Earth Day

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Earth Day

Earth Day –the World Save Day, the “Earth” here has two meanings. The first one is the physical world where there are mountains, rivers, land, sky, oceans, etc. The second one is the human beings who live on the world. So the World Save means to save the natural environments and human beings.

Today, this world faces the various pollution problems which are more dangerous and cause your lives risk to many kinds of dangers such as the air or water pollution. The forest destruction has caused people to meet the storm or flood disasters unexpectedly and lose their properties or even lives in many countries.

From these reasons, a group of people came together to call out the humans to be interested and aware of the importance of saving the world from all natural environment problems. “Save the world” began by the American Senator Gaylord Nelson. He had made the campaign to promote Americans to save the world and many organizations saw the importance of the trend of this campaign. So the World Save Day or Earth Day has been appointed on April 22nd, 1970 and from then on.

After many groups of people had push for 8 years, the religious organizations have also seen the importance of this activity. For Buddhist organizations, the World Buddhist Sangha Youth (WBSY) agreed to appoint every April 22nd to be the World Save Day under slogan “Clean the World Clean the Mind”. This is because the most valuable resource and environment is the humans’ mind. Everyone’s mind should be saved by the Lord Buddha’s Dhamma so that their mind will be pure and free of defilements – greed, lust, anger, delusion. These defilements always manipulate humans secretly and force them to think, speak and do the wrong or evil things. So the doers have got the trouble back endlessly.

Now the Most Ven. Phrathepyanmahamuni (Dhammajayo Bhikkhu), the president of Dhammakaya Foundation and the abbot of Dhammakaya Temple, launched the big project in the national, Buddhist and world histories. It was the 100,000–monk Mass Ordination Nationwide Project. When this project had been appeared to the world and made them happy. Later, Luang Phaw launched another big project that was the 100,000 Upasika Kaew Mass Training Worldwide Project.

These projects were popular and there were many requests to arrange these projects again. So the 500,000 Upasika Kaew Mass Training Worldwide Project was arranged. The latest project was the 1,000,000 Upasika Kaew Mass Training Worldwide Project and the feedback is so good. So in this year, 2011, the temple will arrange the 1,000,000 Upasika Kaew Mass Training Worldwide Project every month.

These are the events that shake the world by the power of merit and peace spreading to the world. These projects will change the societies and humans to be better and they are the Buddhist Ways to get the real peace without exploiting one another. These ways also create the good things which lead the doers to be calm, peaceful, joyful and happy like the Lord Buddha’s teaching that “Don’t do the evil things, do good things and make your mind clear.”

The real enemies of human are not the people who are different in race, religion, language or belief. But the real enemies are all kinds of defilements in humans’ mind. So everyone has to remove the defilements by the Buddhist Ways which are giving, keeping the precepts and meditation to improve one’s mind better continuously. If people do like this, their mind will be better so that they will be ashamed to do bad things and fear the consequences of bad deeds in this life and the next lifetimes. Human beings are the most valuable resource and are the important keys for the world societies’ processions. They also are the center of development to create balances for all beings and environments. From these reasons, Dhammakaya Temple has focused in the human resource development to make the living qualities higher and balance in material and mental developments. This is because whenever people attain Dhamma, they will know at once that the inner peace truly creates the outer peace.

When people from various nationalities, races and religions let their belief down and open their chance to study the truth of life, they will be able to experience the inner peace. They will be changed in the better ways and turn to spread their love and good-willing to other people and beings including the environments. This is the real victory that humans seek all the times. When that day comes, the whole world will be actually saved by Dhamma in humans’ mind.

Summon all Buddhist Communities’ Power to protect and restore our Buddhism

Do the Maha Sangha Dana on the Earth Day for over 20,000 temples across Thailand and cast the Golden Statue of the Most Ven. Phramongkolthepmuni (Sod Candasaro) on Sunday April 22nd, 2012 at Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani province

Two Big Merits on April 22nd, 2012

1. The Maha Sangha Dana Ceremony – Offering alms to over 20,000 temples across Thailand
2. The Ceremony of casting the Statue of the Most Ven. Phramongkolthepmuni (Sod Candasaro) in gold

The Maha Sangha Dana Ceremony
Offering alms to over 20,000 temples across Thailand

The United Nation has appointed every April 22nd as the Earth Day. The objective is the Lord Buddha’s Dhamma saves all human beings and our world to be peaceful.

In this year, Dhammakaya Temple is arranging the Maha Sangha Dana Ceremony for the Buddhists to offer alms to monks from over 20,000 temples across Thailand and monks from 286 temples in four unrest Southern provinces who dedicate their lives to keep the Buddhism there.

The Maha Sangha Dana Ceremony has been arranged on the Earth Day for 10 years and there are hundreds of thousands of monks to be the merit fields in this ceremony and lots of people participate in this ceremony every year as shown in the pictures. Buddhists know that the Sangha Dana is fruitful especially offering to massive monks from over 20,000 temples is very fruitful and is able to support you to make merit and pursue the perfections hoppingly because no one can travel to make merit at over 20,000 temples throughout their lives.

For the Earth Day in this year, we estimate that there are lots of participants as ever and we want you not to miss this good opportunity, so please come to Dhammakaya Temple to make big merit from the Maha Sangha Dana Ceremony together for yourselves and your dead relatives on April 22nd.

Schedule on April 22nd, 2012

09:30 a.m.    Meditation (the morning session)
10:30 a.m.    The Ceremony of giving the support fund for teachers in four unrest Southern provinces in Thailand
11:00 a.m.    The Ceremony of offering meals to the monks as Sangha Dana
01:30 p.m.    Meditation / The Ceremony of offering alms to the monks from over 20,000 temples across Thailand
06:00 p.m.    The Ceremony of casting the statue of the Most Ven. Phramongkolthepmuni (Sod Candasaro) in gold
7:00 p.m.    End / The monks give a Buddha coin for each participant laypeople

For the Earth Day in this year, we would like to invite you all to cast the statue of Luang Pu Wat Paknam, the Most Ven. Phramongkolthepmuni (Sod Candasaro), in pure gold on Sunday April 22nd, 2012 at Dhammakaya Temple.

Translated by Chadawee Chaipooripat