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Memorial Ceremonies for Tsunami Victims - Heart for Peace - Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu
On Dec. 26 2004 a tsunami claimed the lives of nearly 300,000 people from 50 countries. In January 2005, the Heart for Peace Mission held very meaningful prayer retreats at Khaolak and Phuket, Thailand for the sake of the victims and their bereaved families. At that time, their efforts were blessed by the participation of a great 115-year old monk from Laos. Because of his virtues, everything went smoothly and uncountable merits were received by the victims.

On Jan. 15, 2005, the renown Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu was on board the diving ship "MV Discovery" owned by Santana Scuba Diving to pray and to bless divers as they entered the water for Thailand tsunami clean-up activities in a clean-up dive at Patong Beach as part of the efforts of 300 divers with 70 support personal. Divers from several boats hauled in a catch of mainly corrugated iron and broken cement pieces from premises torn apart by the tsunami, as well as broken bottles, garbage and fishing nets. All went well with Buddhist monk aboard. Thailand's coral reef clean-up project is supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which has provided equipment for the operation.

The remarkable monk, Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu, of the Heart for Peace Mission was born in Vietnam. As a child during the Vietnam war 70% of his body was burned with Napalm. He survived and became a Buddhist monk at 13. He joined the Barefoot World Peace Walk with the Dalai Lama, covering over 9,000 kilometers through 19 countries in 3 years. After walking around the world barefoot he culminated his journey at the Sydney Olympics where he released 3000 white doves.

On December 24th to 26th, 2007 at Khaolak, Thailand, the Heart for Peace Mission intends to hold a special Memorial ceremony at Khaolak, Thailand. The International Sangha comprising 3,000 Buddhist monks and nuns together with an estimated 1,000 laypeople will take part in a short term Ordination and 3 days - 8 Precepts Retreat from 24th to 26th December 2007 in order to transfer merits to the victims. As Buddhists who understand that the merits that will accrue from participating in such short term Ordinations and Retreats for just one day are equivalent to the merits needed to be reborn a king 1,600 times and 16 times respectively. Hence, to do so for three days would mean that the merits will be enhanced threefold. The retreat will then culminate in the unveiling of a 9-meter tall statue of the Buddhist Bodhisattva, Kuan Shih Yin Pu Sa who epitomizes Love and Compassion. With the statue erected on the beach, the prayer is for the souls of the Tsunami victims to find peace and liberation.

The unveiling ceremony of the Kuan Shih Yin Pu Sa statue will be held at 4.00 p.m. on 26th Dec 2007 at Happy Lagoon Bangkalow, Khaolak, Thailand and it will be officiated by His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The hope is the world will join in remembrance of the departed, and realize that when disasters strike, the loss and pain felt are the same for everyone regardless of race, color or religion. Perhaps with this thought in mind, the world will find common ground to seek peace, tolerance and cooperation instead of focusing on hatred, wars and weapons. In this way, the ceremony will become a suitable platform for World Peace.

The need is also to remind the world that something is badly wrong with the way we are treating Planet Earth for so many disasters to plague modern society. Our planet can be saved only if we know how to control our greed and resolve our inner conflicts because they are the reasons why we are harming the environment. As such, this Memorial ceremony will help to rouse the world from its self-deluded stupor before there is no Third Millennium to look forward to.

More on Bhikkhu



Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu feels that he is one of the luckiest persons on earth. When he was only nine years old, he became one of the countless child victims of the Vietnam War. He suffered burns on 70% of his back due to a napalm bomb and had 6 operations to cure his condition.

He became a mendicant monk at the age of thirteen and migrated to Australia when he was twenty. He helped to set up the Heart For Peace Order in Sydney, Australia in 1994 to fulfil the wishes of the Second Patriarch of the Heart For Peace Order in Vietnam. In 2002, he established the Heart For Peace Order in India. The Heart For Peace Order does not permit their Sangha members to convert people of other religions into becoming Buddhists, but merely to convert their hearts for Peace. Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu's Order accepts the Truth of every religion and welcomes everyone seeking the Truth to join his activities. Due to the necessity of contacting as many people as possible in order to spread the message of Peace, Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu has been to many countries. In 1998, he undertook a 9,000 km walk barefoot through five continents and eighteen countries with the blessings of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama who even accompanied Bhikkhu and his companions on the first leg of their journey. Together with representatives from 24 countries, Bhikkhu undertook that walk which lasted for more than 3 years and finally ended in Sydney, Australia during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Feeling inspired by the whole experience, he took his mission to the African Continent later that same year.

In 2002, Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu succumbed to a serious bout of malarial fever and “died” for five and a half days. He related his personal out-of-the-body experience when he actually went to heaven and yet, refused to stay put there because of his vow not to be reborn in one of the heavens, but to strive for Paradise instead.

Since his return from heaven, he has been spending more and more time producing VCD’s and books as well as giving Dhamma talks to devotees wherever he can find them. His task is to clear up their doubts about the Buddha’s True Teachings and to teach people how to think for themselves instead of just blindly following misguided teachers and leaders. He wants the world to be rid of greed, hatred and ignorance; so that we can all live with Universal Peace and Compassion.

References: http://groups.msn.com/tsunamiprayers

http://www.heartforpeace.org

http://www.santanaphuket.com/news-archive.htm

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=62223&highlight=&sid=dafa1b8a08b584023f9174671dd33832

http://www.returningfromdeath.com