www.kalyanamitra.org 43 WAT PHRA DHAMMAKAYA From no land to a large tract of land From fallow fields to a graceful Buddhist temple From 1 Bhikku to tens to hundreds to a thousand and increasing From 100 laypeople to 1,000, 10,000, 100,000 and 1 million in the future Four decades have gone past since Wat Phra Dhammakaya was founded. Wat Phra Dhammakaya’s aim has always been to propagate Buddhism and Vijja Dhammakaya, which is the source of humanity’s peace and happiness. In the beginning, there were only extensive fields under the hot sun with no trees or buildings. And at night, there was only the star-filled sky. On Magha Puja Day, February 20, 1970 (2513 B.E.), Phrathepyanmahamuni (Luang Por Dhammajayo, who had just spent a year in the monkhood), Master Nun Chand Khonnokyoong (61 years old), and their followers came together to commence the construction of a meditation center. The land for the meditation center covered 196 rai (78.4 acres) and was donated by Lady Prayad Pattayapongsavisuttatibodi. The meditation center became Wat Phra Dhammakaya on April 29, 1981 (2524 B.E.). www.kalyanamitra.org t the start of the construction, Master Nun Chand Khonnokyoong had just 3,200 baht. This was Ano different from starting with nothing at all. One of her followers asked, “How can we build a temple with this small sum of money?” Master Nun Chand Khonnokyoong or more frequently referred to as Khun Yai said, “If we were to teach a person to be good, decent, and devoted to Buddhism, how much would it cost?” This follower answered, “I am not sure if 100 million baht would be enough.” Khun Yai said, “Well then, right now I have in front of me 11 such individuals. It means that I have now at my disposal no less than 1 billion baht so I have no doubt that I will be able to get this temple built.” It was our two great Masters’aspiration At the same time that the construction was going on, the Buddha’s Teachings were being taught that gave birth to Wat Phra Dhammakaya: to the people according to the concept, “Build a real temple. Teach the monks to be righteous monks. Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro) or Develop good and decent people.” Luang Pu Wat Paknam, the Discoverer of Vijja Dhammakaya, and Master Nun Chand Every bit of land, every building, every merit-making activity, and every good thing that has ever Khonnokyoong or Khun Yai, the founder of come out of this temple are not the work of any one individual, but they are the collective work of dedi- Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Luang Pu, Khun cated monks, novices, and laypeople. The founding team members of the temple had to have possessed Yai, Phrathepyanmahamuni (Luang Por extraordinary vision, unshakable faith, persistence, and patience to be able to realize the dream of build- Dhammajayo), Abbot of Wat Phra Dham- ing the kind of temple that Wat Phra Dhammakaya is today. makaya, and Phrabhavanaviriyakhun (Luang Por Dattajeevo), Vice-Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, share the same wish to spread the Buddha’s Teachings to every corner of the world so that humanity can know lasting inner peace and world peace. www.kalyanamitra.org 1 Building the Temple According to the Lord Buddha’s Instruction uang Por Dhammajayo, Khun Yai, and their followers have worked very hard together to build Wat Phra Dhammakaya according to the concept, “Build a Lreal temple. Train the monks to be righteous monks. Develop good and decent people.” This concept was derived from the Buddha’s Teachings on Patiru- padesa-4: How to build the kind of quality temple that can attract people to come and practice the Dhamma at the temple for their own benefit, for the good of the general public, and for Buddhism’s growth. Patirupadesa-4 as Applied to Wat Phra Dhammakaya: 1. The Temple: The grounds of Wat Phra Dhammakaya are beautiful, cool, pleasant, clean, and tidy. It is a place that makes people feel comfortable and relaxed. 2. Food: Wat Phra Dhammakaya’s refectory prepares food for everyone attending the temple and serves it to them in a speedy fashion. The refectory staff also tends with care and respect to the food offered to the monks by the laypeople. 3. People: Wat Phra Dhammakaya’s personnel are well-trained, courteous, friendly, and service-minded. They study the Dhamma and practice meditation regularly. They are the model of goodness and decency. 4. Dhamma: When people attend Wat Phra Dhammakaya, they must not return home empty-handed in that they must have the opportunity to study the Dhamma in such a way that they can apply it in their daily life. Wat Phra Dhammakaya also offers morality training courses for the personnel of government offices and educational institutions as well as the general public. Any temple built with the Buddha’s instruction in mind plays an important role in attracting more and more people to the temple. It is for this reason that an ever increasing number of people are coming to practice the Dhamma at Wat Phra Dhammakaya. It just goes to show how a large number of people do want to attend the temple to practice the Dhamma. It remains for each temple to be well-maintained, clean, cool, pleasant, and equipped with well-trained and quality personnel. And last but not least, each temple must develop modern methods for propagating the Dhamma so that it can fulfill its role of teaching the Dhamma to the people. 2 www.kalyanamitra.org Building a Great Temple through the Power of Faith he size of Wat Phra Dhammakaya went from 196 rai (78.4 acres) to 2,000 rai (800 acres) in 1984 (2527 B.E.) because Luang Por Dham- Tmajayo wanted the temple to be large enough for all the work that it planned to do in the future. The propagation of Buddhism to every corner of the world can benefit everyone in Thailand and the entire world. The expansion of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and all of its work have been supported physically and financially by the laypeople who understand the need for the increasing size of the temple. As a result, Wat Phra Dhammakaya can now accommodate hundreds of thousands of people or more who are now coming and will come in the future to practice the Dhamma at Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Since every baht spent on building Wat Phra Dhammakaya is donated by the laypeople, everything having to do with the construction and maintenance of every part of the temple must be based on the principle, “Lowest cost, highest usage, and durability.” It means that only necessary structures are built and once they were built they must be utilized to the fullest extent. They must be durable. They must be easy and economical to maintain. Temple personnel and temple goers alike are taught to feel a sense of ownership in the temple such that everyone can help take good care of everything in the temple. This way, donors can reap the maximum merit from their donations. www.kalyanamitra.org 3 The Temple’s Achievements to Date uring the past 40 years, Wat Phra Dhammakaya has not only built necessary structures but also developed people. It has Dcultivated righteous monks to perpetuate Buddhism. It has instilled morality in people of every age and gender. It has extended some projects to different countries to help propagate Buddhism there. These undertakings give the people in these countries the opportunities to study the Buddha’s Teachings and practice meditation. At the same time, they learn about the true objective of human life in that everyone is here to accumulate merit and pursue Perfections. Practicing the Buddha’s Teachings increases the quality of life. It is also the way to revive world morality. 4 www.kalyanamitra.org New Year’s Day Food Offering and Year-End Dhutanga bout 3 – 5 days before each year-end, Buddhists everywhere come to undertake Dhutanga and usher in the new year at Wat APhra Dhammakaya. In the first morning of the new year, they offer food to more than 10,000 venerable monks, observe the Eight Precepts, and practice meditation in preparation for every good thing that will come into their lives in the year ahead. www.kalyanamitra.org 5 Mass Ordination of 100,000 Monks from Every Village in Thailand 6 www.kalyanamitra.org his project has been made possible by the support of the entire Sangha Community, the Committee on Education, TReligion, Arts and Culture Group, the House of Representatives, along with more than 25 organizations. This project is the continuation of the Mass Ordination of 7,000 monks from 7,000 Sub-districts. his mass ordination project took place between January 19 until March 8, 2010 (2553 B.E.). Ordinands were ordained Ttogether as novices at Wat Phra Dhammakaya. The novices were subsequently ordained as monks and underwent re- ligious training at different temples all over Thailand. This was the largest mass ordination in Thailand’s recorded history. More importantly, many monks were inspired to remain in the monkhood to help perpetuate Buddhism, causing the number of monks in the Sangha Community to increase. www.kalyanamitra.org 7 Renunciation Practice of 100,000 Upasikas his program took place on March 8 - 15, 2010 (2553 B.E.). During the program, women practiced renunciation, per- Tformed wholesome deeds, and learned about the Buddhist Ideal and morality. The women who undertook the training can play an important role in protecting Buddhism and reviving world morality. 8 www.kalyanamitra.org www.kalyanamitra.org 99 V-Star 1010 www.kalyanamitra.org V-Stars (Virtuous Stars) Project for World Morality Revival his project aims to instill morality in young people.