President Luong Cuong and the Supreme Patriarch Thich Tri Quang attend the opening ceremony of the Day of Vesak 2025. (Photo: Vinh Phong/VOV5)

This year’s Vesak has drawn 2,700 Buddhists, including 1,300 international attendees from 85 other countries and territories, demonstrating the importance of one of the principal cultural and religious events recognized by the United Nations. This is the first time Vesak Day has been held in Ho Chi Minh City, and the fourth time in Vietnam.

Positioning Vietnam in global Buddhist community

Looking back at the three previous UN Vesak Celebrations held in Vietnam, Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Vice President and General Secretary of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, said the event held at My Dinh National Convention Center in Hanoi in 2008 showed international friends the  achievements of Vietnam’s reform and opening-up process.

The events held at Bái Đính pagoda in Ninh Bình province in 2014 and at the Tam Chuc pagoda in Ha Nam province in 2019 made strong impressions on the size and development of Vietnamese Buddhist worship facilities.

This year Vesak is being held at an educational institution of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Ho Chi Minh City, offering international friends a view of the stature and development of Vietnamese Buddhism in the modern era and an opportunity to witness the reality of religious freedom and equality among religions in Vietnam.

Vesak 2025 demonstrates the Vietnamese government’s consistent policy of creating favorable conditions for religious activities. Solemn Buddhist rituals are held publicly, with close coordination between the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the administration. Cultural and academic events and exhibitions organized for the occasion reflect the Government’s openness and respect for religious practices.

Buddhist follower Pham Thi Vi said, “Vesak draws Buddhist followers from all over the world to Ho Chi Minh City. We’re grateful to the State for organizing this celebration. I’m really moved to be in Ho Chi Minh City to participate in Vesak activities.”

Hosting one of the UN’s major religious events for the fourth time clearly demonstrates Vietnam’s willingness for local religious organizations to engage in international activities.

To give international friends a positive impression of Vietnam, its people, and its culture, the Government, ministries, and localities have coordinated their support for  the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in organizing the event. The Government assigned the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs the task of establishing a working group consisting of representatives of ministries, sectors, and localities to guide and assist the Sangha.

The successful organization of the Vesak celebration illustrates the Vietnamese Party and State’s policy of respecting people's freedom of belief and religion, protecting lawful religious activities, and meeting the spiritual needs of religious communities.

President Luong Cuong addressed the opening ceremony of Vesak on Tuesday, saying “The Vietnamese Party and State appreciates and creates favorable conditions for religions, including Buddhism, to be practiced within the legal framework, and has adopted a consistent policy of respecting and protecting everyone's freedom of belief and religion. It’s a crucial part of the great national unity bloc.”

This event has reaffirmed Vietnamese Buddhism’s role in national unity and solidarity, and aligns Buddhism with the nation’s socialist aims. Buddhism is deeply intertwined with the history of national construction and defense and is an inseparable part of the Vietnamese people’s cultural and spiritual life.