FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE EMPEROR-MONK" – VU LAN SEASON 2025 AT NGOA VAN

During the 2025 Vu Lan festival of filial piety, hundreds of Buddhists from all over the country gathered at Ngoa Van Hermitage - Pagoda – where Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong practiced religion and attained Buddhahood – to attend the special program "Following the Footsteps of the Buddhist Emperor". This is not only a spiritual activity but also a journey back to the roots, awakening gratitude, filial piety, and the spirit of "when drinking water, remember its source" in the heart of every Vietnamese child.
✨ A meaningful journey:
•    Lighting fragrant incense at An Sinh Temple and Thai Mieu (Royal Ancestral Temple), commemorating the merits of the Tran Dynasty's predecessor emperors – those who built the glorious Dong A spirit.
•    Offering incense at Middle Pagoda and Ngoa Van Hermitage – where the Buddhist Emperor entered Nirvana, to feel the peace and purity in every pilgrimage step.
•    Practicing Vu Lan filial piety through sutra chanting ceremonies, generating the mind of merit-making, and especially volunteer activities sending love to patients, orphans, and less fortunate lives.
•    The candle meditation night, lantern offering ceremony, and fireworks at Ngoa Van Zen garden became a reflective moment, when the light of hundreds of candles mingled with wholesome thoughts, sending a message of love spreading everywhere.

🌿 The profound message of the festival season
This year, the event "Following the Footsteps of the Buddhist Emperor" holds a special meaning: not only is it the Vu Lan season to express gratitude to parents, but it is also an occasion to celebrate the 80th anniversary of national reunification. In the sacred atmosphere of the sacred Yen Tu mountain, each Buddhist seems to be reminded of the responsibility to preserve peace, solidarity, and love in today's life.
🙏 Ngoa Van – the sacred sanctuary of the nation
Ngoa Van Hermitage – where Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong attained Buddhahood – has for generations been a spiritual rendezvous for Vietnamese people. Returning to Ngoa Van is returning to the cultural - historical - spiritual roots, a place that helps each person quiet their mind, nurture compassion and filial piety, and strengthen faith in eternal values.

🌸 A promise for the seasons to come
The program concluded in joy and emotion. But the echoes of the journey "Following the Footsteps of the Buddhist Emperor" will surely continue to resonate, so that every Buddhist, every Vietnamese heart remembers: "Filial piety is the root of the Way, gratitude is the source of blessings."

See you again, dear Buddhists, on the next journeys to the land of the Buddhist Emperor – the convergence of sacred energy, love, and national pride.