Also attending were Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Transport ; Mr. Pham Tat Thang, Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Committee for Mass Mobilization; Vice President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Hoang Cong Thuy; Most Venerable Thich Thanh Dung - Deputy Supreme Patriarch, Chief Secretary of the Central Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, Deputy Supreme Patriarch of the Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Chairman of the Central Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; Most Venerable Thich Thanh Duc, Deputy Supreme Patriarch of the Central Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha...

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated the leaders of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and attended the Buddha's Birthday celebration with dignitaries, monks, nuns, and Buddhists at Quan Su Pagoda, Hanoi - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh respectfully conveyed the congratulations of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to Buddhists nationwide on the occasion of Vesak. The Prime Minister reiterated the General Secretary's words on the spirit of great national and religious solidarity: "Vietnam is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, with 54 ethnic groups and many religions living together in communities. The Constitution and laws of Vietnam stipulate that all people have the right to follow or not to follow a religion. In Vietnam, there are no religious or ethnic conflicts, everyone lives together in harmony...". In his congratulatory speech, the Prime Minister especially emphasized that Buddhism was born for the life of people and for the happiness and peace of humanity. With the spirit of "Protecting the nation and pacifying the people", Buddhism always accompanies the nation; the history of Vietnamese Buddhism has always been closely linked to the history of the nation throughout the process of building and defending the country. In that spirit, together with other religions in the country, the Prime Minister proposed that the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha implement the motto "1 promote - 2 pioneers - 3 focuses". "1 promote" is: Promote the great national unity under the leadership of the Party, promote the spirit of solidarity within the country, international solidarity, solidarity among religions, solidarity among the people. "2 pioneers" include: Pioneering the mobilization of compatriots nationwide to donate organs and blood to save lives with the spirit of "Giving is forever", promoting humanitarian and charitable activities nationwide; Pioneering the fight against superstition, ensuring healthy religious activities with the spirit of "Religion and life - life and religion", resolutely not allowing acts of taking advantage of religion and belief to oppose the State, the nation, the people, or for personal gain, for personal motives, violating both Buddhist and legal regulations. The "3 focuses" include: Contributing toeducating patriotism and love for the people among Buddhists and in the whole society with the spirit of "Protecting the country and protecting the people"; Living a good life, promoting more effectively the ideology of "Religion - Nation - Socialism"; Contributing to hunger eradication, poverty reduction, achieving progress and social justice, leaving no one behind. The Prime Minister stated that the Party and State are always consistent in the principle of ensuring freedom of belief and religion, healthy, legitimate and legal spiritual activities of followers of religions, fully demonstrating the good nature of our regime.

On behalf of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon expressed his gratitude to the leaders of the Party, State, and all levels and sectors for their congratulations on the Buddha's Birthday - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister hopes and believes that the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha will continue to achieve many successes in Buddhist affairs; operate and develop according to the orientation of "Discipline - Responsibility - Solidarity - Development" set forth by the 9th National Congress of Buddhist Delegates, guiding monks, nuns and Buddhist followers of Vietnam to continue to implement the motto of "Dharma - Nation - Socialism", contributing more to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland. On behalf of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon expressed his gratitude to the leaders of the Party, State, all levels and sectors for congratulating the Buddha's Birthday. According to Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, 2024 is the second year of implementing the Resolution of the 9th Congress of Vietnamese Buddhist Delegates, term 2022 - 2027. Over the past six months, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has closely followed the program and operating principles of the Sangha, which are "Dharma - Nation - Socialism", "Discipline - Responsibility - Solidarity - Development" and "good life, good religion", achieving many important results. In particular, the Sangha organized a grand ceremony to pray for the dead, commemorate and pay tribute to heroes and martyrs on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory; supported the construction of 500 gratitude houses worth 60 billion VND to give to the needy in Dien Bien province; Attending the 19th United Nations Vesak Celebration in Thailand... Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon affirmed that the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, together with monks, nuns, and Buddhists nationwide, always accompany the nation, well implement the Party's policies and guidelines, the State's laws, and the Sangha's Charter, contributing to building an increasingly prosperous, civilized, prosperous, and integrated country.

AP - Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-du-dai-le-phat-dan-2024-cung-tang-ni-phat-tu-2283303.html