On September 4, on behalf of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr. Le Thanh Hai, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee paid tributes to late Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau.
Mr. Le Thanh Hai, wrote in the funeral book, “Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau's passing is a great loss for Buddhism. Elder Venerable Thich Minh Chau devoted his life to the religion and to the nation. He made great contributions in education, training and promoting the positive values of religion, building the Buddhist Sangha in Vietnam, and adding solidarity and good social ethics to building a strong, peaceful Vietnam.”
Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, passed away in Ho Chi Minh City on September 1 at the age of 94.
Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau was born in 1918 in Kim Thanh District in the central province of Quang Nam. His real name was Dinh Van Nam and during his lifetime he played a significant role in unifying Buddhist sects in the country.
He was elected deputy chairman and general secretary of the sangha for three consecutive terms since it was founded in 1981.
He contributed to making many of Buddha's teachings easily understood by ordinary people through translations of the sacred texts from Sanskrit and English languages.
Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau was consecutively elected deputy to the National Assembly from the 7th to the 10th term.
He was presented with a number of distinctions of the Party and the State, including the Ho Chi Minh Order, Second Class Independence Order and Great National Unity Order.
Earlier, the Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong; former Party General Secretary Do Muoi; President Truong Tan Sang; former President Nguyen Minh Triet; Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung; Party State leaders; leaders of the Ministry of Public Security; and leaders of Vietnam and HCMC Fatherland Front Committee sent a wreath and paid tributes to monk Thich Minh Chau.
Many senior leaders of the Party, State, Trade Unions, and hundreds of local residents, monks and nuns, and Buddhist followers paid their last respects to Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau at the Van Hanh Monastery in Phu Nhuan District in Ho Chi Minh City.
Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau will be laid to rest in a stupa at the Van Hanh Monastery after a solemn funeral that will be held on September 9.
