Hanoi: Several hundred Buddhists on Wednesday
welcomed the arrival in Vietnam of relics of the Buddha from
India.
A delegation of 147 monks and Vietnamese Buddhist
disciples had left Hanoi this morning on a swift return trip
to India to pick up the precious relics, the Buddhist Church
of Vietnam said in a statement.
The state-controlled Church said it was an event of
"important spiritual significance for the Vietnamese Buddhist
monks and the faithful".
"It is the pride of Vietnamese Buddhism," said nun Thich
Thi Loan, from the province of Ninh Binh, south of Hanoi,
where the relics were to be taken.
Buddhism is the main religion in Vietnam and at least 70
percent of the population are followers.
The Buddha, originally named Prince Siddhartha, died at
the age of 80, and his relics became a matter of fierce
dispute.
PTI
