Tens of thousands of people and Buddhists come to worship Buddha's relics.

Hàng chục ngàn người dân và Phật tử đến chiêm bái xá lợi Phật - Ảnh 1. — Buddha relics

Ms. Duong Huong Ly's family ( Ba Ria - Vung Tau ) had 4 people come to Thanh Tam pagoda at midnight, among the first people to enter to worship.

As the morning wore on, more and more people flocked to the temple. The waiting area with thousands of seats was almost overloaded, the line of people stretched for about 3km.

By noon on May 3, the organizing committee representative said that about 65,000 people had come to pay homage to the Buddha's relics. Despite the hot weather, the line of people waiting in line at the waiting room did not decrease.

Hàng chục ngàn người dân và Phật tử đến chiêm bái xá lợi Phật - Ảnh 2. — Thao Nguyen (District 4, Ho Chi Minh City) went from 7am to 11:40am to pay her respects. Nguyen holds a brochure with a picture of Buddha's relics.

Some people fainted from heatstroke, others left the line because they had waited too long. Volunteers enthusiastically guided the queue, handed out bottles of water, and picked up trash to help maintain order and dignity.

The family of Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc from Hanoi flew to Ho Chi Minh City just to visit Thanh Tam Pagoda to pay homage to the Buddha's relics. They had previously visited India to pay homage but had not had the chance to meet them. The Buddha's relics being brought back to Vietnam is an opportunity for many people to come and pay homage.

Most Venerable Thich Duc Thien - Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Vice President and General Secretary of the National Organizing Committee for the 2025 United Nations Vesak Festival - said that the Buddha's relics will be enshrined at Thanh Tam Pagoda for people to worship from May 3 to noon on May 8.

Except for the morning of May 6, which is reserved for delegates attending the Vesak Festival. After that, the Buddha's relics will be enshrined at Ba Den Mountain (Tay Ninh Province) from May 8 to 13; at Quan Su Pagoda (Hanoi) from May 13 to 16; at Tam Chuc Pagoda ( Ha Nam ) from May 17 to 21.

The 2025 Vesak Festival is co-organized by the International Organizing Committee of the United Nations Day of Vesak and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. It is expected that 85 countries and territories will participate. Vesak 2025 will take place from May 6 to 8 at the Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Ho Chi Minh City.

This is the fourth time Vietnam has hosted the event, previously in Hanoi (2008), Ninh Binh (2014) and Ha Nam (2019).