The Ullambana on the sacred borderline of Vietnam

Every August as the mortals are busy for rituals of filial piety, Buddhist followers and visitors are keenly flocking to the Buddhist realm on the sacred Fansipan, enshrouded in frosty chills and breezes and dotted with towering religious landmarks to pray for peace of mind and pay homage to hard-won significance of their parents with a red rose on the lapel…

This year, to make the activity even more meaningful as part of the New Year pilgrimage among visitors and Buddhists, Sun World Fansipan Complex hosted the Ullambana ceremony on August 14 (or Lunar July 14) with a string of characteristic Ullambana rituals for Buddhist followers. It’s not just an opportunity for pilgrims to marvel at this gigantic religious compound, savor the chilly pleasure of the Northwestern nature, shake off worldly burdens and greed and becalm our wounded soul with a glimpse of the eternal life, but also remind themselves of the values of filial piety.

This season, the Fansipan is wrapped in howling breezes and chills, as billowing clouds descend and carry our feet to the immortal Nirvana of Buddha. At the end of the cable car route to the poetic Fansipan, visitors will reach the destination of the cultural and religious landmark atop the peak, which is long coined a must-visit for our lifetime.

There, Bao An Zen Monastery embraces mortal souls with fresh roses to be glued on the lapel as a gentle Ullambana gesture. Red roses for those fortunate to have their parents still alive to pray for inner peace and conciliation to their parents already past their prime. Pure and frail white roses are glued on the chest of those without living parents by their side, to remind them of their forgone days and the unrivalled labor to bring them up, and also prayers for the departed.

This year, the Ullambana is even more memorable than ever as the organizers host a massive peace praying ceremony from 9am to 10am within the Grand Amitabha Statue, the largest bronze statue of Vietnam, which stands towering over the surroundings of Hoang Lien Cordillera. The peace praying ceremony is attended by over 200 Buddhist monks and nuns who partake in the rituals and get pilgrims rid of their worldly thoughts, mortal sorrows, to desire for the presiding peace supremacy as well as fond memories of their parents. Stepping over green marble stairs to the Grand Amitabha Statue, and following an admiration for the sacred Buddhist sarira, all bow down to prayers and scriptures in the midst of solemnity and peacefulness, making it the most rewarding moment of the filial piety season.

In Bich Van Zen Monastery, Bao An Zen Monastery and Kim Son Bao Thang Pagoda, lucky red paper sheets are to be presented for free to all visitors. The compound also spares 1,000 lucky presents to visitors and Buddhist pilgrims on this occasion, to express our sincere tribute to children and parents to savor these priceless moments, also an expression of gratitude and good luck for the journey to come.

Particularly, on this occasion, Sun World Fansipan Legend is hosting the Northwestern Food Festival 2019 and choreographic show “Dance on the Clouds” at large scale for the first time in the Northwest, which involve unheard and unseen experiences, so that visitors may well revel in the quintessential cultural sphere of the uplands, or savor all the delicacies and best tastes the region has to offer. Children may also perform their duty of filial piety by taking their parents to this culturally rich and religious realm on the nine clouds and presiding over the Rooftop of Indochina once in their lifetime.

The Ullambana has yet come, and just gracing the land where the heaven meets the earth on borderline with your beloveds to enjoy the drifting clouds and idle, enigmatic mist falling, is the most worthwhile part of a meaningful journey.