Reviving the Buddhadharma in India
SEVENTH ANNUAL TIPITAKA CHANTING CEREMONY
December 2-12th 2011
The Seventh International Tipitaka Chanting ceremony will be held during December 2-12, 2011. This year again we will be honoring as the Chief Organisers, the Sanghas of Laos and Bangladesh. May we all have the good fortune to meet again under the most precious Sacred Bodhi Tree!
SIXTH ANNUAL TIPITAKA CHANTING CEREMONY
December 2-12th 2010
The Sixth International Tipitaka Chanting ceremony brought together the largest gathering of Theravada participants to date. This time the Chief Organizers of the ceremony were the Bangladesh sangha and the Laos sangha. We had with us as our Chief guest, the Honorable Governor of Bihar. It was truly inspiring to see all the lay devotees as well as practitioners coming together in prayer under the Sacred Bodhi Tree. In addition, to the all day chanting of the Tipitaka, we had evening dharma talks for every evening. We also supported practitioners to do all night meditation inside the Main temple from 9 pm until 4 in the morning. May these blessings radiate in all directions!
FIFTH ANNUAL TIPITAKA CHANTING CEREMONY
December 2-12th 2009
The Fifth International Tipitaka Chanting ceremony brought together the largest gathering of Theravada participants to date. We had with us as our Chief guest, the Honorable Governor of Bihar as well as the Ambassador of Thailand from New Delhi. Furthermore, we were truly blessed to have in our presence on the Opening Day the Sangharaja of Cambodia, Bangladesh, and senior representatives from the Sangha Council from Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Nepal and Myanmar. It was truly inspiring to see all the lay devotees as well as practitioners coming together in prayer under the Sacred Bodhi Tree. In addition, to the all day chanting of the Tipitaka, we had evening dharma talks for every evening. We also supported practitioners to do all night meditation inside the Main temple from 9 pm until 4 in the morning. Thank you again to the Chief Organizers of Thailand who offered such beautiful and magnificent offerings to this ceremony. We would also like to thank those who were involved in the organization. May these blessings radiate in all directions!
FOURTH ANNUAL TIPITAKA CHANTING CEREMONY
December 1-12th 2008
The Fourth ceremony was marked by an even larger attendance, despite the closure of Bangkok airport during the ceremony, which prevented participation by many who had planned to be there. Monks from all countries of the Theravadin world participated in the ten day ceremony from December 1-12th 2008. Two innovations marked the event; the first was the initiation of all night meditation sessions in which 80 monks and laypeople spent each night meditating in the Mahabodhi Mahavihara under the guidance of experienced senior monks. The second was the inauguration of a free clinic sponsored by the Maya Gotami Foundation alongside the main food tent.
THIRD ANNUAL TIPITAKA CHANTING CEREMONY
February 12-23rd 2008
The International Pali Tipitaka Chanting ceremony continued its impressive growth, with over a thousand monks and nuns in attendance, nearly three times the attendance in 2007. Substantial numbers of monks from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos joined their Indian colleagues for the ceremony, making this the first year in which all the major Theravadin countries have been fully represented.. A large number of senior and important monks attended as well, including the Sangharajas of Bangladesh, India and Cambodia and senior representatives of the Sangharajas of Thailand and Laos. All attendees received offerings of robes, monk’s requisites, and bound copies of the Majjhima Nikaya in romanised script. Specially constructed tents, imported by LBDFI from Thailand, were erected for each Sangha. A group from Thailand offered extensive displays of orchids to beautify the Temple environment, and another group prepared much of the food for the Thai and International Sangha.
Click to see all the photos from the Third International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony, Feb 12-23rd, 2008
SECOND ANNUAL TIPITAKA CHANTING CEREMONY
February 12-24th 2007
The second International Theravadin Chanting ceremony was held from February 12th-24th 2007 at the site of enlightenment in Bodhgaya, India. Over 300 Theravadin monks from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand were in attendance, and the assembly chanted the Digha Nikaya in Pali over the ten days of the ceremony. The sound of the entire assembly chanting in unison was a truly inspiring event.
Alongside the chanting ceremony, evening dharma talks were held for the benefit of the assembly and lay followers. We were very blessed to hear three talks from Ajahn Tong, the revered meditation teacher from the north of Thailand, Ajahn Sujato from Australia and Venerable Dhammasami from the UK. These dharma talks are now an integral part of the assembly and offer participants an important opportunity to deepen their appreciation and understanding of the Dharma.
The 2007 event was co-organized by the Mahabodhi Society and the Light of Buddhadharma Foundation. LBDFI also offered provided support for food and accommodation for all attendees, along with donations of robes, bowls and copies of the Digha Nikaya. The International Chanting council also agreed that ceremonies would be held on February 12th-23rd for all future years.
For ten days, the bhikkhus followed a daily schedule which included:
6:00 - 6:45AM Breakfast
7:00 - 9:00 AM Chanting (continues throughout the day except for breaks)
9:00 - 9:15 AM Tea Break
11:00 - 1:00 PM Lunch
3:00 - 3:15 PM Tea Break
6:00 PM Chanting ends
7:00 - 8:00 PM Dharma Talk in English
Click to see all the photos from the Second International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony, Feb 12-24th, 2007
FIRST ANNUAL TIPITAKA CHANTING CEREMONY
February 12-23rd 2006
The ceremony took place from February 13th-March 3rd, 2006. A number of dignitaries participated in the Tipitaka Chanting on the first day. They included His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Chief Sanghanayaka of Sri Lanka; Venerable Dr. D. Rewatha Mahathera; Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Modi; the Lord Abbot of the Wat Thai Temple, Bodhgaya; the Lord Abbot of the Burmese Vihar, Bodhgaya (President of the International Buddhist Council, Bodhgaya); Venerable Sanghanayaka Sasanajyoti S. Dharmapal Mahathera, Chief Patriarch of the Buddhists of Bangladesh; Venerable Satyapriya Mahathera, President and Supreme Sangha Council of Bangladesh; Venerable Gyanananda of Sri Lanka; and Lord Abbot Venerable Sadanand Mathera, All India Bhikkhu Sangha.
The daily timetable for the participants was as follows:
6:00-6:45AM Breakfast
7:00-9:00 AM Chanting began
9:00-9:15 AM Tea Break
11:00-1:00 PM Lunch
3:00-3:15 PM Tea Break
6:00 PM Chanting ended
7:00-8:00 PM Dharma Talk in English for Western lay devotees
Click to see all the photos from the First International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony, Feb 12-23rd, 2006
INTERNATIONAL TIPITAKA CHANTING COUNCIL
During the course of the first chanting ceremony in 2006, two meetings were held under the Bodhi Tree attended by representatives of all traditions. It was agreed to form a council to continue these prayer ceremonies annually, seek donors and patrons from other lands, and otherwise support and encourage the Pali Tipitaka chanting. Those attending established the Pali Tipitaka International Council to oversee future annual chanting ceremonies and agree on the texts to be chanted.
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