The impressive Amitabha Buddha’s birthday in 2014

Ten thousands of hearts seemed to have the same beats in the solemn and peaceful atmosphere. The miracle candle lights were lit on by the Buddhists to offer the Buddha. The lights were to dispel the dark of the delusion, the anger, and the jealousy and to clear the discrimination between the rich and the poor, the swanky and the mean, the happy and unhappy people in order to open the Pure Land in this world. The candle lights brought the natural virtue back to human beings and showed the Buddha lucid nature to reduce the sorrow of life.

In the evening of January 07th , 2015 (on the November\r\n17th Horse year), tens of thousands Buddhists who live inbound and\r\noutbound gathered at Hoang Phap pagoda to attend the flower lantern night on\r\nthe Amitabha Buddha’s birthday.

The flower lantern night on the Amitabha Buddha’s birthday\r\nheld at Hoang Phap pagoda become the traditional one for many years. The\r\nceremony held in sacred and high meaning was a chance for the Buddhists, especially\r\nfor the Dharma Practitioners, to review the the great vows of the Buddha and\r\ncultivate voluntarily to be stable in the enlightened path.

Before the ceremony took place, the Buddhists from\r\neverywhere gathered at the pagoda very early. They hoped to place a seat and\r\nwaited eagerly to watch the shimmering beauty of the ceremony.

In the solemn and peaceful atmosphere, right at 6p.m, the\r\ntwo lines of Buddhists gathered crowdedly and sincerely and welcomed the monks\r\nwitnessing for the ceremony. The powerful Pragna Bell and Drum sounded. The\r\nmonks step by step reached the main stage. Afterward, everybody sat properly\r\nand spent some minutes to listen to the bell sound as the same time of the\r\nverses from Junior Venerable Thich Tam Hieu. The energy of the mindfully right\r\npervaded in the air and make all hearts became light and purified.

Following the statement of the reasons, the MC introduced\r\nthe participants’ representation, consisting of the monks of the pagoda, the\r\nsenior venerable and the Ven. monks and nuns from the pagodas located in\r\nvariable provinces that came and witnessed the ceremony.

Senior Ven. Thich Chan Tinh, the abbot of Hoang Phap Pagoda,\r\nchef organizers of the ceremony, representing for the organization board, read\r\nthe opening speech. After the speech, the Buddhists focused on the Buddha\r\nStatue to offer incense and addressed to the Buddha.

The important moment of the ceremony came, in the sacred and\r\nsolemn atmosphere. Most Venerable Thich Minh Thong received the light from the\r\nBuddha’s altar and send to the participants. That movement showed the\r\ntransmission of the light and the brightness of the right path. Senior Ven.\r\nThich Chan Tinh received the sacred light and brought the light to the Buddhist\r\nlines; the action is like a good deed shown the propagation of the Buddhism. In\r\nthe hall, the candles were passed on to each other as sharing the love and the\r\nknowledge. A shimmering shine lighted in the space, which was the light of the\r\ntruth, the faith, the compassion and the wisdom, the purity and the harmony.\r\nThe solemn and magical scenes were recorded by the cameras and transmitted to\r\nthe led screen located everywhere inside the pagoda for the attendants to\r\nenjoy.

In the spiritual space, all focused to the rostrum to chant\r\nverses praising the Buddha. After that, Senior Ven Thich Chan Tinh proclaimingly\r\nread the 48 Vows of the Buddha. After each Vow, all Buddhists prayed with\r\nnaming Namo Amitabha. The ceremony continued with the rituals claiming to\r\npraise the Buddha, the formality of praising Amitabha Buddha with 12 vows,\r\nsincere promise, wording Triratna refuge.

Coming to witness and attend the ceremony, Most Venerable\r\nand lawyer Thich Minh Thong offered the advices and encouraged the Buddhists.\r\nAs the Buddha’s children living at the sorrow world, if we would like to find\r\nout the real happiness, we must let go the trivial enjoying lives and give a\r\ntrue effort to get the purity and the peaceful in lives. The Dharma\r\nPractitioners who wished to come to the Pure Land must have enough Belief, Vow\r\nand devoting Practice. That means deeply belief, the decisive aspiration, and\r\nregular practices.

Besides, there was also the witness and the representation\r\nof the delegation of the Taipei - Taiwan International Association of Buddhism,\r\nled by Most Venerable Thich Lien Hai, the General Headquarters. In the solemn\r\nand purify atmosphere, he sent some advices to the Buddhists. He recalled the\r\n12 vows that the Buddha taught the Buddhists, consisting of: treating people\r\nwith mercy, being responsible in Buddhist works, using good heart to do good\r\nthings, accepting the self-failures, being happy, indifferent and consistent in\r\nthoughts and actions, being tolerant and merciful, minding the gratitude and\r\nrepaying it, being glad and ready sacrifice, indiscriminating against\r\npeople, detaching when facing the tough problem in life. If we do these things,\r\nwe surely live in peace and happiness.

The music and song performances praising and memorizing the\r\nAmitabha Buddha were interposed along with the program such as: “Offering\r\nflower to the Amitabha Buddha”, “Offering flower lantern to the Amitabha\r\nBuddha”, “Praying the Amitabha Buddha”, “Happy with the Amitabha Buddha’s\r\nBirthday”, “The Amitabha’s Great Vows”, and “Brightening on the Amitabha\r\nBuddha’s birthday” by singers such as Yen Ngoc, Luong Viet Quang, Bich Hien,\r\nDzoan Minh, Thuy Duong and Rex Dance Group.

After the celebration, the music shows continued with the\r\nsongs: The Path to there, Lotus Odor Dance, Permanent Commemorating\r\nAvalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Chanting Lotus Sutra at night, Proverbs about\r\nMother’s Love, The Destiny trip, I will Live for Mum, If We just have only One\r\nDay to Live, A Place I Return, the Shadow of Kind Mom by singers as My Le,\r\nDuong Quoc Hung, Nam Cuong, Hoang Chau, Nguyen Hong An, Huyen Tran, Chau Gia\r\nTue.

In the ceremony, the pagoda had provided over 30,000\r\nportions of food and a dharma gift of VCD “Fog in the early morning”, “Where\r\nthe Pure Land Sect of the Vietnamese is” and the schedule of cultivating course\r\nin 2015.

Below are some recorded photos: