A large number of Vietnamese Buddhists in the Republic of Korea (RoK) joined a ceremony on February 26th to pray for peace on the sea and islands of the homeland, organized by the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam and the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in RoK.
At the ceremony, the participants spent a minute for Vietnam’s sea and islands, and commemorated ancestors, who have built the country, and heroic martyrs sacrificed for the fatherland.
Venerable Thích Nữ Giới Tánh, member of the International Buddhist Committee under the Central Committee of the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam, stated that the ceremony aimed to pray for a prosperous country, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and lasting peace on the sea and islands of the nation.
She stressed that Vietnam’s sea has always held spiritual value and a sacred history, and it acts as a strategic area in protecting and developing the country.
Therefore, protecting the sovereignty and developing the potential of the sea and islands are orders of the nation for Vietnamese people at home and abroad, and this is also the determination of the whole people of Vietnam.
She emphasized that along with the entire people, Vietnamese Buddhists are always aware that the sea and islands are an integral part of Vietnam and pray for soldiers on the offshore islands to fulfill the tasks entrusted them by the people.
On behalf of the Vietnamese Embassy in RoK, First Secretary Nguyễn Văn Thưởng stated that the sea is means of support for tens of millions of people across the country, and is a very important basis for Vietnam’s economic development.
Besides economic significance, the sea and islands play an extremely important role in protecting the nation.
He emphasized that independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity is very sacred; all Vietnamese people at home and abroad are determined to sacrifice blood to protect them for generations today and tomorrow.
The First Secretary appreciated the contributions of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in RoK for movements for sovereignty over the sea and islands and peace of the country, the region and the world over the past years.
Mr. Thưởng also hoped that the Buddhists would maintain unity in the Vietnamese community in RoK, and promote their role in exchanges between the two countries, thereby contributing to further develop the Vietnam-RoK relations in all fields.
At the ceremony, the Buddhists raised funds to support people and soldiers living and working on Vietnam’s islands.
Source: m.vietnambreakingnews.com
