TALKSHOW “THE BEAUTY OF VIETNAMESE SPIRIT THROUGH TRADITIONAL TET” - VENERABLE THICH TRI HUE

“As long as culture endures, so does the nation,” and cherishing the fine values of the traditional Tet festival is precisely how we preserve the ever-flowing source of Vietnamese spirit's beauty, contributing to the promotion of national cultural identity and deepening every person's love for their homeland and country.

Venerable Thich Tri Hue - Chief Secretary of the Central Social Charity Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha - Standing Member of the Central Dharma Propagation Committee - Abbot of Phap Tang Pagoda (Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City)

Another year is gradually passing, and people are eagerly preparing to welcome the new spring of heaven and earth. In this sacred atmosphere, Vietnamese people always cherish the customs and rituals passed down from ancient times.

So, what is the overall meaning of these traditional Tet customs? Why must these rituals and customs be observed during Tet? What is the significance of the offerings displayed on the Tet altar? And how should one properly arrange the ancestral altar during Tet? All these questions will be sincerely explained by Venerable Thich Tri Hue in the talkshow “The Beauty of Vietnamese Spirit Through Traditional Tet,” filmed at the Diệu Tướng Am Buddhist Art Space. Diệu Tướng Am is deeply delighted to support and accompany this program.

During the talkshow, Venerable Thich Tri Hue and journalist Luu Dinh Long took turns raising questions, gradually offering answers and sharing ways to preserve and promote the beauty of Vietnamese spirit through the rituals of the nation's traditional Tet festival.

According to Venerable Thich Tri Hue, fully observing the rituals and customs of traditional Tet is a way of preserving and passing on the cultural values handed down by our ancestors for generations. Through the practice of ancestral worship during Tet, the nation's spirit of “remembering the source when drinking the water” is expressed. In the sutras, the Buddha also taught his disciples about filial piety. Even while celebrating spring and welcoming Tet, people continue to uphold this age-old tradition of filial devotion through the rituals and customs of offering that have existed since ancient times.

The Venerable also shared some regional Tet worship customs to illustrate the cultural diversity across Vietnam's different regions. Regarding the view that worship involves overly elaborate and complicated rituals that take away people's time for celebrating spring and Tet, Venerable Thich Tri Hue suggested that outdated and cumbersome practices should be reconsidered and simplified, while rituals that carry humanistic meaning and reflect the nation's spiritual beauty should still be preserved and maintained.

One activity of great interest to many Buddhists, and even to some non-religious citizens in Vietnam, is the practice of pilgrimage at the start of the new year. Venerable Thich Tri Hue offered deeply insightful reflections on this topic. Buddhism has been intertwined with the land of Vietnam throughout thousands of years of history, accompanying the nation's culture and enduring through its historical ups and downs. The image of the pagoda roof and the village communal house remains forever a sacred emblem of the Vietnamese people's spiritual tradition. Thus, visiting pagodas at the beginning of the year, picking a lucky branch, and praying for a peaceful family are beautiful traditions of the Vietnamese people, reflecting their goodness, love of nature, and rich spiritual life.

Alongside sharing insights on the meaning of the offerings displayed on the Tet altar, the Venerable also guided Buddhists on how to properly arrange the ancestral altar.

At the close of the talkshow, the Venerable expressed his concerns about preserving, maintaining, and developing these age-old traditional customs for today's younger generation, so that these fine cultural values will not fade away with time. He also extended his blessings to all Buddhists on the eve of the new year.

The Buddhists who attended the talkshow expressed great joy at hearing the deeply meaningful sharing from Venerable Thich Tri Hue, and were also very pleased with the thoughtful hospitality of Diệu Tướng Am. Everyone felt a sense of peace and lightness of heart while listening to the Venerable's talk within the solemn and inspiring Buddhist Art Space.

The program will air on the TT-TH Phật sự Online channel very soon. We kindly invite everyone to follow the Diệu Tướng Am fanpage to watch together.