A palanquin procession to the Hung Kings Temple this year in Phu Tho province (Photo: VNA) The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the Cyberspace for Community Health (CCH) and theLaicity Club Joint Stock Company signed an MoU to implement this project, withthe support of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam and the Vietnam Union of Scienceand Technology Associations (VUSTA).
This is a special cultural activity to mark the 10th anniversary of UNESCO'srecognition of "Hung Kings worship in Phu Tho" as the representativeintangible cultural heritage of humanity (2012- 2022).
Accordingly, during this year, the parties will organise many activities topopularise Hung Kings' culture, including Buddhism in the Hung Kings period.
The programme "Road to the Kingdom of the Hung Kings" will bebroadcast on An Vien Television, the social networking platforms Butta, Laicityand other media channels of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. It surrounds thehistory, culture and rituals of Hung Kings' worship.
Next, the project will also gradually deploy the map of Vietnamese pagodas onthe cyber platform; build a profile to honour zen master-herbalist Tuệ Tĩnh asa world cultural celebrity; launching the “Pandemic home physical and mentalhealth nourishment programme."
Most Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Vice President and General Secretary of theExecutive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, said the project aims topreserve and promote the sacred traditional values of the Vietnamese people inthe belief of worshipping the Hung Kings, which has become a profound culturalidentity and the principle of patriotism.
In the past two years, social networks proved their effect on cultural andBuddhist activities. People still prayed and joined rituals like Buddha'sBirthday celebrations at home.
“So, we believe that the project will strengthen the application of digitaltechnology in the cause of spreading the Buddha’s philosophy. This is also apractical activity to preserve and promote the national cultural tradition,turning culture into a driving force for national development and defence,” hesaid.
According to the Most Venerable, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha will launch amovement to plant medicinal plants on the premises of temples and monasteriesand popularise the use of herbal remedies of zen master Tue Tinh to take careof community health.
Historian Le Van Lan highly appreciated the initiative to implement theproject. He believes that the programmes will contribute to bringing the Hung Kings'worship to Vietnamese abroad, arousing the national pride and great solidarityof the Vietnamese people in and around the world and educating the younggeneration's sense of national pride.
He believes that this project will create a cultural space of Hung Kings in thedigital space so that Vietnamese people in any country can still learn abouttheir origins and join a virtual pilgrimage to the land of their ancestors./.
VNA
