On 29 November 2019, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Viet Nam, organized a Dhamma Sermon on “Relevance of Lord Buddha’s Teachings in Modern Life” in Quan Su Pagoda, Ha Noi, Viet Nam, delivered by Ven. Dr. Mirisse Dhammika Thero, Head of the Foundation of Buddhism for Youth in Sri Lanka.
Ven. Dr. Mirisse Dhammika Thero is an alumnus of the University of Simon Fraser in Vancouver, Canada, from which he obtained his Doctoral Degree in Education. Ven. Thero has been propagating Buddhism in Canada and other parts of the World for over 30 years.
The four sublime states of mind viz. Love or Loving-kindness (Metta), Compassion (Karuna), Sympathetic Joy (Mudita) and Equanimity (Upekkha) were used as the basis for the Sermon by Ven. Dr. Dhammika Thero. The Ven. Thero elaborated how the laymen can follow these principles in their highly competitive and stressful modern life so that they could develop a sane and peaceful mind and emphasized that proper application of these principles will lead to a peaceful World at the end. The Sermon was followed by an interactive session with the participants where the Ven. Thero answered the questions raised by the very enthusiastic members of the audience. Ven. Dr. Thich Duc Thien, Secretary General of Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha, translated the Sermon to Vietnamese Language and also deciphered the questions and answers during the interactive session.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Parasnna Gamage welcomed the Ven. Dr. Dhammika Thero to Viet Nam and appreciated the patronization of the event by the National Buddhist Sangha of Viet Nam and the management of the Quan Su Pagoda, Ha Noi. Mr. Gamage highlighted the historical aspects of Buddhist cultural relations between Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. He also thanked CEO of Ranfer-Viet Nam Pvt Ltd Thusil Tissera for coordination of the Sermon.
The event was chaired by Vice Chairman of Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha Ven. Thich Thanh Nhieu and attended by Members of Buddhist Sangha of Viet Nam and Nuns, visiting Monks from Sri Lanka, members of the Diplomatic Corps, devotees of Viet Nam and Sri Lankans living in Ha Noi.
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