A palanquin procession to the Hùng Kings Temple this year in Phú Thọ Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — The project 'Road to Hùng Kings’ Kingdom' in VR (virtual reality) has kicked off to spread the UNESCO-recognised practice of worshipping Hùng Kings Day and Vietnamese traditional culture in general.

The Việt Nam Buddhist Sangha, the Cyberspace for Community Health (CCH) and the Laicity Club Joint Stock Company signed an MoU to implement this project, with the support of the UNESCO Office in Việt Nam and the Việt Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA).

This is a special cultural activity to mark the 10th anniversary of UNESCO's recognition of "Hùng Kings worship in Phú Thọ" as the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity (2012- 2022).

Accordingly, during this year, the parties will organise many activities to popularise Hùng Kings' culture, including Buddhism in the Hùng Kings period.

The programme "Road to the Kingdom of the Hung Kings" will be broadcast on An Vien Television, the social networking platforms Butta, Laicity and other media channels of the Việt Nam Buddhist Sangha. It surrounds the history, culture and rituals of Hùng Kings' worship.

Next, the project will also gradually deploy the map of Vietnamese pagodas on the cyber platform; build a profile to honour zen master-herbalist Tuệ Tĩnh as a world cultural celebrity; launching the “Pandemic home physical and mental health nourishment programme."

Most Venerable Thích Đức Thiện, Vice President and General Secretary of the Executive Council of the Việt Nam Buddhist Sangha, said the project aims to preserve and promote the sacred traditional values ​​of the Vietnamese people in the belief of worshipping the Hùng Kings, which has become a profound cultural identity and the principle of patriotism.

In the past two years, social networks proved their effect on cultural and Buddhist activities. People still prayed and joined rituals like Buddha's Birthday celebrations at home.

“So, we believe that the project will strengthen the application of digital technology in the cause of spreading the Buddha’s philosophy. This is also a practical activity to preserve and promote the national cultural tradition, turning culture into a driving force for national development and defence,” he said.

According to the Most Venerable, the Việt Nam Buddhist Sangha will launch a movement to plant medicinal plants on the premises of temples and monasteries and popularise the use of herbal remedies of zen master Tue Tinh to take care of community health.

Historian Lê Văn Lan highly appreciated the initiative to implement the project. He believes that the programmes will contribute to bringing the Hùng Kings' worship to Vietnamese abroad, arousing the national pride and great solidarity of the Vietnamese people in and around the world and educating the young generation's sense of national pride.

He believes that this project will create a cultural space of Hùng Kings in the digital space so that Vietnamese people in any country can still learn about their origins and join a virtual pilgrimage to the land of their ancestors. — VNS