DHAMMAKAYA FOUNDATION United Nations, DPI/NGOs Sincwe w1w9.k8a6l;yaWnFaBm. iWtraFB.oYrg
PUBLISHED BY THE DHAMWIAKAYA FOUNDATION International Relations Department 23/2 Mu 7 Khlong Sam, Khlong Laung Pathum Thani 12120 Thailand Tel. : (+66 02) 524-0257 to 63 ext. 3005, 3006 Fax. : (+66 02) 524-0270 e-m ail: [email protected] Copyright © 1999 by the Dhammakaya Foundation All right reserved. No portion of this book may be without the prior and express written reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without the prior and express written consent of the publisher. Designed by : IMPOWER CO.,LTD. Bangkok, Thailand. Tel. : (+66 02) 71 9-4861. Fax. : (+66 02) 719-4860 Printed by : DOKBIA PUBLISHING Bangkok.Thailand. Tel. : (+66 02) 622-0140-51, Fax. : (+66 02) 622-01 38-9 www.kalyanamitra.org
W L R L D PEACE . ' ‘ - . . . ‘i n n e r p e a c e An inTRODucTion to the W ork of THE DHAmmAKAYA FounDATion BE.2S42 www.kalyanamitra.org
ontents Foreword: Phramonkolthepmuni, Discoverer of Dhammakaya Meditation Foreword: Phrarajbhavanavisudh, President of the Dhammakaya Foundation 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................. 6 Quality of mind : mankind's most precious resource From cradle to grave : Characteristic problems of fulfilment on life's path The Root of Social Problems 3. ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE DHAMMAKAYA FOUNDATION Brief History Provision of Facilities World Dhammakaya Centre 4. OBJECTIVES OF THE DHAMMAKAYA FOUNDATION www.kalyanamitra.org
24 ACTIVITIES OF THE DHAMMAKAYA FOUNDATION ........................................ 26 Ethics and Meditation Training Activities Youth Development Activities Academic Activities Humanitarian Activities Environment Publications and Media Co-operation Case History of the Success of Moral Training Projects From Quality Grew Quantity MAJOR EVENTS ...................................................................... 70 New Year Retreat Festival of Light for World Peace Earth Day Activities Visakha Puja Day World Meditation Day and Female Massed Meditation Retreat for Mother's Day Kathina Day Father's Day and Massed Male Meditation Retreat RECOGNITION ................................................ 78 84 THE FUTURE ........................................................................ 82 INTRODUCTION TO THE BASIC ........................................................................ MEDITATION PRACTICE www.kalyanamitra.org
o r e w o rd Phramonlkolthepmum (1884-1959) Founder of the Dhammakaya Tradition \"When you need happiness, you should allow your mind to come to a standstill. Stopping is the manifestation o f success - it is the real happiness, to which the happiness of no other thing can compare\" v_ www.kalyanamitra.org
■\\ Phfarajtonava.rravisueth (b.1944 ) (illtje Most V'enerabie Dhammajayo Bhik.khu). President of the Dhammakaya Foundation Abbot of Wat Pfira Dhantmakaya \"IFe can blame no-one but ourselves fo r the Thus, meditation is a universal language which allows all members o f the human race to pool the best o f predicament in which we finds ourselves today. The their inner resources o f pure body, speech and mind quality o f our intentions underlies everything we do - a practice harmoniously accessible and tangible in the world. I f our intentions lack purity then the for all irrespective o f religious beliefs or philosophical things we say and do cannot be expected to be pure standpoint. Al the point where through meditation - and this is the root cause o f problematic state o f the inner source o f happiness can be attained, peace the world we know today. and wisdom come together in unity - man will survey his fellow man world-wide with an unending If only we were able to restore our minds to the and limitless compassion fo r all. inner source o f pure happiness, wisdom and knowledge, it would bring purity to our intentions, words and In a nutshell, inner peace is the foundation o f world deeds. Everything we think, say and do would be full peace that we have fo r so long overlooked. I f only o f virtue - inner peace would become our natural the people o f the world could experience inner slate o f being and that peace would spread outwards happiness and peace fo r themselves - from the hearts to those around us and eventually to the world at and minds o f each man to his fellows, peace could large. spread throughout the world - the true and lasting peace fo r which we all await...\" The practice o f meditation fo r mankind is the most effective shortcut by which we can restore the human mind to the inner source o f happiness. Through meditation can the mind gain access to the intuitive wisdom that is the source o f pure intention. The influence o f pure intention will allow our natural virtues to manifest themselves fo r the benefit o f the world around us as virtuous deeds and words. j www.kalyanamitra.org
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Q UALITY OF MIND : MANKIND'S MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE O ur lives have been transformed through the triumphs of modern technology. Even though the progress of science and technology has brought convenience to life, severe problems have arisen as side-effects. As the rate of progress in science and technology has increased, lasting happiness has become proportionately elusive. The pressure of material progress has left many wondering whether there ought to be something more to life. We cannot deny that social problems are accelerating in their degree of severity to the extent that the judicial system can hardly keep up. The rising incidence of crime has led to incalculable social damages the financially calculable components of which include our national budgets to finance the prosecution system: police, the judges, courts of law and the prisons - all of which deal with only the symptoms of the problem but leave the root cause of the problem to worsen. It is well known that manifest behaviours originate from our inner intentions, i.e., from the mind. If our intentions are wholesome, the manifestations of those intentions as thought, word,and deed will be wholesome too. If our intentions are unwholesome, then it is no surprise that unwholesome thoughts, words and deeds become manifest in our society of today. The cultivation of whole someness in society has to start with cultivation of the mind that is the source of all our intentions. Yet, only when the forests became scarce did we think to protect the integrity of the environment, Only when smog covered our cities did we think to campaign for clean air. As with many of mankind's most precious resources, we only missed them when they're gone - when it's already too late. Nowadays we cannot deny that modern values are eating into the very root of our being and the disarray of modern society is trying to tell us that we are neglecting the most important human resource of all - the quality of the human mind itself. The quality of the human mind is the root of human happiness. It is the root of innate wisdom and the potential for harmony and peace in the world. In order to raise the quality of the human mind there are two major components which are (a) the instilling of human virtue; and (b) the practice of meditation to purify the mind. If either virtue or meditation is absent, then the quality of the mind will deteriorate until the eventual result will be the search for fulfilment in unwholesome ways - the origin of the social problems rife in society today. F ROM CRADLE TO THE GRAVE : CHARACTERISTIC PROBLEMS OF FULFILMENT ON LIFE'S PATH O n the pathway of life the different ages of man place different demands on his strength of character. If the mind is in bad shape, lacking the flexibility to change and the insight brought by meditation, it is unlikely that people will have sufficient virtue to cope with the social situations they meet as a part of their everyday lives. Lacking virtues, problems arise - and the resulting spectrum of social ills manifests itself differently according to each person's age and social position allowing certain generalizations to be made. Schoolchildren The special problem experienced by modern schoolchildren in the search for fulfilment is that ethics and morality have disappeared from the classroom. Modern curricula have become so crowded that the only remaining subjects are the vocation ones - theschoolchildren find no comfort in trying to overcome the moral vacuum in which they find themselves. State education authorities in many parts of the world have always attempted to develop their moral curricula, but because these curricula have never been widely implemented, purely academic content has come to fill the students' timetables. The common sense of the modern day schoolchildren has no moral dimension. The virtues which schoolchildren need but are lacking are respect, self-discipline and patience. Often children of the modern day are spoiled to the degree that they have become irresponsible towards others in society. D II A M M A K A Y A n www.kaly'anI0aI NmD AiTtIrONa.org
Students The special problem experienced by modern students in the search for fulfilment, is to keep educate their moral discretion in pace with i their academic knowledge - especially at a time of life when new n found independence leaves them vulnerable to the toll of trial and n error. Like a sword without a scabbard, knowledge can be dangerous e if it doesn't go hand in hand with virtue. The logistical difficulty in teaching morality to students, even on an extracurricular basis is r that knowledge alone is not sufficient for young people to gain an p understanding of morality and its applications. Like many subjects which are inconvenient to teach, virtue is usually neglected E altogether. The result is to leave students morally unprepared when A tempted by such social vices as alcohol, drugs, premarital sex, C extravagance, aggression and neglect of their studies. E Householders and professionals Professionals have their own special problems arising again from a lack of virtue in their lives. In the workplace these often equate with reduced working potential, conflict with colleagues, poor concentration on the task in hand, faulty judgement in risk situations, and bias by greed, hatred and delusion. The outcome of falling under the influence of one's weaker side means that however much money the professional earns it is never enough to satiate his acquisitive appetite - he becomes physically worn by the urge to work beyond his means - and all of these exacerbate the weakening of family bonds. D II A M MA K A Y A www.kalyanJaL m' FOiUtNrI)aAT.Io0 Nrg
Senior Citizens i Never far from the concerns of the more senior citizens in society is courage in the n face if coming of death. Many old people are n uncomfortable with the approach of death e and for some, fear paralyses any hope of r happiness in the twilight of their lives. For others, the fear of death is not so serious as p the fear that their close relatives and friends E will neglect them in their later life. Some old people, instead of coming to terms with death and preparing their lives and minds for the inevitable, bury their heads in the sand by taking refuge A in material comforts or grandchildren. C Monastic Community Monastics are a special but particularly important group for world society -- a special component E of society with its own special needs. In many places, the monastic community has only limited access to the opportunities for education. In many places, the monastic standards of discipline are unclear and meditation is little understood or practiced. The results of neglect of opportunities to develop the monastic community is that monks do not have sufficient competence to give advice on the everyday-life problems of lay-people or to teach the general public about the real path to improve the quality of their own minds. I)H A M M A K A V \\ _ www.kaly^anF(aII NmD AiTtIr0 a\\ .org
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X HE root of social problems M any blame the scarcity of lasting happiness on the disarray of modern culture. Family breakdown, violent crime, suicide, deterioration of education, neglect of the aged, reliance on the welfare state and corruption are just some of the social ailments found all around the world. Some blame the changes of social attitudes and values that have given rise to double standards, separation of church and state, individualism or materialism. Often, however, we fail to see the connection between such problems and the neglect of our own minds. Most of us would recognize that our minds are in bad shape. We notice the stress and tension in our minds and realize that this must certainly not be the natural state of our minds. Looking for a scapegoat, we blame the problems of our mind on the social problems around us. However, according to the Buddhist approach, the mind is the starting point of all things. If our minds are in bad shape it means that we are lacking the practice of virtue and meditation. To blame mental problems on society is to put the cart before the horse because we believe that social problems arise because the mind is in poor shape and not the other way round. Improving the quality of the mind is clearly our first priority in the improving the social situation. Happiness and social harmony go hand in hand. As we have mentioned, the happiness on which social harmony depends can only come about where virtue and meditation are practiced in combination. www.kalyanamitra.org11D H A M M A KAY A FOUNDATION
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X aming the mind to raise its quality Meditation is a legacy passed down from the wisdom of the ancients. The ancients recognized the need to preserve the quality of the mind and placed more importance on this than on finding material prosperity which has benefit limited to this life time because however materially prosperous we are, we cannot take it with us when we have to leave this world. w hen Sir Isaac Newton discovered the centre of gravity in our physical body, little did he know that the same point is also the key point in the uplifting of the quality of the mind discovered over two thousand years earlier by the ancients of India. In those days of old, anyone who wanted to upgrade the quality of their minds would focus their attention inwardly at this point, training the mind to concentrate within instead of being caught up in the things of the world around him. Reduction of the quality of the mind occurs whenever man's attention is caught up with the things around him. The longer the mind stays outside the body and the further it drifts away, the more suffering and troubles it will bring back to its owner. Some men are so concerned about their business or about their family, that their mind knows nothing but unrest. Only if they can manage to bring their mind back to their body from the outside world can they possibly escape from all their stress and anxiety. The starting point for Buddhism, as religion to help the suffering of living being is to offer a practice for us to train ourselves to allow the mind to return from outside our bodies back inside ourselves. This is why Buddhism has become so closely linked to the practice of meditation. There are many well-known methods of meditation of which the most common is the technique of following the breath. The focus for the mind in this case is something physical - the breath. This is the linking factor that gradually reduces the amount of time the mind spends drifting around outside the body until with practice the mind will spend more time inside the body than outside. The founding meditation master of the Dhammakaya Tradition discovered that the mind becomes peaceful whenever it rests at the centre of the body, and so the giving rise to the meditation principal of employing the gentlest of effort or the power of the imagination to allow the mind to come to a standstill at the centre of the body. Such internalizing the mind sets in motion a process of mental refinement. www.kalyanamitra.org13t>IIA M M A KAYA FOUNDATION
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The key difference between a mind under the sway of thoughts and the mind that has come to standstill is that the latter consumes virtually no metabolic energy. When your mind starts to come to rest it used less energy; when it uses less energy, the metabolism is less; when the metabolism is less, the oxygen consumption is less; with less oxygen consumption, the breath is less. With less breath, like the ocean unruffled in the absence of any breeze, the mind will come to a firmer standstill; when the mind comes to a firmer standstill, the number of thoughts are reduced. This cycle will continue until no thoughts remain. When no thoughts arise any more and the breath is subtle - at that stage Inner Light will arise. At that time the breath seems to have stopped -- because your bodily metabolism is so subtle that it is barely noticeable. At this point brightness inside will start to occur. It is this inner brightness by which you can gain insight into the affairs of the world because in the same way that the camera held still can get a clearly focussed picture of the world, the mind that is still and radiant will be able to consider the world objectively instead of being caught up in the blur of shifting events in the world. Thus, clarity of understanding and the wisdom to deal with social problems are the transforming factors by which meditation can make a positive contribution to world peace. Y IRTUE, MEDITATION AND THE QUALITY OF MIND F or a healthy, living human being, body and mind must be in harmony. To maintain harmony the mind must stay inside the body; but even so, most people in the modern world are so concerned about the external affairs of the world that they let their attention and therefore their mind drift, out of control, outside their bodies for most of the time. Their minds and bodies go out of harmony and the quality of the mind suffers as a result. The function of virtue, fueled by meditation, is the inroad into the uplifting of the quality of mind and is the key to setting in progress a natural process of mind that will allow the mind to reach towards greater quality. The function of meditation is to give the practitioner sufficient inspiration to work on himself, performing sufficient virtue as part of his everyday life until he reaches the point where the quality of his mind really improves for the better. www.kalyanamitra.org15D H A M M A K A Y A F0 U N D AT I
Phrarajbhavanavisudh, the Abbot was working on the land in 1970 (the first establishment) & r J t& k - OF THE DHAMMAKAYA FOUNDATION www.kalyanamitra.org
B RIEF HISTORY n the midst of the daily rush and bustle demanded by modern metropolitan life has grown up a unique cultural centre to encourage and awaken people to the transformation that can be wrought by people in their own lives when they emphasize the inner spiritual aspect of human life rather than the material one. Where in society can one look for somewhere to slow the pace and set the example of life that has more to it than a headlong gallop after material prosperity in life? Such an oasis that quenches the thirst of those in quest of the higher things of life is Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Pathumthani, Thailand, the headquarters of the Dhammakaya Foundation. Situated only sixteen kilometres north of Bangkok International Airport, Wat Phra Dhammakaya is more than just temple buildings. It is a community that exemplifies a culture of peace and non -violence where meditation comes first and material concerns are put to one side. Here closer to nature and with an emphasis the first thing the visitor will notice on arriving at the temple is the self-discipline and cleanliness that form part of a culture that turn the mind inwards a higher quality and potential. The hub of culture for the improvement of the quality of the mind is the practice of meditation. The Dhammakaya Foundation arose in Thailand in an era of cultural turbulence brought about by a generation who were embracing the new (and primarily material) culture without sufficient cultural analysis to realize the values of the old culture which should be cherished and adapted to the modern era. From it inception the fundamental goals of Dhammakaya Foundation have been to initiate and perpetuate the lasting world peace through facilitating a higher level of the human mind.This is accomplished by re-establishm ent of the spiritual teachings of moral developm ent among children and adult. It has long been known among the earnest meditators that the quality of the human mind is the root of innate wisdom and T the potential for harmony IM ( and peace in the w orld. At the outset, and at many times during its history, the leaders of the tradition emphasized prim arily on to preserve the Dhammakaya Tradition: a trad ition of meditation rediscovered through the dedication of the late meditation master Phramonkolthepmuni (1884- 1959). Because of the need of the modern generation for guidance on adaptation of tradition values to modern society, the Dhammakaya Foundation has expanded its activities to a wider varieties in response to a social need to return to its ethical roots and rediscover the culture of meditation and virtue needed to upgrade the consciousness of our society. The Dhammakaya tradition in our era started in 1919 when the Great Abbot of Wat Paknam (Phramonkolthepmuni) strove with a determination to the degree that he was prepared to lay down his life and re-discovered the highest wisdom of meditation. Meditation, previously considered nothing more than a mental exercise or spiritual austerity, became popular through this master's dedication to teaching and research in the Dhammakaya Tradition he has rediscovered. The Great Abbot's most gifted disciple was a nun, Khun Yay Upasika Jan Kohn-nok-yung) After the passing of Phramonkolthepmuni, his leading disciple and protegee Khun Yay Upasika Jan Kohn-nok-yung(b. 1909) inherited the task of perpetuating the Dhammakaya Tradition and taught at her own small house at Wat Paknam Basicharoen until the number of students exceeded the space available. Khun Yay's group moved to the present site of Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathumthani, Thailand in 1970. There they started the challenging task of reclaiming barren paddy fields and re-establishing the woodland that today makes Wat Phra Dhammakaya famous as a haven for meditation practice and training. l) IIA M M A K A V A www.kaly-!a•* nFOaUNmDATitIrONa.org
The Dhammakaya Foundation itself was established on 20 February 1970. Buildings were kept to a minimum and emphasized finesse, easy maintenance, cleanliness and durability. The foundation stone for the main chapel laid by H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on behalf of H.M. the King in December 1977 marked the official foundation of the centre as a temple. In the present day Khun Yay's leading students have ordained and are respectively Abbot and Vice-abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya (President and Vice-president of the Dhammakaya Foundation) namely: Phrarajbhavanavisudh (Ven. Dhammajayo Bhikkhu) (b. 1944) and Phrabhavanaviriyakhun (Ven. Dattajeevo Bhikkhu) (b.1941). While the temple was under construction, the Dhammadayada ordination programme gave training to hundreds of university students, a steadily increasing number of whom swelled the number of residents in the temple community, numbering 652 monks and 263 novices, Phramonkolthemmuni Phrarajbhavanavisudh Phrabhavanaviriyakhum a 116 laymen and 359 laywomen in the present day. At the same time congregations on Sundays and major religious festivals grew steadily over the course of twenty-nine years to the order of 100,000 necessitating the construction of the first thatched and later Great Sapha Dhammakaya Flail, presently the centre for ceremonies. Although recognizing the importance of constructing facilities, the Foundation has always put people and their training first. Thus, during more than quarter of a century since the establishment of the Foundation, its activities have attracted devotees both Buddhist and non- Buddhist alike, from Thailand and all over the world. The pioneering work of the Dhammakaya Foundation has addressed the spiritual needs of modern society by using novel combinations of old and new. Modern technology has been applied to present traditional teachings in a way that responds to the need expectations of those in contemporary society. Modern administrative practices have been applied to the traditional charitable framework of and monastic community alike that has a scope much broader than that usually possible for traditional temples. In 1986, the Dhammakaya Foundation was accepted as a member of World Fellowship of Buddhist and World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth. In August 1986, the Dhammakaya Foundation became the United Nations- accredited Non Governmental Organization (NGO) associated with the Department of Public Information (DPI). I) II A M M A KA V A www.kalyanamitra.org
P ROVISION OF FACILITIES W O w ith the steady increase of interested public coming to study meditation and culture R for the raising of the quality of the mind, the Dhammakaya Foundation has led the way in L the provision of purpose-built facilities to allow meditators to learn how to practice in some D degree of convenience, even though the numbers who come to practice at any one time may reach the 200,000 mark. Unlike many other contemporary Thai temples the provision P of parking space has been planned from the outset. Despite the size of the congregation, E the facilities provided are designed to complement the natural environment, and at the A headquarters there has been an extensive reforestation of once acidic and infertile land to C create a cool and refreshing environment amenable for meditation. The headquarters of the E Dhammakaya Foundation has been designed with a covered capacity of 300,000 and open- air capacity of 1,000,000. i From the temple's origins, thirty years of dedicated effort and altruism by like-minded n volunteers, has transformed the original eighty-acre plot of land into a world centre for n education in meditation and morality. Developing such a centre will allow like-minded people e to come together from around the world with co-operation as the watchword in raising the quality of mind for all people throughout the world. r p This centre, known as the World Dhammakaya Centre (W.D.C.) is a project of multinational significance. Not only a centre of education, but for liaison and exchange, W.D.C. will E enable national boundaries and time-zones to be transcended so that the peace-loving A peoples of the world can practice meditation and cultivation together even though they may C be separated by thousands of miles. E www.kalyanamitra.org19DIIAMMAKA YA FOUNDATIO
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ORLD DHAMMAKAYA CENTRE O n its present 800 acres site, WDC will comprise the Great Sapha Dhammakaya Assembly Hall (the largest spiritual assembly hall in the world), the Phramonkolthepmuni Vihara, and the Maha Dhammakaya Cetiya: the peace-dome stupa for the third millennium. The Phramonkolthepmuni Vihara Luang Phaw Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen (Phramonkolthepmuni) is nationally respected in Thailand as a great meditation master who has studied and practiced according the principles of the Lord Buddha until being able to verify for himself the core of reality and purity. He was able to teach others until they too were able to verify the Teachings of the Lord Buddha in his footsteps, until they were free of any remaining doubts. Luang Por Wat Paknam sacrificed all worldly interests and overcame all obstacles in order to pass down to today's generation the Dhammakaya tradition of practice, that the people of the world might attain inner peace for themselves. The discovery and teaching that Luang Por Wat Paknam pioneered is of incomparable importance because it is a practical means by which the people of the world may co-operate for peace on Earth. On Magha Puja Day 1994 students of the Dhammakaya Tradition cast a statue of the founder in solid gold as a token of their gratitude for his legacy and the Phramonkolthepmuni Vihara has been designed as the permanent home for this treasure. Besides allowing access to the general public the Vihara will incorporate a museum of the history of Vijja Dhammakaya and a venue for related media presentations. The Great Sapha Dhammakaya Hall Right from the start in the building of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, the pioneers intended to create a haven for Dhamma practice, as a refuge of peace to a tormented world. The exemplary practice of that small group of devotees in the early days inspired the faith of an increasingly large number of people, and in a short time the congregation grew from a hundred people to a thousand necessitating the construction of a large meditation hall to accommodate the crowd. In those days the meeting hall was Jatumaharajika Pavillion, large enough to accommodate 600 people and considered large for its size in those days. The congregation continued to increase so that the congregation overflowed from the new hall, some to sit outside in tents, others to meditate under the surrounding trees. From a congregation of a thousand, within the short space of less than ten years, the number had grown to ten-thousand and in the year of 1985, the first Sapha Dhammakaya Hall, a temporary structure, roofed with thatch, was built in an attempt to keep up with the growth of the congregation, miraculously swelling in numbers from ten thousand to a hundred thousand in the space of a decade. As the congregation by the hundreds of thousands flock to learn meditation at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, the facilities to accommodate such large numbers had become overcrowded. Even with the building of temporary structures for the conducting of open-air ceremonies, wind, rain and strong sunlight fail to add convenience to lives of the numerous temple goers. Thus was born the idea to build the Great Sapha Dhammakaya Hall offering facilities unique that allow people of the world to meditate together, by the hundreds of thousands in surroundings that are cool peaceful and amenable to attaining the Dhammakaya - the body of enlightenment. The building is now a major educational resource for society, as a site for morality training courses for schoolchildren, students and the general public such as the Summer Dhammadayada Training and mass ordination programme. Sapha Dhammakaya Hall is the site of training courses in morality for both for civil service and for the private sector - positively contributing to society both knowledge and virtue for the benefit of the nation and the world. wwDHwAM.MkAKaAYlAya21naFOmUNDiAtTrIOaN.org
w 3DSE o R L D P m m 'm Em A - A S' , •< • C E i n Mass Orditation of 13,842 Novices on Magha Puja Day 8 February 1998 n e The Hall has already been used many times by the monastic community for the holding of monastic r meetings and conferences. p In order that Sapha Dhammakaya Hall covers an area of over forty acres (312,984 square metres) and E has available utilizable space of 540,376 square A metres. The structure can accommodate 300,000 people and provide various services from points of C the perimeter of the training zone, incorporating a E permanent structure with a concrete floor and steel- girder infrastructure. The Maha Dhammakaya Cetiya The Maha Dhammakaya Cetiya is the dome-shaped pagoda enshrining with one million Buddha images both inside and surrounding dome surface. The purpose of the construction is to be the focal landmark of the open-air congregation site. The cladding steps of the Cetiya will be designed for congregation of 10,000 monks. The surrounding grounds will be able to accommodate 1 million people of the world for spiritual activities contributing to world peace. www.kalyanamitra.orgD 11AM M A KA 22 F O U N D A T I O N
The ground breaking of the Maha Dhammakaya Cetiya w was on 8 August 1994, with the Driving of the Initial Foundation pile witnessed by 100,000 people around o the country. When completed, the Maha Dhammakaya Cetiya will have a diameter of 194.4 metres and a height R of 32.4 metres. The surrounding grounds will occupy L one square kilometre. The construction is on target for D the beginning of the year 2000. P E A C E i n n e r p E A C E I) II A MMA K A 1 \\ www.kalya\"•JnFaOUmNDiAtTrIOaN .org
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0 BJECTIVES OF THE DHAMMAKAYA FOUNDATION W © The objects and purposes of the Dhammakaya Foundation are to promote r social harmony through the practice of meditation - to promote in world society l a culture of virtue and morality irrespective of gender, race, language or religion and © belief. Objects and purposes of the Dhammakaya Foundation include: A C 1 E To provide the facilities for the teaching i of meditation and the study of culture for n n world peace. e 2 r p To create virtue in society by instilling E morality with special emphasis on the A C younger generation. E 3 To promote the recognition and praise of those of exceptional virtue in society. 4 To produce media and printed materials to promote culture for peace social harmony, virtue and morality. 5 To provide humanitarian services. wD wIIAMwM A.KkA VaA ly25anamitra.org
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A CTIVITIES OF THE DHAMMAKAYA FOUNDATION w R ealizing that irrespective of age or walk of life, no person is in any less need than the 0 next for the means by which to raise the quality of his mind, The Dhammakaya Foundation organizes activities throughout the year in order to instil the virtue in modern society that R will uplift everyone's quality of mind towards the potential for harmony and world peace L that everybody is seeking independent of age, nationality, language or social class. During D more than quarter of a century since the establishment of the Foundation, its activities have P attracted devotees both Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike, from Thailand and all over the E world. Activities organized by the Dhammakaya Foundation include meditation teaching A and retreats, scriptural education and research, youth training, school orientations, training C for householders and professionals, academic scholarship, humanitarian services, E environmental conservation, and co-operation with other like-minded organizations at home and abroad in a variety of projects to serve society. i n wl>8wVM MwA K.AkTAa2ly7aFen»f:aVBmUfOitSra.org n e r P C .b
w o R L D P E A C E i n n e r Meditation instruction for all-comers is given every Sunday to a congregation of approximately p 10,000 people in Sapha Dhammakaya Hall. On Sunday afternoons, a sermon is given on topics relevant to everyday life. On the first Sunday of the month, supporters travel from all parts of E the country swelling the congregation to 30,000 - 50,000 with life broadcast of meditation A instruction to branch meditation centres around the globe. The major religious festivals such C as Magha Puja Day, Visakha Puja Day and Kathina Day annually draw a congregation of 70,000 to 150,000. To present the number of participants joining Sunday activities and major religious E events have total approximately one million per year. www.kalyanamitra.orgDHAMMAKAYA 28 FOUNDATION
w o R L D P E A C E Those with more free time at the weekends n have the opportunity to join residential e m editation retreats in the Dhammakaya Foundation's meditation village for three days r over the weekend. Such retreats incorporate p the self-imposed austerity of staying under a E simple mosquito net umbrella and eating only two meals a day. The simple lifestyle and accommodation used throughout the course has provided a welcome alternative to the luxury temptations of modern society. The number of such retreatants totals 100,000 annually. www.kalyanamitra.orgDHAMMAKAYA 29 F0 l'S D A T 1O N -tall: jsiU
w o R P E A C E i n Week-long Retreats n The training of the mind to achieve inner peace requires continuity of training. A seven-day e meditation retreat has been organized as a temporary relief from normal, routine commitments r to return to natural surroundings. The programme is usually held in holiday destinations such as Chiangmai or Phuket rather than at the temple headquarters. Such retreats have proved p very popular with those from Thailand and abroad from all walks of life. Annually, 5,000 E participants attend such courses and the progress made in meditation by participants has been a noticeable measure of their success. A C E II IIA M M A h A I A „ „ www.kalyan4a?mP OitOrDaAT.oI0 'r■g
Ethics & Meditation Training Courses for Public and Private Sectors w Apart from individual retreats for the general congregation, the Dhammakaya Foundation has 0 also been commissioned by organizations in the public and private sectors to give seven- day training in applied m orality and meditation for the benefit of their employees. R L The courses have emphasized the cultivation of sound mind, responsibility and altruism. D The Thai Forestry Commission, for example, held 22 training courses, each two months long, P for 2,000 rangers nation-wide. The courses then were extended to the executive levels. There E are many other sectors which have sent their staff for sim ilar training : A C E i n p p C E wDIw1AMwMAK.AkYaA l3y1anamitra.org
I) II A M M A K A V A www.kalyanamI0 iItSrI)aAT.1o0 Nrg
Teacher Training in ethics With the importance of consciousness- raising for teachers to be a good exemplars of morality for their students, Wat Phra Dhammakaya and the corresponding organization have held more than 10 morality training courses for teachers each year since 1991. The Police Officer Training There were 9 training courses, each with more than 200 participants, continuously through the year. In addition, the Department of Education of the National Police Bureau, together with Dhammakaya Foundation held the Ethics Development Programme for higher rank police include head of police station. Judicial Staff There was nation-wide morality training course for judges in Chiangmai, Thailand, for 7 days. In addition, many other departments from the government and the private sectors received training, including the Highway Department, the Customs Department the National Police Bureau, teachers, nurses, soldiers, public corporation employees from the Thai Airways International, and from the private sector as the Central Department Store and the Land & House Pic. www.kalyanamitra.org
w 0 R L D P E A C E Upasikaratanam (Female Lay - Follower) Ordination Programme i The programme was organized to commemorate the Thai National Mother's Day and to dedicate merit to Her Majesty the Queen of Thailand on the auspicious occasion of Her n Majesty's birthday on 12 August 1998. The retreat was first held from 7-9 August 1998. There n were nearly 200,000 female participants, comprising Thai nationals from every profession and their overseas counterparts from such countries as the U.S.A., France, Japan, Taiwan, e Hong Kong, Australia and Belgium. From a survey, it was found that the event helped to r consolidate moral values. Participants willingly renounced all forms of modern convenience and opted for a simple lifestyle observing Eight Precepts and meditating for up to six hours p per day. E A C E www[>I.IkAMaMAlKyAYaA n34amitra.org
The programme is organized to commemorate the Thai National Father's Day and to dedicate i merit to His Majesty the King on the auspicious occasion of His Majesty's birthday on 5 December 1998. In 1999, 100,000 male lay-follow ers joined the programme from 29-31 n January 1999. Another 100,000 female lay-followers who were inspired by the programme n e also joined the event. r p E A C E www.kaly3a5namitra.org
Dhammakaya Foundation has always emphasized youth development. To do our best to f ill the ethics vacuum experienced by children growing up in an increasingly secular and materialist society, ) we provide te ac h in g on meditation and ethics to youth either in the classroom or as extracurricular activities. Ethics & Meditation Courses for School and Colleges The courses give 3-7 day residential orientation in ethical living and meditation for children and teachers alike - sometimes for entire schools at a time. The previous studies have shown that most students who joined these courses improved significantly their behaviour, by for example, exhibiting more responsibility. Approximately 25,000 school students throughout the country have received such training annually. D H A M M A K A Y A r)C www.kalyanamitra.org-------^ F O U N D A T I O N ---------
Mobile Ethics Studying Programme p| e In order to fill the lack of ethics teachers in school, the Dhammakaya Foundation send ^ trained volunteers and monks to teach meditation and ethics for secondary school students p in Greater Bangkok. This is a weekly programme which has a modern methodology attractive to students. At present, there are more than twenty academic institutions participating in A this activity. C E 37 F ttE X E».%T tO !t www.kalyanamitra.org
38 www.kalyanamitra.org
w o R L D P E A C E Summer Camp i n During the summer vacation, the younger generation has an opportunity to join a summer camp organized by the Dhammakaya Foundation. Participants receive training on peaceful n community living and discover for themselves the value of basic virtues such as responsibility, e altruism, punctuality and generosity. The camp also provides meditation training applicable r to study and life. p E A C E www.kalyanamitra.org
w 0 R L D P E A C E i ht r o u g b 1 n n Youth Training in Creative Development e These courses for 11-14 year olds is aimed to develop good manners and skills in creativity, r leadership and teamwork in through the development of moral discretion. The courses directly address the child's dilemma of how to apply ethical teachings to the modern classroom p environment of technological progress and competition. As part of their activities, the children play specially designed computer games that teach about virtue. E A C E wwwI)IIA.kM MaA KlAyYaA -n4.0_aTmoTivtr\\ati.oovrg
u tr iik ifcl Av \" ■ M 'rff C Jfc r. 2 w o R L D P E A C E National Dhamma Quiz Contest i The Dhamamakaya Foundation in co-operation with the International Buddhist Club have n arranged a yearly peace and ethics education curriculum which incorporates a quiz contest for schoolchildren, university students and military/police cadets. The curriculum content is based on the Thirty-eight Blessings of Life (the Buddhist Mangala Sutta) and enters its eighteenth year in 1999. The course was readily accepted and was willingly adopted as an extra-curricular activity by many students and instructors around Thailand. Studies culminate in an examination of morality knowledge. In 1998, over 1,650,000 contestants from more than 5,000 academic institution nation-wide competed in the contest at eighteen age and vocational levels. More than 600,000 certificates for those who pass the exam and more than 3,500 educational scholarships were awarded. A special incentive for participants in the programme is the royal patronage for the first-prize winners in each of the 18 categories - plaques of distinction are provided by their majesties the King and Queen of Thailand and other members of the Thai Royal Family. Every year students from all main religions voluntarily participate in the training and quiz contest. The unity of children of different religious backgrounds studying the same morality course is one small step forward for the global ideal of world peace and inter-cultural harmony. Studies carried out each year prove conclusively that participants in the programme developed higher moral and ethical character than those non-participants. Research has shown dramatic positive behavioural change in the lives of these young people. www.kalyanamitra.org
w o R L D P E A C E h h i University Buddhist Club n Realizing the need for students to have sufficient moral knowledge to match their academic n knowledge, the Dhammakaya Foundation has encouraged students to organize their own e Buddhist activities on campus by giving co-operation and support to the association of university Buddhist societies in Thailand known as the International Buddhist Club. The r Dhammakaya Foundation provides free of charge to the International Buddhist Club, the resources and facilities requested by the students for them to be able to organize activities p for their own student populations. E A C E wwwDHA.MkMaAKlAyYAan42amitra.org
Dhammadayada Training and Mass Ordination w The Dhammadayada Training Programme was the prototype training course to round off o undergraduate students' (age 20-35) academic knowledge with spiritual and ethical practice. Such a taste of ordained life for students instils a respect for morality which stays with them R even when returning to their regular lives in society. L D The Dhammadayada Training Project created the opportunity to teach ethics and meditation, by relating it to real life situations and contexts through a total environment of ethics to which P trainees must adapt their own character. The hands-on experience of students in Thailand E and abroad has become particularly widespread as the result of the Dhammadayada Training A and Mass Ordination Programme. C E As such, The Dhammadayada training can be said to be the foundation of an ethics and humanitarian society. In 1999 the course enters its twenty-seventh year and in the present h day, Dhammadayada Training courses are available for other groups including * Young Dhammadayada -for schoolchildren of the 9-15 age-group, i * Youth Dhammadayada - for students of 16-19 age-group, * Special related courses are available to trainees from the army, navy, civil service and n n private sector. e r www.kalyanamitra.org p E A c E
Since 1986, the Dhammadayada Training has extended to female school children and university students. The courses are of 1-2 month duration during the university summer vacation. Besides training in discipline, ethics, meditation, precepts and austere practices like thaf of the gentlemen's1Dhammadayada training, participants will also help organize an ordination ceremony of the Male Dhammadayada training participants. www.kalyanamitra.org
The Dhammakaya Volunteers for Global Ethics w The Dhammakaya Volunteers programme gives students, civil servants and the general public o an opportunity to render invaluable assistance to various activities of the Dhammakaya Foundation by becoming regular volunteers. R L Over the course of the past ten years, the Dhammakaya Foundation has seen a gradual D expansion of its activities. The scale of the activities has outgrown the work capacity of P resident community members. Thus, most successful activities rely on the support of the E volunteers group with encouragement in turn from their parents and teachers. They use their A free time during weekends and vacations to come assist with temple activities. In turn, they C develop strength of character through devotion, respectfulness, responsibility and teamwork. E Nowadays, there are more than 10,000 student volunteers in addition to the 10,000 general i public volunteers actively working for the Dhammakaya Foundation. n n e r p A ac_ _ www.kalyaF0nIaSI)mAT IiOtNra.org
p School Student Scholarships The Dhammakaya Foundation has supported E The Dhammakaya Foundation has outstanding members of its monastic and lay communities to further their studies to Masters' or A for many years awarded over 3,200 Doctorate level in the fields of Pali, Sanskrit, C academic scholarships annually Buddhism, Theology and language, both in Thailand and abroad in order to enhance scholastic standard E for outstanding schoolchildren and of the Dhammakaya International Institute. novices. www.kalyanamitra.org4 6 -----i>h a Mm u a m ._ ^ w FOINDATION
Seminars and Conferences From 7-10 February 1989, the Dhammakaya Foundation hosted the International Buddhist Conference \"Buddhism into the Year 2000\" at Sukhothai Dhammadhiraj Open University with a thirty national and international guest speakers and eight hundred participants. The conference made a significant contribution to the internationalisation of the Buddhist monastic outlook in Thailand. From 1992 onwards, the Dhammakaya Foundation has been the co-sponsor with the Chung Flwa Institute .Taipei for the Buddhist conference for the Chung Flwa International Conference on Buddhism. As the sister temple of Fo Kuang Shan Monastery, the Dhammakaya Foundation has sent representatives to attend the Buddha's Light International Association'lnternational Monastic Seminar' every year since the conference's outset. www.kal4y7anamitra.org
The Computerization of the Buddhist Pali Canon i With the recognition that many world scholars have been impeded from fully studying the Buddhist scriptures by inconvenience in their access, the Dhammakaya Foundation initiated n the Pali Canon Computerization Project in 1984. Using as its original, the romanized Pali n Canon Text (Pali Text Society edition) which is most widely accepted internationally as an academic reference, the database was published as a CD-ROM in 1995 with 51 Buddhism e specialists from universities in 14 countries as advisors. As a spin-off of the project, the r Dhammakaya Temple has also successfully pioneered the world's first Pali language computer p 'Driver'. The Palitext version 1.0 computerised database of the Pali Tipitaka has received a great E deal of press coverage and besides attracting interest from the Thai Royal Family, has become A the focus of interest for professors and scholars from leading institutes of Buddhist studies C from around the world. E With the help of these scholars, the Dhammakaya Foundation has been able to continue with its computerization and critical text work on the Buddhist Theravada commentaries, source materials that are awaited by scholars throughout the world. wwwDH.AkMaMAlKyAYaA n4a8 mitra.org
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