Peace praying ceremony in Tay Khanh Pagoda, Thai Binh

At the beginning of the new year, many pagodas hold a ceremony to pray for national peace, this is a tradition that has existed for many generations showing the spirit of protecting nation and people, accompanying the country for thousands of years.

This Lunar new year, more than 300 Buddhists returned to Tay Khanh pagoda in Thai Binh to attend the Peaceful Praying ceremony on Feb. 5th, 2022 (Jan. 5th, year of the Tiger). Praying for peace is the hope to wish for ourself and our loved ones to have peace, happiness, and good and smooth things...

Going to the temple at the beginning of New Year has become a spiritual practice of Vietnamese people. This is an opportunity for Buddhists returning beside the monks to listen and learn the Buddha's teachings. Buddhists listen to the Dharma, let go of many thoughts, and turn their minds to good things. When understanding the Buddha's teachings, avoiding wrong thoughts and actions will bring a year with many good luck and good results in life. The ceremony began with Ven Thich Tam Sy's lecture on the meaning of peace rite.

Praying for peace is to include all the good deeds and the causes that give rise to the good without mistaking it for the unwholesome. Lay Buddhists must strive to practice the ten virtues (not to do: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, slander, evil speech, useless speech, greed, anger, or wrong views) and ten causes of good living. These are: giving, keeping precepts, paying respects, serving, meditating, listening to the Dharma, preaching the Dharma, depending on happiness and blessings, dedicating merit, correcting knowledge (right mind). Understanding correctly evil such as stealing a mango or saying a useless word will lead to hell, from which one can abandon the mistake.

In the commentary, it is said that the heaviest sin of the Body is adultery, the heaviest of mouth is frivolous talk, and the heaviest sin of the mind is wrong view, which depending on the severity will cut off the way to heaven, or entering to Nirvana. Therefore, the advice for Buddhists is to study the Dharma to know what to avoid and what to practice. That is the truth of the New Year's Prayer. The lecture helped the audience have a correct view of the Buddha's teachings on the dharma to seek peace and how to pray for peace.

After the Dharma talk, the abbot and monks in the temple went to the main hall to offer incense to the Buddha to begin the peaceful praying rite. The whole ashram is diligently chanting sutra. Accordingly, Medicine Buddha's Altar will start from the 5th to the 15th of January. After the dharma talk, the mass had breakfast in the early spring at the temple.

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