The significance of the Full Moon in the 10th Lunar Month – Tết Hạ Nguyên: This is the final festival in the trio of Tết celebrations throughout the year: Tết Thượng Nguyên (First Full Moon Festival in January), Tết Trung Nguyên (Mid-Year Festival in the 7th month), and Tết Hạ Nguyên (10th month). The 10th lunar month festival has long been deeply rooted in Vietnamese tradition and consciousness. In ancient times, Vietnamese people cultivated only one rice crop each year. As the young grains began to form and the cool breeze of autumn arrived, it marked the time for harvest. At the beginning of the 10th lunar month, people would gather their crops, hold a ceremony to invite their ancestors and the deity of agriculture (Thần Nông), and give thanks for a bountiful harvest.
The Full Moon of the 10th month is regarded as a Thanksgiving. It is an opportunity to express gratitude, honoring the Fourfold Gratitude taught by the Buddha: gratitude towards the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), parents, teachers, and all sentient beings. For Buddhists, the 10th lunar month Full Moon is a time to reflect on gratitude, engage in virtuous acts, nurture compassion, and remember the boundless merits of the Buddhas of the ten directions. It is also a chance to show reverence for the teachings imparted by wise and virtuous teachers. Offerings of incense, fresh flowers, and fruits represent gratitude toward the heavens and the earth, incense fragrance spreading to all directions, offerings to the saints, and appreciation for the newly harvested rice and sticky rice cakes offered to ancestors. These rituals form the spiritual foundation that people experience throughout their lives.
For this reason, Thiền Viện Minh Đăng Quang is organizing a Tết Hạ Nguyên celebration on the Full Moon of the 10th lunar month over two days, offering free vegetarian meals to all attendees.
Detailed Program
Thursday, November 14, 2024 (14th day of the 10th Lunar Month, Year of the Dragon)
- 8:00 PM: Great Repentance Ceremony
- 9:30 PM: Conclusion
- Free vegetarian meal provided
Friday, November 15, 2024 (Full Moon of the 10th Lunar Month, Tết Hạ Nguyên)
- 6:00 PM: Refuge Ceremony (Full Moon of the 10th Month). Please contact the organizing team at 770-638-0589 to register.
- 8:00 PM: Ancestral welcoming ceremony
- 8:00 PM: Sutra chanting, offerings, lantern lighting
- 9:30 PM: Conclusion
- Free vegetarian meal provided