04

On January 3rd, the placement of His Holiness Dagchen Dorjechang Rinpoche’s holy relics into the newly constructed Parinirvana stupa and consecration of the stupa was carried out in a beautiful ceremony in front of the stupa. Also, attending the consecration of the stupa was Nyingmpa Tulku Ugyen Choephel Rinpoche from Mindroling Monastery in India along with his entourage of five monks. The congregation of lamas, Khenpos, monks and lay sangha all paid homage to the holy relics.

At the conclusion of the consecration ceremony and to the delight of many fans, famous Vietnamese singer Tung Duong sang offering songs in homage to the holy occasion. His rendition of Om Mani Padme Hum was a powerful and touching offering of words and melody.

In the afternoon, H.E. Asanga Vajra Rinpoche led the Guru Yoga Puja and tsog offering.

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05

On January 4th, with Venerable Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche as Vajra Master, the lamas, Khenpos and the monks conducted the MahaVairochana Puja which is beneficial for the deceased. It was especially fitting and poignant in that the Long Tho Cremation Park was a battle site during the Vietnam War and it is believed that at least 10,000 soldiers lost their lives there and were subsequently buried there.

In the late afternoon, H.E. Asanga Vajra Rinpoche gave refuge vows to a group of dharma students at Sakya Vietnam’s Center apartment complex in the city. Rinpoche gave a two hour long discourse on the meaning of taking refuge before the actual refuge ceremony.

06

On January 5th, the final day of dharma activities at the Sakya Vietnam temple concluded with an elaborate Vajrapani Bhutadamara fire puja led by H.E. Khöndung Asanga Vajra Rinpoche. As the lamas conducted the fire puja to purify all obstacles, all lay practitioners and sangha members participated in offering various ritual substances into the burning fire.
During all the four days of dharma activities at Sakya Vietnam, lunch was provided for all the lamas, guests and sangha members. We extend our many thanks to Madame Hong Dang and her family for providing meals to everyone for the entirety of these very important events.

07

On January 6th, His Eminence Asanga Vajra Rinpoche, His Eminence Ani Vajra Rinpoche and entourage took a boat ride on the Saigon River to release fish back into the river. A ton of fish were purchased from the fish market and released by the sangha members with many prayers and blessings for their survival and long life.

In the Evening, Rinpoche and entourage visited the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda upon their kind invitation for dinner on the day of the first New Moon of 2019. After offering prayers to the very impressive shrine, Rinpoche released a cage full of tiny little birds who flew excitedly into the night sky. The two venerable abbots of the Pagoda hosted a wonderful dinner for Rinpoche and his entourage and extended their gracious invitation for Rinpoche to return anytime in the future.

08

H.E. Khöndung Asanga Vajra Rinpoche and his entourage of monks departed for India on January 7th following the week-long program of dharma activities hosted by Sakya Vietnam.

09

In conclusion, we thank Sakya Vietnam for all their hard work and effort in organizing such a beautiful and successful program of events. Special thanks go to Master Tho Luu as the founding member of Sakya Vietnam and to Madame Hong Dang as the President of Sakya Vietnam. Also, we extend our gratitude to Venerable Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche of Sakya Monastery for traveling here from Seattle to help organize and supervise the dharma ceremonies. We also thank the monks of Guru Sakya Monastery, Darjeeling for making the beautiful tormas, leading the ritual prayers, and preparing for the grand events with their full participation and dedication. Thanks also to all the lamas and guests who traveled from far and wide to attend these auspicious events and most of all, we thank all the sangha members, volunteers and patrons who gave their valuable time, hard work and monetary contributions to make this a very successful week-long program of auspicious dharma activities.

May the Buddha dharma prevail and bring everlasting peace to Vietnam and may all sentient beings benefit from our prayers and dedication of merit through such wholesome deeds!