Cúng rằm tháng Tư (full moon of the fourth lunar month offering), lễ Phật đản (Buddha's Birthday ceremony)
- Festivals through the year
- 3 prayer texts
- Offerings and steps
Culture and belief A record of custom.
About this rite: when it is held and for whom
Also called: Phật đản, Lễ Phật đản, Rằm tháng 4
The full moon of the fourth lunar month is the day Buddhists commemorate the birth of the Buddha; Buddhists attend ceremonies at the pagoda, at home they offer flowers, tea, and fruit before the Buddha altar and pray to ancestors as on other full moon days.
- When
- Full moon of the fourth lunar month; Buddha's Birthday week from the 8th to the 15th of the fourth lunar month
- For whom
- Đức Phật Thích Ca Mâu Ni (Shakyamuni Buddha); at home, additionally offer to deities and ancestors as on the full moon day
Prayer text for offering to the Buddha at home on Buddha's Birthday
- Used across Vietnam
- Buddhist
What this prayer says
Prayer text for offering to the Buddha at home on the Buddha's birthday, addressed to Shakyamuni Buddha and recited during the whole ceremony; it praises his compassion, prays for a peaceful and happy world, and vows to follow the path of enlightenment.
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
Fill in before the rite
Regional custom
The prayer below is ready to read.
Showing the version used across Vietnam.
Other texts for Cúng rằm tháng Tư (full moon of the fourth lunar month offering), lễ Phật đản (Buddha's Birthday ceremony)
Versions by region, by tradition and for each part of the rite.
Offerings and how the rite is done
As commonly practised and recorded by the sources. Each family and each region may do it differently.
Used across Vietnam, Buddhist
- When
- Full moon of the fourth lunar month; Buddha's Birthday week from the 8th to the 15th of the fourth lunar month
- Where the offerings are set
- At the pagoda, or before the Buddha altar and the ancestor altar at home
Offerings
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Fresh flowers | |
| Tea | |
| Fruit | |
| Fragrant incense | |
| Offering tray of food | Optional. simple or elaborate depending on each household's circumstances |
Steps
- Attend the ceremony at the pagoda; the Buddha bathing ritual (pouring fragrant water over the statue of the infant Buddha)
- At home: offer incense and flowers, pray before the Buddha altar, then pray to ancestors
More about Cúng rằm tháng Tư (full moon of the fourth lunar month offering), lễ Phật đản (Buddha's Birthday ceremony)
Nhật Nguyệt articles on the rite, the custom and how to prepare.
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Văn khấn cúng lễ Phật đản 2026 (vtcnews.vn)
- Văn khấn lễ Phật đản tại nhà 2023 (hoatieu.vn)
Part of the open dataset Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.Open