Over 17 mn devotees witness exposition of Lord Buddha's holy relics in Vietnam

The monthlong exposition of Lord Buddhas holy relics spanning multiple cities in Vietnam drew over 17 million devotees officials on Monday saidThe sacred relics enshrined at a vihara in Uttar Pradeshs Sarnath had reached Ho Chi Minh City on May 2These relics returned to India on the night of June 2 in an Indian Air Force IAF aircraft after an overwhelming spiritual response during their exposition tour across Vietnam said a senior officialThe sacred relics of Lord Buddha were taken to that country for the exposition during the gala celebrations of the United Nations Day of Vesak being hosted by VietnamAn extraordinary spiritual movement swept across Vietnam as millions of devotees participated in a historic veneration pilgrimage of the Buddhas sacred relics from India The sacred tour spanning multiple revered locations from the south to the north of the country drew more than 178 million devotees in total uniting Buddhists and spiritual seekers in a profound display of reverence and cultural solidarity the Ministry of Culture said in a statement on MondayAy Thanh Tam Monastery Ho Chi Minh City from May 3 to 8 the exposition drew 1877000 devotees at Tam Chuc Pagoda Ha Nam Province from May 17 19 over two million devotees and at Quan Su Pagoda Hanoi May 13 17 over seven million devotees including two million at the central relic procession according to data shared by the ministryOriginally scheduled to conclude on May 21 the exposition was extended until June 2 upon special request by the Government of Vietnam due to the spiritually charged atmosphere and growing public reverence the ministry said in a statement earlier on May 30The relics escorted by a government of India delegation led by Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati will be ceremoniously received at the Palam Air Force Station by the officials of International Buddhist Confederation IBC along with senior Indian monks the ministry addedThe holy relics of Lord Buddha were transported to Vietnam by the special IAF aircraft from the Hindan Air Base in Ghaziabad befitting the status of a State GuestThe holy relics hold special significance for the Buddhist community around the world and their exposition in Vietnam took place for the first timeFollowing their arrival in Delhi the holy relics will be placed on public exposition at the National Museum for a day from the morning of Tuesday June 3A formal prayer meeting will be held in the afternoon by senior monks the secretary general of the International Buddhist Confederation and representatives of the diplomatic corpsThe relics will depart Delhi in a presidential cavalcade on Wednesday June 4 with full protocol reserved for the Heads of State They will be escorted to Sarnath via Varanasi where they will be ceremonially enshrined at Mulagandha Kuti Vihar concluding a historic international pilgrimage that reinforced the timeless message of peace and compassion embodied by BuddhaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever