Grand ceremony celebrates Buddha’s birthday

      Buddhism has made contributions to fostering the national solidarity, said the President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), Huynh Dam, at a grand ceremony held in Hanoi on May 9 to mark the Buddha’s 2553rd birthday.
Addressing the event, which saw the participation of more than 2,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and followers, VFF President Dam stressed that the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) since its establishment has been joining hads with the entire nation in the national construction and defence, and building up the national unity.
President Dam spoke highly of the achievements the VBS made over recent years and expressed his hope that the Sangha would further encourage Buddhist monks, nuns and followers nationwide to actively join in campaigns for the national solidarity.
Delivering the event’s message, Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue, VBS head, called Buddhist dignitaries and believers in and outside the country to make good deeds towards the celebrations of the 1,000th establishment anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and the sixth World Buddhist Summit slated to be held in Vietnam in mid-November 2010.