The meeting at Ba Den Mountain is one of the important activities of ICDV to prepare for the biggest festival of Buddhists in the world, which will take place from May 6-8, 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City. Attending the event at Ba Den Mountain were Most Venerable Prof. Dr. Phra Brahmapundit - President of ICDV, Most Venerable T. Dhammaratana - Vice President of ICDV, along with ICDV member delegates representing France, the US, Korea, Sri Lanka, the UK, Norway, and Thailand.
On the side of the VBS, the event was attended by Most Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu, Standing Member of the Council of Patriarchs, Permanent Vice President of the Executive Council of the VBS; Most Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Vice President and General Secretary of the Executive Council of the VBS, Head of the Central International Buddhist Sangha; and a delegation of Venerable Monks from the VBS and the Tay Ninh Province VBS. Also attending were leaders of the Ministry of Home Affairs and representatives of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Tay Ninh Province, along with the Board of Directors of the Ba Den Mountain National Tourist Area.
Since morning, nearly 100 delegates have been present at Ba Den Mountain, a sacred mountain associated with the religious life of the people of Southern Vietnam. Here, the delegation performed the ritual of bowing before the relics of Buddha Shakyamuni, presented to Vietnam by the World Buddhist Federation in Bodh Gaya, India in 2014, with the wish that Vietnamese Buddhism will develop well, become more and more prosperous, and protect the country and its people.
The delegation also visited the large-scale Buddhist cultural works system, with the tallest Buddha statue in Asia located on the top of the mountain, the largest sandstone statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva in the world, and visited the Buddhist exhibition space displaying simulated versions of classic Buddhist works in the world and Vietnam, watching a 3D mapping film about the formation of the universe under the lens of Buddhism.
After the tour, the discussion program on the Vesak 2025 took place in an extremely solemn and friendly atmosphere. Speaking at the event, Venerable Phra Brahmapundit, Chairman of ICDV affirmed that with more than 1,000 delegates attending Vesak 2025, Ba Den Mountain is a must-see destination, this is a great opportunity in a lifetime to admire the vibrant Buddhist culture in Vietnam. "Vesak 2025 will have a series of important programs at the Buddhist Academy in Ho Chi Minh City, in which Ba Den Mountain is a precious gem, a highlight for the entire event" - Venerable added.
Meanwhile, Venerable T. Dhammaratana - Vice President of ICDV also gave special compliments to this spiritual destination: “Compared to yesterday when we had to hold a meeting from early morning to late at night, today when we set foot on Ba Den Mountain, we felt like we had arrived in heaven. When the cable car went through the fog to Sun World Ba Den, we stepped into a land of pure bliss. I feel that your country Vietnam can contribute a lot to the world”.
According to Most Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Vice President and General Secretary of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Ba Den Mountain was chosen as the place for international delegates and international Buddhists to visit and participate in cultural and religious festivals on the last day of the Vesak Festival, May 8, 2025. "The reason Ba Den Mountain was chosen is because this is a sacred mountain, a mountain that has gone down in history and is in the consciousness of the Vietnamese people. This is also a place that contains spiritual and historical origins and brings a sense of peace to everyone."
Thus, on the occasion of the 2025 Vesak Festival, thousands of delegates from countries, United Nations agencies, and leaders of the Buddhist Sangha at home and abroad will come to Ba Den Mountain to organize sacred ceremonies at this leading spiritual destination in the South. This is considered a meaningful and important activity in the series of activities of Vesak 2025, affirming the interest of the international Buddhist community in the traditional values of Vietnamese Buddhism in general and Ba Den Mountain - a symbol of religious life in the South of Vietnam in particular.
The 2025 Vesak Festival will be the fourth time Vietnam has hosted the world's most important Buddhist festival, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Vietnam's national reunification and the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day. The event will be attended by 2,000 official delegates, including: 1,000 international guest delegates from 80 countries and territories, including heads of state and leaders of United Nations agencies; leaders of Buddhist churches and sects, scholars, and researchers; and 1,000 domestic guest delegates from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.
