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Special Report: Dhamma Cetiyas
The Ancient Buddhist Scriptures of the World
Due to the auspicious opportunity of H.M. King Bhumiphol’s 84th Birthday Anniversary, Thai government has invited the Dhamma Cetiyas – the ancient Buddhist Scriptures which are older than 2,000 years – from Norway to install temporary in Thailand for Thai Buddhists to worship.
This is an historic event that Thai Buddhists will have a chance to welcome and worship the Dhamma Cetiyas together. The Dhamma Scriptures are the ancient Buddhist Scriptures and older than 2,000 years. Thai government has invited these scriptures from Norway to establish temporary at the Buddhist Museum Building in Buddha Monthon, Nakorn Prathom province to celebrate and glorify since H.M. the King’s 84 Birthday Anniversary. This is the good cooperation between Thai and Norwegian governments and it will be well-fit the relationship between Thailand and Norway. The relationship has been established for over 100 years since H.M. King Rama V had visited Norway for the first time.
Mr. Nopparat Benjawattananun, the Director of Office of National Buddhism, unveiled that the invitation of Dhamma Cetiyas to Thailand in this time is important for Buddhists because these scriptures are widely accepted by the international archeologists and linguists that they are the oldest Buddhist Scriptures in the world. They were found in a cave around the Bamiyan Mountain in Afghanistan before the war. They were located 2 kilometers away from the Buddha Bamiyan which is destroyed by the Taliban government in 2001. The archeologists and linguists had spent 12 years to rearrange these scriptures and presume that they are the Dhammavinaya engraved by the arahants in the 6th century. Now they are collected by Schoyen Collection, University of Oslo in Norway.
When the Dhamma Cetiyas has been opened to worship since November 8th, 2010, about 10,000 total Buddhists including Thai and foreign monks have gone to worship and see the exhibition. So the Office of National Buddhism is preparing to extend the installation time which the previous last day is February 5th, 2011 to be the Visakha Puja Day. The interested people can visit to worship the Dhamma Cetiyas during 8.30 a.m. – 6.30 p.m. everyday.
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