Every year, millions of people make pilgrimages to Ba Den Mountain. Many people consider going to Ba Den Mountain to be a regular thing to find the spiritual and magical fulcrum.
Walking along the large and small streets in Tay Ninh city, many restaurants and vegetarian restaurants are busy. Here, vegetarianism is one of the traditional activities, and Tay Ninh’s art of vegetarian cooking has become a national intangible cultural heritage.
Fasting is just one of many rituals that Tay Ninh people choose to express their beliefs in the typical cultural and spiritual life of the Southern region. With a population of more than 1.1 million people, Tay Ninh has nearly 70% of the population who have faith and put a lot of faith in the sacred and mysterious.
One of the most sacred symbols in Southern beliefs is Linh Son Thanh Mau, worshiped at Ba Den Mountain – representing the Southern Mother’s belief. It can be said that Ba Den Mountain is the birthplace of the custom of worshiping the Mother Goddess in the Southern resident community. This mountain is not only the convergence of the sacred souls of rivers and mountains, but also associated with the magically colored legends of Ba Den 3 times of dream apparitions told through many generations.
Many people wear robes of Guanyin Bodhisattva on their bodies to pray for health and peace
Because of that, the people who come to the ceremony at the Ba Chua complex practice many rituals and ways, hoping to obtain the sacredness from the sacred peaks of the South such as applying robes of Quan Am Bodhisattva on their bodies, collecting water from Ravines, spend the night at the foot of the mountain… The sacredness according to the legend of Ba Den mountain gives them a belief that, just by setting foot in this land, the sacred gas has been spread, permeated, and followed them for a long time. throughout a year of peace and luck.
According to Ms. Pham Thi Anh (Tay Ninh City): “Ba Den Mountain is a sacred mountain, our family always sleeps here at least one night every year to absorb the sacred air of heaven and earth. Blessings for a new year of favorable rain and wind, prosperity and fortune”.
Many people believe that Ba Pagoda is a place where they can “receive a wish to see”, the way to Ba Den Mountain is the way to happiness and peace. And the journey to worship Linh Son Thanh Mau is the journey to hope, belief in the good, and in the mysterious things that are difficult to explain.
The Tallest Buddha statue in Asia is on the top of Ba Den Mountain
Ms. Pham Tuyet Mai (Cu Chi) recounted: “A few years ago, I went to the mountain to cry with Linh Son Thanh Mau because I was so struggling, and asked her for grace. I went to her on the 8th day of the Lunar New Year, and on the 9th, I met him. Now we are husband and wife and we come here every year to thank her.”
Not only paying respect to Linh Son Thanh Mau worshiped at Ba Pagoda, many people choose to go to the top of the mountain to pray in front of the Tay Bo Da Son Buddha statue. Nguyen Van Nam (Binh Duong) shared: “Steping to the top of Ba Den mountain, I felt like I had gone to the land of Buddha. It feels very sacred and majestic.”
The center of the spiritual population on the top of Ba Den mountain
On the top of Ba Den mountain today, there is not only the highest bronze statue of Tay Bo Da Son in Asia, but also a spiritual complex with bold Buddhist colors. The journey to the roof of Southern Vietnam today is therefore also a journey towards wisdom and peace.
If the Buddhist exhibition area with imitations of many Buddhist classics and movie screening about the formation of the universe helps Buddhists expand their wisdom and discover the wonderful world of Buddhism, the Pillar Sutra engraved with the Heart Sutra made of black granite and rising to the sky will help people concentrate and find peace.
The whole space of majestic meditation between clouds and sky with Son Than Temple, Hang Pagoda, Ba Co cave, or Buddha statue entering nirvana in the middle of the cliff facing the vast Dau Tieng lake… helps Ba Den Mountain from a region The land symbolizing the typical Mother-worshiping custom of the Southern people, has now really become a holy land with the interweaving of Buddhism and Mother-worshipping beliefs.
The column of scriptures engraved with the Heart Sutra in black granite is located in the center of the spiritual complex on the top of the mountain
Today, people from all over the world come to Ba Den Mountain not only for the miraculous stories of praying for fate, praying for self, asking for wealth, but also to find true peace, relaxation and happiness in their souls. That is why every year Ba Den Mountain welcomes millions of Buddhists from all over the world on pilgrimage.
In general, from January 1 to January 15 of this year, the total number of visitors to Sun World Ba Den Mountain population increased by 40% compared to the same period in 2022. And not stopping in the early spring days, Ba Den Mountain has always been a destination. It is a sacred destination for people in the South all year round when they need to find spiritual strength or a solid spiritual fulcrum.