Quang Binh welcomes the world's largest jade Buddha

The Jade Buddha statue of World Peace made of jade measuring 2.7m high and weighing over 4 tons, which has traveled around the world, has once again arrived in Vietnam. The first place Buddhists and tourists can come to worship the Jade Buddha is at Hoang Phuc Pagoda - Quang Binh, followed by some northern provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Thai Nguyen...

The Jade Buddha Statue for World Peace was crafted from a jade block known as “Polar Pride” discovered in Northern Canada in 2000. Mr. Ian Green, an Australian Buddhist who had a connection with this jade block, invited artisans from Nepal, India and Thailand to carve the jade block according to the original model of the Buddha Shakyamuni statue at the Bodh Gaya holy land (India). The carving took place in Thailand. Vietnam was the first country to have the honor of welcoming this unique Buddha statue in 2009. At that time, the statue was enshrined in major pagodas in Da Nang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Thap and Bac Ninh. The statue was then brought to Australia.

In 2010, the statue continued to the US, in 2011 to European countries and in 2012 to Asia. According to monk Thich Duc Thien, currently abbot of Hoang Phuc pagoda, the reason why Vietnam was favored to welcome the first jade Buddha statue is: "Because Vietnamese people love peace, have great faith in Buddhism and have enthusiastic support from the Vietnamese business community in Australia."

The Jade Buddha Statue of World Peace at Phat Tich Pagoda in 2009 attracted millions of visitors. Photo: Nguyen Manh Ha.

The Jade Buddha statue has been in Vietnam for 3 weeks and will arrive at Hoang Phuc Pagoda on March 26. The opening ceremony to welcome the Jade Buddha statue will take place at 9am on March 27. The statue will be displayed at the pagoda until April 5. During this time, the pagoda will hold a candle-lighting ceremony to pray for national peace and world peace, and there will be Buddhist lectures on the topics of Buddhism and world peace, Zen and life, led by Venerable Thich Duc Thien and Venerable Thich Chan Quang.

According to Venerable Thich Duc Thien, abbot of Phat Tich Pagoda (Bac Ninh), in 2009, nearly 2 million people came to worship the jade Buddha statue at Phat Tich Pagoda alone without any unfortunate accidents. To this day, this is still the most popular religious event in Bac Ninh province.

It is known that Hoang Phuc is an ancient national temple associated with the life of propagating Buddhism of Buddha King Tran Nhan Tong. The origin of the temple is Tri Kien hermitage (also known as Kinh Thien pagoda) located in Tri Kien village, Tri Kien district in the past, now Thuan Trach village, My Thuy commune, Le Thuy district. In 1301, Buddha King Tran Nhan Tong preached Buddhism at the temple. In the 17th century, Lords Nguyen Hoang and Nguyen Phuc Chu renovated and built the temple. "History cannot fail to mention Tri Kien hermitage", said monk Thich Duc Thien. "It is a mark of the period when our ancestors expanded to the South". Before the temple was restored in January this year, the only remaining vestige was the ancient gate surrounded by a banyan tree.

The number of hotels and motels in Le Thuy district is not much; to prepare to welcome Buddhists and visitors from all over to worship the Jade Buddha statue, the locality has completed some infrastructure items. In addition to taking advantage of the Buddhist resting area at the pagoda, the Organizing Committee also mobilized the surrounding residents to accommodate people. If staying for a long time, visitors can return to Dong Hoi. However, according to the experience of Master Thien in 2009, most people do not stay overnight. The Organizing Committee is still more concerned with traffic flow and ensuring security and order, requiring service establishments to clearly list prices. The Venerable commented: "Regarding the abbot of Hoang Phuc Pagoda, I see that the Buddhists and people there are very conscious, there is no phenomenon of overcharging like the festival in the North".

The international organizers are responsible for transporting the jade Buddha statue from Australia to Vietnam and to other localities. The Vietnamese side is only responsible for the organization and decoration. The organizers prepare 7,000 to 10,000 vegetarian meals every day to distribute to tourists who come to worship the Buddha statue.

According to tienphong.vn