On August 13, 2024, in Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Republic of Buryatia in the Russian Federation, the Opening Ceremony of the 2nd International Buddhist Forum took place with the theme "Traditional Buddhism and Contemporary Challenges".
The forum was attended by representatives from 15 countries: Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Bhutan, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan and representatives from many regions of the Russian Federation.
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| Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang speaks at the forum. Photo: Ministry of Home Affairs |
The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang; Director of the Institute of Religious Studies of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Chu Van Tuan; Counselor - Minister of the Embassy of Vietnam in the Russian Federation Le Quang Anh.
The 2nd International Buddhist Forum focused on comprehensive discussions on the development of Buddhism, Buddhist culture, philosophy and practice, aiming to promote the development of scientific, educational and cultural cooperation among Buddhist organizations of different countries.
The forum is organized by the Russian Traditional Buddhist Church, the Government of the Republic of Buryatia, the Foundation for the Promotion of Buddhist Education and Research with the support of the Roscongress Foundation in Buryatia from August 12-14, 2024.
In his message to the forum participants, Russian President V. Putin appreciated the contributions of Buddhist organizations in maintaining peace, harmony and mutual understanding in society, as well as the development of inter-religious and inter-national dialogue.
The Russian President expressed his belief that this forum will be organized creatively and constructively, contributing to strengthening international humanitarian cooperation and implementing joint projects.
In his welcoming speech to the participants of the forum, the head of the Republic of Buryatia Alexei Tsydenov affirmed that the integration and values of Buddhism are becoming increasingly important in the world today. Buryatia is a region where people can deeply discuss Buddhist issues.
Speaking at the plenary session, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang said that Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam more than 2,000 years ago, becoming one of the largest religions in Vietnam. During the process of introduction and development, Buddhism has become a peaceful religion, integrating with the traditional beliefs of the Vietnamese people. Vietnamese Buddhism has always been a worldly religion, connecting religion and life, accompanying the nation and making many contributions to the cause of national construction and development.
Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang emphasized that in the field of spiritual culture, Buddhism has made great contributions to the Vietnamese national culture. Some philosophical systems of Buddhism have been popularized into symbols and standards that are very close and familiar to the Vietnamese people.
Therefore, Buddhism quickly entered social life, was accepted by the people and gradually contributed to consolidating, maintaining and promoting traditional Vietnamese cultural values.
In addition, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang also said that Buddhism is also a bridge to preserve many traditional cultural values of the Vietnamese people. Through Buddhist activities, traditional cultural values of the nation have been promoted in the current social life of Vietnam.
Immediately after the opening session, the delegates attended the Scientific Conference with the theme “The Pandiđo Khambo Lama Dashi Dorzhi Itigelov Phenomenon. Nearly 100 years ago, in 1927, this eminent Zen master entered a state of “incorruptible body”. His body still retains signs of life and this has yet to be scientifically explained.
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| Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang took a souvenir photo with the Vietnamese delegation. Photo: Ministry of Home Affairs |
Associate Professor, Dr. Chu Van Tuan – Director of the Institute of Religious Studies – presented a paper at the conference and stated that the issue of the incorruptible physical body of monks after death is a very worthy issue to study because it is very difficult to explain from a conventional scientific perspective. Many opinions hold that only monks who have attained enlightenment can achieve full body relics.
Associate Professor, Dr. Chu Van Tuan focused on the case of the incorruptible physical bodies of three Vietnamese monks: Vu Khac Minh and Vu Khac Truong, monks who lived in the 17th century, and monk Thich Minh Duc, a monk who lived in the 20th century who attained enlightenment and whose physical bodies remain intact to this day.
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Vu Chien Thang works with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation
On the afternoon of August 14, 2024, in the city of Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang led the Vietnamese delegation to meet and work with Prime Minister of the Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation Alexey Tsydenov, on the occasion of attending the 2nd International Buddhist Forum.
At the meeting, Mr. Alexey Tsydenov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Buryatia, informed the Vietnamese side of the results of the 2nd International Buddhist Forum and the economic, cultural and tourism strengths of the Republic of Buryatia.
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| Working session scene. Photo: VOV |
Regarding tourism, the Republic of Buryatia boasts Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the deepest lake and the largest natural freshwater lake in the world…
At the meeting, Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang congratulated Mr. Alexey Tsydenov and his side for successfully organizing the 2nd International Buddhist Forum in Ulan-Ude city, achieving the goals set by the Forum according to the theme "Traditional Buddhism and the challenges of the times".
Like the Russian Federation, Vietnam is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country with 14 million Buddhists and more than 50,000 temples and places of worship. Buddhism has been present in Vietnam for more than 2,000 years and has always accompanied the country's development. Deputy Minister Vu Chien Thang respectfully invited the Buriatia delegation to attend the United Nations Day of Vesak - Vesak hosted by Vietnam in 2025.
The two sides expressed their delight at the special relationship between Vietnam and the Russian Federation, and expressed their interest in joint training of human resources between the two countries in the fields of mineral exploitation, agriculture and science and technology. The two sides agreed that countries with Buddhist traditions account for half of the world's population and more than half of the global economy. Asia-Pacific countries are constantly developing in all aspects, and Buryatia's cooperation with these countries will bring new development opportunities to the republic.
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