Bac Giang (VNA)– Holding the Yen Tu festival in Tay Yen Tu in northern Bac Giang province andDong Yen Tu in neighbouring Quang Ninh province will help preserve and promote thecultural values of Yen Tu, said a Government Committee for Religious Affairsofficial.

Both Tay Yen Tu (west ofYen Tu) and Dong Yen Tu (east of Yen Tu) festivals have close relations withTruc Lam Zen Buddhism and should be combined, said Bui Huu Duoc, head of the committee’sBuddhism Department at a conference in Bac Giang on December 4.

Prof. Dr. Tram Lam Biensaid that the combination of the two festivals will form a great festival toattract Buddhists. He suggested the festival be held in early 2017.

However, Prof. Dr. Chu VanTuan from the Religion Research Institute said that the combined festivalshould be postponed to 2018 as currently, Bac Giang has yet to finishpreparations and transportation system for the event.

He also proposed that BacGiang clarify the value of Tay Yen Tu relic and the religious value of thefestival to promote the relic site and connect it with regional tours.

Meanwhile, Dr. Pham HongTrung from the Institute for the Vietnam Studies and Development Science saidthat it is necessary to follow locals’ wishes in organising the festival, whilecalling for their engagement in the preservation and promotion of the festival.

In the 13th century, King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong(1258-1308), the third king of the Tran dynasty (1225-1400), abdicated thethrone when he was 35 and spent the rest of his life on Yen Tu Mountain,practising Buddhism.

At the end of the Ly dynasty (1009-1225) and thebeginning of the Tran dynasty, Yen Tu was a Buddhist worship venue for many monkslike Hien Quang, Vien Chung, Dai Dang, Tieu Dao and Hue Tue.

When Tran Nhan Tong practised Buddhism on themountain, he founded the first VietnameseSchool of Buddhism called“Thien Tong,” Vietnam Zen Buddhism, turning the site into the capital of VietnameseBuddhism.

During the past nearly 1,000 years, hundreds ofpagodas and shrines have been built throughout the Yen Tu complex, includingstructures which boast thousands of prized statues and artefacts.

Yen Tu is also a museum of architecture and diversefauna and flora. It has favourable conditions for research in history,spiritual culture, tourism potential, ecological environment, bio diversity andgene protection.-VNA