Attending the ceremony were representatives from the VBS, Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA), Indian officials and 10,000 Buddhist followers.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thành expressed his hope that Dai Loc pagoda will become a destination for Vietnamese pilgrims, thus helping strengthen friendship between the two countries’ peoples.

He also took this chance to thank Varanasi authorities for supporting the construction of this spiritual facility.

At the ceremony, Mr. Nguyễn Thanh Xuân, official of Department of Buddhist Affairs under the GCRA read a congratulatory letter from Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Chairman of the GCRA, which highly appreciated the efforts in building the pagoda by Vietnamese monks and Buddhists.

The letter highlighted that the friendly relation between Vietnam and India based on the foundation laid by President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru has always been a special relationship of sincerity, profound and sustainable development.

Most Venerable Thích Thiện Nhơn, President of the VBS’s Executive Council, said India is currently home to 13 pagodas built by Southeast Asian countries, and among four Vietnamese pagodas here, Dai Loc is the first to be recognized as a branch of the VBS.

At the ceremony, Most Venerable Thích Thiện Nhơn read the decision on appointment of Venerable Thích Thiện Minh as President of the pagoda and Venerable Thích Tường Quang as the new abbot of Dai Loc pagoda.

Abbot of Dai Loc Pagoda Venerable Thích Tường Quang said the pagoda will also accommodate Vietnamese students who study Buddhism courses in India, open Buddhist courses, and run charitable activities.

Dai Loc Pagoda was built since 2009 at a cost of 1.3 million USD in an area of 5,170 sq.m. Dai Loc pagoda has a main hall, a Buddha statue of 18m high made of rock marble with 660 blocks and 700 tons in weight, dormitory, kitchen, cafeteria, library…

vietnamplus.vn