State President Nguyen Minh Triet broke ground on the 2nd phase of the institute's expansion on May 31, to coincide with Lord Buddha's 2551st birthday. Once completed the institute is slated to provide training and instruction to foreign monks and nuns to fall into line with international norms on the teaching of the religion.
The centre's new face lift to a large extent mirrors Vietnam's Buddhist environment and its position on the world stage in general, with the country's leading authority on Buddhism, the Sangha, having been recently granted the hosting duties for the prestigious United Nations Grand Buddhist Ceremony for 2008.