Vesak 2019: foreign delegates engage in Buddhist ritual on Mount Fansipan

International delegates to the just-concluded 16th United Nations (UN) Day of Vesak in Vietnam on May 15 attended a Buddhist ritual praying for peace, security, and prosperity held at Mount Fansipan in Sa Pa district, the northern province of Lao Cai.

Vesak 2019: foreign delegates engage in Buddhist ritual on Mount Fansipan. (Photo: VNA)
Vesak 2019: foreign delegates engage in Buddhist ritual on Mount Fansipan. (Photo: VNA)

The delegates and many Buddhist followers also prayed for a world free of war and poverty.

Dubbed as the “Roof of Indochina”, the 3,143 m mountain is home to the Sun World Fansipan Legend spiritual structures.

The 16th UN Day of Vesak 2019 was held at the Tam Chuc Buddhism Culture Centre in Kim Bang district, the northern province of Ha Nam from May 12-14.

The event, the third of its kind hosted by Vietnam, brought together 1,650 international delegates from 112 countries and territories worldwide.

Vesak, or the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May, is the year’s most sacred date to millions of Buddhists around the world. It was on the Day of Vesak two and a half millennia ago that the Buddha was born. It was also on the Day of Vesak that the Buddha attained enlightenment, and when the Buddha passed away.

The UN General Assembly internationally recognised the Day of Vesak in 1999 to acknowledge the contributions Buddhism, one of the oldest religions in the world, has made to humanity.