More than 500 monks, nuns and Buddhist followers gathered at Hoa Khanh pagoda in Binh Thanh district in Ho Chi Minh City on May 5 to celebrate Buddha’s 2,550^th birthday.

Representatives from the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the municipal Department for Religious Affairs, the municipal Fatherland Front and a large number of local people attended the function.

Most Venerable Thich Tan Dat, a representative from the Vietnam Buddhist Shangha, presented three unity houses to poor families, 200 gifts to other social beneficiaries and 100 gifts to outstanding pupils in the locality at a total cost of nearly VND50 million.