Mr. Thach Boi, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, awarded the Certificate of Provincial Historical Relic rating of Lo Gach Pagoda to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Luong Hoa Commune and the monk.

Attending the ceremony were Mr. Thach Boi, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Ms. Kien Thi Thanh Xuan, Vice Chairwoman of the District People's Council; and former provincial leaders, leaders of Chau Thanh District People's Committee, departments, agencies, district unions, Luong Hoa commune, retired officials, People's Committee of Ba Se A hamlet, representatives of Lo Gach pagoda, local relatives and historical witnesses.

Padumavansa Kompong Thmo Temple is a temple rich in revolutionary traditions. During the two resistance wars against France and the US, the pagoda was the place to hold meetings, gather forces to participate in demonstrations, political struggles, and military campaigns; the focal point for communication with revolutionary bases in the province in general and Chau Thanh district in particular, making an essential contribution to the raids on the garrison; nurtured and protected many revolutionary cadres.

In addition, the pagoda is also a solid military backup that provided weapons, medicine, and food for the revolution, frequent face-to-face confrontation, uncovered the plot to divide the Kinh - Khmer - Hoa perfect unity bloc, gaining the trust and support of the people. The great merits of the Padumavansa Kompong Thmo temple monks must be respectfully mentioned, typically including: the great monk Thach Ek, Thach In, Thach Sieu, and the elder monk Son Vong. In particular, the eldest monk Thach Ek was an early revolutionary enlightened person who organized, propagated, and mobilized monks and Buddhists to follow revolutionary ideals and actively participated in political and military-related protests and struggles, which significantly contributed to the battle against the invaders to liberate the country.

Continuing to promote the patriotic tradition, after the liberation day, Padumavansa Kompong Thmo Pagoda is a meeting place for the people, a place to contact voters, and a place to propagate the Party's guidelines, policies and laws of the State to the people. Senior monk, the temple management board always accompanies the local government and people in participating in revolutionary action movements in the locality, actively contributing human and material resources to the construction of the homeland country.

Padumavansa Kompong Thmo Temple (Lo Gachtu Temple).

With these outstanding historical values, on November 21, 2022, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Tra Vinh province issued Decision No. 2256/QD-UBND ranking the Padumavansa Kompong Thmo pagoda as a provincial relic belonging to the local historical monument. That confirmed and spoke to the value and importance of the memorial.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Thach Boi, Deputy Director of Sports and Tourism of the province, shared: To continue preserving and promoting the monument's value, contributing to the propagation and education of cultural and historical traditions for local communities for all classes of people, in the coming time, all levels of Party committees, authorities, and provincial departments, agencies and mass organizations need to strengthen propaganda and education for all classes of people, especially the next generations. Children correctly perceive the meaning, value, and importance, thereby enhancing responsibility in protecting, preserving, and promoting the value of relics, directing and assisting in the effective management, protection, and exploitation of relics associated with tourism development. Furthermore, it is recommended to coordinate with relevant provincial departments and branches in preserving, restoring, restoring, comprehensively, effectively, and long-term promoting the historical and cultural values of the relic in order to propagate and educate the people for present and future generations to learn and follow.

On the part of the monks, Buddhists of the pagoda need to continue to promote the spirit of solidarity, accompany the local authorities in developing the facilities, preserve and manage the relic well, and maintain the excellent organization of religious activities and traditional festivals associated with relics to promote values and meet the needs of religious activities of monks and Buddhists; demand for sightseeing, research, and study of people and tourists inside and outside the province.

Cultural heritage, in general, and monuments, in particular, are valuable assets of the whole people. The preservation and promotion of relics is a critical task in the cultural development strategy, making an essential contribution to the cause of national construction and protection. With the principle of "gratitude is the sign of noble soul," it is hoped that the Padumavansa Kompong Thmo temple will be embellished more and more spaciously, becoming a place of typical historical and cultural value to educate patriotic and spiritual traditions of solidarity, national pride, forging the will and aspiration to build the homeland, the country is increasingly developing and prosperous.

 Đinh Thanh

Hoang Khiem (Translator)