Overseas Vietnamese in France join Vu Lan festival

A large number of overseas Vietnamese in the French capital city of
Paris and surrounding areas participated in the Buddhist festival Vu
Lan, which was held at the Truc Lam Monastery on Sept. 12.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Le Kinh Tai, the embassy staff, Head
of the Propagation of Faith of the Thua Thien-Hue Buddhist Sangha Most
Venerable Thich Quang Nhuan and Head of the Truc Lam Monastery Most
Venerable Thich Phuoc Duong also joined the event.

Most Venerable Thich Quang Nhuan preached to Buddhist followers about
the legend of Bodhisattva Muc Kien Lien’s filial piety to save her
mother. The followers prayed for good things, health, happiness, peace
of the nation and security of people.

Vu Lan
festival is organised annually on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.
The main objective of the festival is for the people to express their
gratefulness and appreciation to their dead parents and ancestors.

The Truc Lam Monastery belongs to the Truc Lam Yen Tu sect which was
founded by King Tran Nhan Tong. The pagoda was inaugurated in 1990 and
has become a familiar destination of Vietnamese students and Buddhist
followers in France./.

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Strict punishment for illegal missionaries

The Hoa Hao Buddhist Sect’s Central Executive Committee has asked the
authorities of the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho to strictly punish
siblings Dang Thanh Dinh and Dang Van Nghia for their illegal missionary
activities.

The opinionated and extremist
activities of Dinh, 42, and Nghia, 38, both now residing in Phuoc Thoi
ward, O Mon district of Can Tho City, and their disregard of the laws
were also announced at a press conference jointly held by the Can Tho
City Fatherland Front, the Religion Committee and relevant agencies in
Can Tho on August 23.

Earlier, on Feb. 27, 2010,
Can Tho city’s relevant agencies announced the legal violations of
Dinh and Nghia, who took advantage of religious titles to illegally
teach Hoa Hao Buddhism to seek profit and cause social security
disorder.

The Hoa Hao Buddhist Sect’s Executive
Committee of Phuoc Thoi ward confirmed in its document that Dinh and
Nghia are neither Hoa Hao Buddhist followers nor Hoa Hao dogmas
teachers.

However, both Dinh and Nghia declared
themselves Hoa Hao Buddhist followers and regularly held get-togethers
without permission on the seventh and eighth days every month to
illegally carry out missionary work, offer medical check-ups, and print
and distribute almost 20,000 CDs and cassette tapes with private
religious missionary content.

At the press
conference, Hoa Hao Buddhist followers voiced their support for Hoa Hao
Buddhism, recognised by the state since 1999 with the guideline, “For
religion, for the nation” and condemned Dinh and Nghia’s illegal
missionary work which has stirred up popularity.

They requested the State protect the genuineness of Hoa Hao
Buddhism and called on Hoa Hao Buddhist followers to be vigilant of
demagogic tones of ill elements who take advantage of religious freedom
and belief to make profits and cause disorder./.

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