On the afternoon of May 1, 2025, at the National Museum of India (New Delhi), H.E. Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to India, attended and delivered remarks at the ceremony held by the delegation of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha to respectfully receive the relics of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha. This event marked the commencement of a series of international activities within the framework of the United Nations Day of Vesak 2025, which will be held in Vietnam from May 6–8, 2025.
Attending the ceremony were Most Venerable Thich Hue Thong – Vice President of the Executive Council and Vice Chairman of the Vesak 2025 Organizing Committee; Venerable Thich Nhat Tu – Standing Member of the Executive Council and Deputy Secretary-General of the Vesak 2025 Organizing Committee; Dr. Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC); leaders of the National Museum of India, along with many senior monks and nuns, Vietnamese and Indian Buddhist dignitaries, more than 120 Vietnamese Buddhist monks and nuns currently studying in India, and staff of the Embassy of Vietnam in India.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Most Venerable Thich Hue Thong emphasized: “The Buddha’s relics are not only sacred artifacts of immeasurable archaeological and spiritual value, but also a living embodiment of the Dharma amidst a turbulent world. The reverent reception of these relics is a symbol of the deep friendship between Vietnam and India, and a spiritual highlight of the United Nations Day of Vesak 2025.”
Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai highlighted the profound significance of this being the first time the relics of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha are being brought to Vietnam, allowing millions of Vietnamese Buddhists, as well as regional and global followers, to pay homage. The Ambassador expressed sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the Government of India, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Culture of India, and the International Buddhist Confederation for facilitating the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in respectfully bringing the sacred relics to Vietnam. He emphasized that this historic moment marks a new milestone in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, further strengthening cultural ties that have existed for more than 2,000 years.
On the same evening, the Buddha’s relics were placed on a special aircraft of the Indian Air Force to be flown to Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of May 2, 2025. In Vietnam, the relics will be brought to four cities and provinces – Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Hanoi, and Ha Nam – so that the Vietnamese public and delegates attending the United Nations Day of Vesak 2025 can offer their veneration.
Earlier, on the afternoon of April 30, 2025, Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai also attended a ceremony organized by the International Buddhist Confederation at the National Museum of India to welcome the Buddha’s relics, which had been brought to the museum the same day from Sarnath (Deer Park), Uttar Pradesh – the place where the Buddha gave his first sermon, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, to five disciples, marking the founding of the early Buddhist Sangha. The ceremony was also attended by members of the diplomatic corps in New Delhi, especially embassies from countries with large Buddhist populations.
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