At around 7:40 a.m. on May 2, the C-130J-30 military aircraft carrying the relics of Buddha Shakyamuni from New Delhi, India, landed at Tan Son Nhat airport. The flight distance was more than 5,100 km.

The treasure will be brought to the Buddhist Academy in Binh Chanh district for people to worship from 6am tomorrow.

The relics were invited from the plane to the VIP area of ​​the airport for the reception ceremony. The welcoming ceremony was attended by Minister of Ethnic Minorities and Religions Dao Ngoc Dung. Photo: Vietnam Buddhism

Most Venerable Thich Tri Quang, Supreme Patriarch of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, and other monks held a ceremony to welcome the relics of Buddha Shakyamuni at the VIP area of ​​the airport. Photo: Vietnam Buddhism

Outside the airport, many Buddhists carrying Buddhist flags, white chrysanthemums, and lotus flowers waited on Truong Son Street, Tan Binh District.

At 9 o'clock, after the ceremony, the vehicle carrying the relics was led by a special motorbike and followed by more than a dozen cars on Truong Son road towards the Buddhist Academy in Binh Chanh district, nearly 25 km from the airport.

The relics of Buddha Shakyamuni - the national treasure of India, are enshrined at the National Museum in New Delhi. According to Indian diplomatic regulations, the export of Buddha relics is equivalent to a state visit.

Relics of Buddha Shakyamuni. Photo: Vietnamese Buddhism

The relic, which contained part of the skull of the religion's founder, was discovered in Kapilavastu in 1898 by British archaeologist William Claxton Peppe (1852-1937).

In 1997, the Thai Buddhist community and artisans made a gold-plated stupa, topped with 109 grams of gold, to show respect and worship the real relics of the Buddha.

The relics of Buddha Shakyamuni were brought to the Buddhist Academy. Hundreds of Buddhists and monks lined up in two long lines at the academy to receive the treasure.

Buddhists can begin to worship Buddha's relics at Thanh Tam Pagoda (Le Minh Xuan Commune, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) inside the Buddhist Academy from 6:00 a.m. on May 3 to noon on May 8.

On the afternoon of May 8, the relics were brought to the national tourist area of ​​Ba Den Mountain (Tay Ninh). From May 8-21, the treasures will be kept at Quan Su Pagoda (Hanoi) and Tam Chuc Pagoda (Ha Nam) for people to admire.