Flower Lantern festival on Amitabha Buddha "s Birthday at Long Hoa Nunnery – Long An

Nowadays, the name of Amitabha and the Pure Land teachings are no longer unfamiliar to Buddhists. True to the magical teaching of Buddha: the Pure Land method is thetranscendent one Buddha created for all sentient beings in this Saha world.

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Despite having become a Buddha since uncountable kalpas (cosmic\r\nages), with his infinite compassion and mercy for sentient beings, he\r\nvowed to save them from the evil world of five turbidities\r\nand assist them to be reborn in his Pure Land and continue their\r\ncultivation there until becoming Buddhas through his 48 great vows.

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Everywhere, in the convivial atmosphere on the occasion of\r\nthe birthday of Amitabha Buddha's , the ruler of the Western Pure Land, on\r\nDecember 29, 2014 (November 11 of the lunar year), Nunnery Long Hoa (Long Trach\r\ncommune, Can Duoc district, Long An province) solemnly held the Flower\r\nLantern Festival on his birthday. Under Venerable Thich Chan Tinh’s\r\ninstruction, the monks of Hoang Phap Pagoda came to assist the preparation of\r\nthe celebration.

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In a confined yet cozy space, the ceremony started at 19.00\r\nsharp. The board of the ceremony invited the monks, nuns and the venerables to\r\nthe stage to witness the ceremony in the chants of the name of Amitabha.

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In the beginning, after declaring the reasons for the\r\nceremony and introducing the ceremony items, Sister Thich Nu Quang Than,\r\non behalf of the the nuns and the abbess of Long Hoa Nunnery, made an opening\r\nspeech. Then with the utmost respect, people offered the incense to the\r\nKind Father. The main part of the ceremony was the passing of the candle light.\r\nThe monks of the ceremony received the light of compassion and wisdom passed\r\nfrom Buddha’s altar and then it was passed to the nuns of the Nunnery. From\r\nthose first candles, the supreme light of Buddha was passed on and received\r\nwith sincerity from the devout Buddhists; then the light spread out\r\ngradually. In the shimmering and colorful space of the ceremony, the Buddhists'\r\nchant sounded as if it reminded all sentient beings to come back to reality,\r\nmotivated them to practice more and directed their mind towards Buddhahood. Towards\r\nthe end of the ceremony, the atmosphere was even more solemn and pure.

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At the end of the ceremony, Venerable Master Thich Minh\r\nThien, the chief of executive board of the Vietnam Buddhist association of Long\r\nAn province preached to the entireparticipants. ,Far beyond their expectations,\r\nthe ceremony ended successfully.

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Singer To Lan entertained the participants with the\r\nsong“Buddha Recitation.”

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Everyone felt an extreme sense of elation as the Flower\r\nLantern festival ended. .

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Below are the pictures from the ceremony.

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