Vietnam’s first Buddhist pilgrimage tour on horizon

Vietnam ’s first ever Buddhist pilgrimage tour will be launched on January 15 with stops planned for 10 pagodas located in the southwestern region, according to the tour organiser. The tour is part of a larger pilgrimage programme which was arranged by monks and nuns from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, who will also act as tour guides for the programme.
Trinh Thuy Quynh, Director of the Viet Pilgrimage Tourism Company – an affiliate of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Economic-Financial Department, said the programme will include thematic tours.
The tours will provide participants with opportunities to have an insight into various Zen sects, Tinh Do Tong (Pureland Buddhism), Mat Tong (Esoteric Buddhism), and others.
Tourists will contemplate valuable treasures of the religion, study popular practice and continuance methods under the guidance of pagoda head monks, attend dialogues on Dharma, and experience the religious life as monks and nuns at pagodas.
The programme will also include visits to pagodas and monasteries entering Vietnam’s Buddhism Record List and ancient and famed pagodas scattering across the country, including Truc Lam Monastery, Xvayton pagoda, Thien Truc pagoda, and Dau pagoda.