Many cultural and artistic activities on Vu Lan festival at Ba Den mountain

This year, on the full moon of the seventh lunar month, Mount Ba Den will be a place for Buddhists to express their filial piety towards their parents through various meaningful spiritual and cultural activities and experiences organized within the framework of the Buddhist cultural and artistic program celebrating the Vu Lan festival.

The program was organized by Sun World Ba Den Mountain tourist area, with the participation and support of the Vietnam Buddhist Association.

Ba Den Mountain will be the venue for a Buddhist cultural and artistic program celebrating the Vu Lan festival.

Originating from the story of Bodhisattva Mục Kiền Liên's great filial piety in rescuing his mother from the realm of hungry ghosts, the Vu Lan Festival today is not simply a sacred religious holiday, but also a celebration of love and filial piety. For thousands of years, the Vu Lan Festival has been deeply ingrained in the minds of the Vietnamese people, embodying the principle of remembering one's roots, becoming a "festival of filial piety" for Buddhist followers and the general public.

This year, according to the official announcement, the Vu Lan festival will be held from the first to the fifteenth day and throughout the seventh lunar month.

The Ba Pagoda complex will be beautifully decorated to celebrate the Vu Lan Festival.

The program will be organized on a grand and solemn scale, with many activities and sacred experiences at the complex of temples on Ba Den Mountain and the area around the summit of Ba Den Mountain, from August 26th to September 3rd (corresponding to the 11th to 19th day of the 7th lunar month).

At the temples on Ba Mountain, the Vu Lan filial piety festival will be held on September 2nd and 3rd (corresponding to the 18th and 19th of the 7th lunar month) within the grounds of Long Chau Phuoc Trung Temple. Throughout the 7th lunar month, the Ba Mountain temple complex will be beautifully decorated with Buddhist flags, lotus lanterns, and other decorations, creating a sacred festival atmosphere to welcome Buddhists and tourists to pay their respects to Linh Son Thanh Mau Bodhisattva and pray for peace and good fortune for their parents.

On the summit of Ba Den Mountain, a Buddhist cultural and artistic program celebrating the Vu Lan Festival will be held with many unique cultural and artistic performances and solemn rituals according to Buddhist culture, over two days, August 26-27 (corresponding to the 11th-12th day of the 7th lunar month of the Year of the Rabbit).

Buddhists and visitors will have the opportunity to hear a sharing from Venerable Thich Vien Minh about the meaning of the Vu Lan festival.

Accordingly, on August 26th, Buddhists and tourists visiting Ba Den Mountain will join the venerable monks and nuns in various cultural and artistic activities and Buddhist rituals such as: practicing chanting prayers for national peace and prosperity; conversing and listening to the sharing from the Venerable Thich Vien Minh - Vice Dharma Chief of the Vietnam Buddhist Association - about the legend and meaning of the Vu Lan Festival; and parading around the spiritual Prajnaparamita Sutra Pillar in the square at the foot of the great statue of the Goddess of Mercy on Tay Bo Da Son Mountain, praying for peace and well-being for parents and all sentient beings.

Also as part of the program, visitors and Buddhists attending will receive roses from the venerable monks and nuns, to perform the ritual of pinning the roses to their chests, expressing their reverence for their parents, remembering those who have passed away, and honoring those who are still alive in the eyes of their descendants.

The lantern offering ceremony will take place on the evenings of August 26th and 27th.

Following this is the lantern procession ceremony, taking place at 6 PM on August 26th and 27th (corresponding to the 11th and 12th days of the 7th lunar month), for Buddhists and tourists to practice the virtue of gratitude and filial piety towards their parents. Each person will personally assemble a lantern, write their wishes, and, under the guidance of the monks and nuns, recite prayers for the well-being of their parents, relatives, and the general public before releasing the lantern into the water near the Heart Sutra pillar in the square at the foot of the statue of the Goddess of Mercy, Tay Bo Son.

This ritual has been organized by the tourist area on the summit of Mount Ba during celebrations such as the Quan The Am festival and Buddha's birthday, and is widely appreciated by Buddhists and tourists for its solemnity, sacredness, and meaning. Lanterns carrying wishes written by Buddhists and tourists are offered and released into the water, then burned to ashes, sent to the heavens, hoping for blessings and the fulfillment of wishes.

The art program celebrating the Vu Lan festival will take place continuously for three days, August 26th, 27th, and 30th.

Furthermore, on August 26th, 27th, and 30th (corresponding to the 11th, 12th, and 14th of the 7th lunar month), at the Tam An station stage on the mountaintop, there will be artistic performances themed "Offering Thousand Respects - Fulfilling Filial Piety." With two performances each day at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM, artists will perform songs honoring the love of mothers and fathers, taking the audience on a journey through moving melodies, allowing them to reflect, remember, and express gratitude for their parents' sacrifices.

This is the first year that a large-scale and solemn Buddhist cultural and artistic program celebrating the Vu Lan festival has been organized at Ba Mountain. It is understood that these activities will be held annually to enhance the visitor experience and provide an opportunity for Buddhists to express their reverence to their parents and ancestors at the highest sacred mountain in Southern Vietnam.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nhieu-hoat-dong-van-hoa-nghe-thuat-dip-le-vu-lan-tai-nui-ba-den-185230824175244232.htm