Venerable Thich Tho Lac (left) presents a Buddhist statue to Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh. (Photo: VNA)

Accompanying the delegation were representatives of Vietnam Buddhist Association in Erfurt and some Buddhists in Germany.

The purpose of the visit is to attend the the stone-laying ceremony for the start of the construction of a pagoda in Erfurt, along with a ritual invoking God into a statue and a peace prayer, Venerable Thich Tho Lac said to Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh.

The delegation also preached the Dharma for Buddhists, organized charitable activities and visited Vietnamese refugees from Ukraine. In the coming time, Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee will consider appointing the nuns to do Buddhist work at the pagoda in Erfurt.

In addition, the delegation also conducted a survey for specific plans to take care of the spiritual and religious life of the Vietnamese community in Germany as well as some European countries.

The Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha is crafting a project of orientation of the Vietnamese Buddhist cultural identity in four components – language, clothing, architecture and heritage, the Venerable Thich Tho Lac said.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha delegation at the meeting with the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany. (Photo: VNA)

Ambassador Vu Quang Minh expressed his hope that the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha will soon complete the projects to spread the spirit and culture of Vietnamese Buddhism.

He also hopes that Vietnamese Dharma will continuously grow to take care of the religious life for Buddhists, and expand the connection with the Buddhist Union in Germany (DBU) to integrate deeper and spread even more the spirit of Vietnamese Dharma in Germany as well as Europe.

The Ambassador highly appreciated the solidarity and cohesion of the Vietnamese people in Germany, expecting Buddhist monks and nuns in Germany to continue playing a role in heightening the reputation of Viet Nam and Vietnamese people in Germany and bolstering the strategic partnership between the two countries not only in the political or economic aspects.

Earlier, the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha and the Vietnam Buddhist Association at Erfurt held a stone-laying ceremony, starting the construction of the pagoda at Erfurt.