Meditation retreat – from India to Vietnam

Kanha Shanti Vanam (Hyderabad City, India) is known as the largest meditation center in the world, where thousands of tourists each year come to heal both their bodies and soul. There are no forced chants, mantras, or postures. Here everyone will be able to access Heartfulness meditation - a type of voluntary combination of physical, mental, and spiritual factors - to find peace.

Listen to the Dharma talk at the Buddhist Exhibition Center on Ba Den Mountain

Similar to Kanha Shanti Vanam, the city of Bengaluru (India) is famous for its Vishalakshi Mantap center - a meditation hall with a design of lotus petals surrounding it. This is a famous center for meditation sessions, where tourists come to learn meditation and breathing techniques to care for both physical and mental health.

India is just one of many countries that are witnessing a peak of wellness travel, through meditation, yoga, remembrance tours, etc., especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a survey by the Medical Tourism Association, in 2022, 76% of respondents want to spend more on travel to improve their health, and 55% are willing to pay more for psychotherapeutic services and activities.

In Vietnam, although this type of tourism has just been developed, many spiritual sites have also become wellness destinations attracting thousands of Buddhists and tourists from both at home and abroad. In the North, Yen Tu (Quang Ninh) or Fansipan (Lao Cai) are favorite destinations for meditation, yoga, and macrobiotic activities.

Releasing lanterns on the top of Ba Den mountain

Meanwhile, down in the South, Ba Den Mountain is a famous spiritual destination that welcomes many groups of Buddhists and tourists from all over the world for wellness tours. Coming here, tourists not only make pilgrimages and pray for peace at the 300-year-old ancient pagoda worshiping Linh Son Thanh Mau Bodhisattva or admire and pray to the Tay Bo Da Son Buddha and the unique Buddhist exhibition center on the top of the mountain. They also practice chanting, meditating, and reciting mantras to heal body-heart-mind and seek peace.

Going to Ba Den Mountain to heal

“I had an extremely peaceful day with my loved ones reciting toward the Buddha and enjoying the pure energy at Ba Den Mountain. I will forever remember the sacred moment when each member of the group one by one went around the water dish, where a giant sutra carved with the Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra rose to the sky right on the top of the mountain. Since then, my heart has grown more peaceful and with loving emotions,”- Ms. Nguyen Hong Ngoc (Hanoi) shared after a wellness trip in Tay Ninh.

Buddhists chanting at the top of Ba Den mountain

According to Ms. Ngoc, every two or three months, her group participates in a tour of spiritual lands to inspire a positive life, relieve depression, and accumulate peaceful energy. “We have been to Nepal, Inari Mountain (Japan), and Bodhgaya (India). In Vietnam, the sacred high mountains like Fansipan, Yen Tu, especially Ba Den - it is a magical healing destination, where you just come, you will feel happiness and peace in your soul,” said Ms. Ngoc.

Located at an altitude of 986m, Ba Den Mountain is known as the roof of the South with a layer of clouds floating on the top of the mountain with beautiful natural scenery like a fairyland. On the top of the mountain, there is a system of magnificent spiritual works with the tallest statue of Buddha in Asia standing on a lotus, a unique Buddhist exhibition center, and a large square overlooking the panoramic view of the rich green delta.

Tay Bo Da Son Buddha statue (Photo: Nguyen Minh Tu)

With its magnificent beauty and sacred reputation, Ba Den mountain has become a favorite destination for healing experiences such as meditating at the meditation yard at the foot of the great Buddha statue, chanting at the Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra in front of the golden inscription pillar in the center of the square, listening to Dharma talk at the Buddhist exhibition center where 163 Buddha statues are displayed, chanting mantras by the Prayer Wheel, releasing lanterns at the central water dish on the top of the mountain, and so on.

“Since the beginning of the year, Ba Den Mountain has welcomed 3.6 million tourists, including many delegations coming to meditate and chant to balance their body - heart - mind. Not only Vietnamese tourists, but many monks and tourists from Thailand, Cambodia, and even India - countries where Buddhism is prevalent - also choose Ba Den Mountain as a magical healing destination,” said Ms. Dao Thi Viet - Deputy Director of Tay Ninh Sun Joint Stock Company (Sun World Ba Den Mountain).

Monk Kitticed from Chedi Sao Lang temple, the president of Bunianupap Vipassana Retreat Foundation (Thailand), who was leading a group of Thai monks and Buddhists to visit Ba Den Mountain, said: “Ba Den Mountain is a place where not only Vietnamese people but anyone in the world should come. It has a nice view and the atmosphere is so cool. For me, I have gone through meditation, I can feel the sacredness, and peace of mind when coming here, the feeling of being able to release all sorrow and suffering. This is a great place.”

Ba Den Mountain has become a favorite destination for healing experiences

Faced with the pressures of modern life, people often tend to find peaceful destinations. Wellness travel is more and more popular because of that reason. And sacred destinations are now not only a spiritual fulcrum but also a place for people to balance body and mind, to seek true happiness. That also explains why, from India to Ba Den Mountain, the destinations that converge sacred and peaceful energy attract tourists to come back.