Hanoi (VNA) – Buddhist monks, nuns, and followers and residents can pay tribute to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who breathed his last on July 19, at pagodas and monasteries on July 25 and 26, the same time when respect-paying and memorial ceremonies are held for the leader.

The Standing Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS)’s Executive Council has asked dignitaries of committees and institutes under the VBS, and its executive boards in cities and provinces to organise ceremonies in memory of the deceased.

Apart from pagodas and monasteries, the ceremonies will be held at the headquarters of the VBS’s executive boards at all levels, and Buddhist training facilities, featuring Buddhist rituals.

The Party chief is laid in state at the National Funeral Hall, No. 5 Tran Thanh Tong street, Hanoi.

The respect-paying ceremony for him will begin at 7am on July 25, while the memorial service will be conducted at 1pm on July 26 at the National Funeral Hall.

The respect-paying and memorial ceremonies will take place at the same time at the Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City and his hometown in Dong Hoi commune of Hanoi’s Dong Anh district.

The burial ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Mai Dich cemetery in the capital city at 3pm on July 26.

Over the past days, many pagodas have organised requiems and set up altars for people to burn incense in commemoration of General Secretary Trong.

Crowds of Buddhist monks, nuns, and followers and people on July 24 came to Hanoi-based Quan Su Pagoda, the headquarters of the VBS Central Committee, to pray for the soul of the deceased. The pagoda will remain open from 7:30am to 9:30pm on the two days of national mourning.

Earlier, Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, Deputy Patriarch of the VBS’s Patronage Council and President of the VBS’s Executive Council, extended his condolences over the Party leader’s passing.

In his letter, Most Venerable Nhon said Buddhist monks, nuns and followers at home and abroad were very saddened when learning about the leader’s passing.

He praised the General Secretary as an excellent leader, a great intellect, an ideologist and an outstanding culturist of the nation, who devoted his entire life to serving the Fatherland and the people.

In his ideals and directions, the leader always gave affection to the people and stayed close to them, and emphasised that building great national solidarity is the responsibility of the entire political system and the whole society, with the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organisations, including religious organisations, as the core, the Most Venerable continued.

The Party chief’s passing is a huge loss to all of Vietnamese people, he said, extending the deepest sympathies to the Party Central Committee, the President, the National Assembly, the Government, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and the bereaved family.

🧔 Vietnamese monks, nuns, and followers will join people nationwide to turn grief into the strength of the great national solidarity, carrying forward the priceless legacies left by General Secretary Trong, firmly moving forward to build a strong and prosperous Vietnam, with an advanced fortune and position, for prosperous people, a strong country, democracy, justice and civilisation, he affirmed./.