His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa returns to Vietnam after 4 years

By Hong Chieu   January 25, 2023 | 11:24 pm PT
His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa returns to Vietnam after 4 years
Gyalwang Drukpa meets a Buddhist follower during his trip to Vietnam in 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh
Gyalwang Drukpa, head of the Drukpa Lineage of Vajrayana Buddhism, arrived in Hanoi on Thursday to begin his two-week spring visit, marking his return after a four-years absence due to the impact of Covid.

He will chair a three-day spring festival at the Great Stupa Mandala Tay Thien in Vinh Phuc Province, around 45 kilometers from Hanoi, from January 27-29 to pray for luck to the country and people of Vietnam.

On Wednesday afternoon, an exhibition opened at the Great Stupa Mandala Tay Thien, depicting a 15-year journey of Gyalwang Drukpa and his entourage visiting Vietnam for spiritual activities.

The Buddhist leader and his Sangha are expected to perform spiritual ceremonies at several pagodas in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc and Phu Tho during the trip.

Vajrayana is one of the various Buddhist traditions of Tantra and "Secret Mantra," which developed in medieval India and later spread to Tibet and East Asia.

The Gyalwang Drukpa’s first visit to Vietnam was in 2007. Since then, he has returned to Vietnam multiple times.

His most recent visit was in 2019, the year before the onset of the pandemic.

Vietnam is a predominantly Buddhist nation. It is estimated that over 70% of the Vietnamese population either are Buddhist or follow Buddhist practices.

 
 
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