing Committee Tran Chi Cuong said that 2024 is the second year the Festival is held on a city scale and this is also one of the cultural events - the highlight festival of Da Nang. Along with the special national relic - Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot, a priceless gift of nature, Ma Nhai at Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot, Quan The Am Festival are precious spiritual values and the pride of the city's people.
In addition to honoring local historical and cultural values, expressing national spirit and harmony between religion and nation, the Quan The Am Festival is also a bridge, a place for meeting and exchange, demonstrating the special deep friendship and solidarity tradition of Vietnamese Buddhism and countries with similar Buddhist cultures.
Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Chi Cuong spoke at the ceremony
In the spirit of promoting the cultural, religious and ethnic traditions of the Ngu Hanh Son scenic area and the beautiful and hospitable homeland of Da Nang, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Chi Cuong hopes to receive the consensus and joint efforts of Venerables, Venerables, monks and nuns, Buddhist followers, and all compatriots to create a solemn and civilized festival space. Traditional festivals only truly have vitality and soul when there is the participation of a large number of people and tourists.
Release balloons to pray for peace
At the ceremony, delegates performed the ceremony of releasing peace balloons. At the same time, they performed traditional rituals expressing the message of love, directing their hearts to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, praying for the country to always be peaceful and prosperous, and for the people to be happy and peaceful.
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Costume Ceremony
The Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva masquerade ceremony is performed in parallel with the procession of the statue of Avalokitesvara Buddha and is also the most anticipated part of the ceremony by locals and tourists. The masquerade is intended to recreate the image of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva at the festival, so that sentient beings have the opportunity to admire his virtue and compassion, and to imply that he is a Bodhisattva who always accompanies sentient beings anytime, anywhere, especially always spreading his compassionate vows, bringing joy and saving suffering to all humanity.
In addition to dressing up as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, at the festival there are also people dressed as little boys, other Bodhisattvas, fairies and the Four Heavenly Kings, all performed by the Buddhist family of Quan The Am Pagoda.
Avalokiteshvara appears
The 2024 Quan The Am Ngu Hanh Son Festival will continue until March 29 (February 20 of the lunar calendar) with many unique cultural and artistic activities.
MAI QUANG - THUY THANH - KHANH NHI - NGUYET ANH
Source
Comment (0)