According to a document from the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) sent to localities on 25/6, this activity will be organized simultaneously on the day the newly merged provinces and cities begin operating the two-tiered administrative model. Temples will also chant sutras and organize spiritual ceremonies to promote national unity.
The VBS considers this a special historical event, marking a new stage of development for the country. The bell-ringing ceremony embodies the spirit of "Buddhism accompanying the nation in every historical journey".
"This is a particularly special historical event in the nation's journey into a new era of prosperity and development," the document stated.
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Quan Su Pagoda, Hanoi, May 2025. Photo: Hoang Giang |
Quan Su Pagoda, Hanoi, May 2025. Photo: Hoang Giang
Earlier, during a discussion at the National Assembly on 11/6, Most Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem, Vice Chairman of the Executive Council and Head of the Propagation Department of the VBS Central Committee, said that the VBS Executive Boards at the district level will be dissolved to streamline the apparatus, in line with the administrative unit rearrangement nationwide.
Provincial-level Executive Boards will be reorganized to correspond with the 34 provinces and cities after the merger. Executive Boards in merged localities will also be consolidated, with headquarters located in the new provincial capitals or based on practical conditions. After the consolidation, the organizational system of the VBS will consist of three levels: central, provincial/city, and grassroots.
From 1/7, the country will officially operate a two-tiered local government model after the National Assembly passed a resolution to merge and reduce the number of provinces and cities from 63 to 34.
The VBS was established in 1981 on the basis of the voluntary unification of 9 Buddhist organizations, associations, and sects nationwide. With full legal status and legal personality, the VBS represents Vietnamese Buddhist monks, nuns, and followers domestically and internationally, and is a member of international Buddhist organizations.
