More than 10,000 people participated in the candle lighting ceremony for peace within the framework of the 2025 Vesak Festival

Within the framework of activities to celebrate the United Nations Vesak 2025, on the evening of May 6, at the campus of the Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Ho Chi Minh City and Lang Le Cultural Park, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, a candle lighting ceremony - a night of flower lanterns praying for world peace was held by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.

The prayer ceremony, attended by more than 10,000 people, focused on world peace, human dignity and sustainable development for all humanity.

Scene of the candle lighting ceremony for peace .

Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, Deputy Supreme Patriarch, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Chairman of the National Organizing Committee for the 2025 United Nations Day of Vesak; Most Venerable Professor, Dr. Brahmapundit, Chairman of the International Organizing Committee for the 2025 United Nations Day of Vesak (ICDV); Mr. Dao Ngoc Dung, Minister of Ethnic Minorities and Religions of Vietnam, and a number of leaders of central agencies, Ho Chi Minh City and localities attended.

The candle lighting ceremony - the night of flower lanterns praying for national peace and world peace were also attended by about 1,200 international delegates from 80 countries and 5 territories attending the 2025 United Nations Vesak Festival in Ho Chi Minh City; 800 Vietnamese monks and nuns, about 4,000 young people in Ho Chi Minh City and the domestic Buddhist community.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Dao Ngoc Dung, Minister of Ethnic Minorities and Religions of Vietnam expressed his gratitude to the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the monks present at the ceremony for taking moments of silence to remember more than 3 million Vietnamese people who sacrificed to protect the independence and unification of the country, to remember more than 1.2 million heroic martyrs, to show gratitude to more than 800,000 wounded soldiers and millions of heroic Vietnamese mothers, and families with meritorious services to the revolution.

Expressing his sincere thanks to the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and international delegates who attended the 25th United Nations Vesak in Vietnam, Mr. Dao Ngoc Dung affirmed that the Party and State of Vietnam always respect the freedom of religion and freedom of belief and non-belief of all people. Vietnam hopes that the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and all people, religious and non-religious, will join hands in solidarity, compassion and forgiveness with the entire nation to build a prosperous, happy and prosperous Vietnam.

The candle-lit night to pray for peace is not only a symbolic ritual but also an act of resonance between religion and life, between spirituality and reality. Each candle lit is a deep wish for an end to war, violence, and injustice, an affirmation for a future that puts people at the center of development.

The candle lighting ceremony - the night of lanterns for world peace demonstrates the value of Buddhism in its global mission of not only preserving spiritual traditions, but also actively contributing to international dialogues on peace, human rights and sustainable development. The 2025 United Nations Day of Vesak held in Ho Chi Minh City, through the candle lighting ceremony, left a mark not only in the ritual, but also in people's hearts, as a common prayer for the world: "May all live in peace, without fear, without hatred and no one is left behind".

*Previously, at Thanh Tam Pagoda (Le Minh Xuan Commune, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), the Central Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha established the Great Memorial Ceremony for the Heroic Martyrs, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification, to express the spirit of gratitude and gratitude of Buddhists, with the tradition of protecting the country and the people, accompanying the nation throughout 2,000 years of history.

According to VNA

Source: https://baobacgiang.vn/hon-10-000-nguoi-tham-gia-le-thap-nen-cau-hoa-binh-trong-khuon-kho-dai-le-vesak-2025-postid417575.bbg