The first Ksama Celebration of the Goat Year.

In the evening, March 4th, 2015 (January 14th, Goat Year), thousands of Buddhists from Ho Chi Minh city and from other provinces came to Hoang Phap to join the first Ksama celebration of the year.

The full-moon day of January is known as Tet Nguyen Tieu (or\r\nThuong Nguyen celebration), and it is thought as one of three biggest\r\nfull-moon days of the year. There were a lot of Buddhists gathering in the\r\npagoda. The ones who visited their hometown on Tet holidays (who\r\nwere not be able to visit Hoang Phap pagoda in the beginning of the year)\r\nto tour and take photos with the decorations around the pagoda by the\r\nmonks. Therefore, there were many young people visiting the pagoda on this\r\nday.

Before starting the Ksama celebration and reciting the name\r\nof Amitabha Buddha, Junior Venerable Thich Tam Dao, Vice-Abbot of Hoang\r\nPhap pagoda talked to the Buddhists on the topic:\r\n"The Confidence in the New Year."

After the Tet holidays, more than 6200 emergency\r\ncases occurred because of fighting, which were counted by the\r\nDepartment of Health. The main causes of those fights were noticed from\r\nbeing drunken, losing self-control or competing for "buds" in\r\npagodas...

Being a Buddhist, we need to well know the bad\r\neffects of being drunk in order to give it up. This is, probably, the\r\nmain cause of the clashes. In the other hand, parents must have the\r\nresponsibility for their children and keep them away from alcohol. As the\r\nBuddha’s children, we should be patient. Whoever\r\nbeing patient has the power. Being patience prevent us from the bad\r\neffects of anger. Besides that, we shouldn't believe in superstition.\r\nSoothsaying, borrowing money from the "Saints" in order to be lucky\r\nin business, or asking for the "Holy symbols" are all wrong. It is\r\ntrue that those beliefs began from our culture, but it is being ruined day by\r\nday. As a true child of the Buddha, we have to trust in the Law of Cause and\r\nEffect. Do not be blind with the supernatural, mysterious things. We have to\r\ntry our best to fulfill our Merit and Virtue. The Buddha taught us not\r\nto do cruel things. He taught us to keep pure body and\r\nmind. As we do what the Buddha taught us, peacefulness and happiness will\r\ncome.

At the end of the Dharma\r\ntalk, all decisively recited the name of Amitabha Buddha\r\nand chanted precepts of lay people.

Below are pictures:

 Serving lunch: