(VOVWORLD) - The 11th Buddhist Youth Summer Camp themed "Sentiment toward the southwestern region" took place at Phuong Nam Zen Monastery in Can Tho city last Friday involving 1,200 Buddhist youths from 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta.
 The camp involves 120 volunteers (Photo: Le Hoa) |
The camp aimed to inspire the gratitude of youths, students, and Buddhists to grandparents and parents, and respect to the predecessors and those who sacrificed their lives to defend national independence.
It also conveyed a message to protect the green environment in all villages and canals in the southwestern region.
Venerable Thich Thien Thuan, deputy director of the camp’s organizng board, said that preparations in logistics and recruitment of volunteers began early this year.
“The camp is a place for attendees to learn and open their hearts to understand and love each other more. It is different from a course on leading a Buddhist life which would involve stricter discipline. The camp is designed to fit young participants who are active and restless. It offers a comfortable and healthy playground in which to learn about the teachings of Buddhism," he said.
Camp activities included lectures on living a lifestyle inclined to the good, applying the Dharma to one’s life, chanting, and meditation.
A game show called "Dharma Drumroll" helped participants review what they had learned, while team games and rural markets encouraged sharing among campers, learning from each other, and developing teamwork skills.
Camp participants lit candles to pay tribute to martyrs on the 70th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day on July 27.
Many of the organizers and parents noted positive changes in the campers’ behavior and attitudes. They said most of the participants have become more responsible, more responsive to charity activities, more loving toward their family, more helpful to their parents, and more conscious in their behavior.
 An art performance during a camp contest. (Photo: Le Hoa/VOV) |
Final-year student Tran Thanh Truong of Tra Vinh talked to VOV about his first time attending the camp: “The camp offered many interesting activities through which I learned how to live with other people and be more independent than at home. I now feel a greater sense of responsibility and am able to make more mature decisions.”