The Joyful Moment of Vesak Day, The Assembly of 200,000 Students

The Vesak Day is one of the most important days in Buddhism as it is the day Buddhists commemorate three important events in the Lord Buddha’s life. It is the anniversary of his birth, enlightenment and Nirvana. On the full moon night of Vesak, the sixth lunar month, Prince Siddhartha Gotama was born on the purpose of enlightenment aiming at teaching the universal inner peace to humankind. On the same day thirty-five years afterwards, Prince Siddhartha gained the profound knowledge through enlightenment. During the first watch of the night under the bodhi tree, his mind was calm and purified by meditation. His insight showed the endless cycle of Samsara – from birth, aging, ailing and death. Also, He knows how to eradicate the seed of birth and re-birth and the roots of all decay. Since then, the light of His wisdom has been radiated to everyone.

Forty-five years later, on the same full-moon night when the Lord Buddha had attained Nirvana, he passed away leaving all his heritage of noble teachings to the world.

More than 2,500 years since the Lord Buddha’s Nirvana, the world has been blessed with his teaching. Every year on the full-moon night of the sixth lunar month, Buddhists worldwide join the celebration for the Lord Buddha and his teachings by meditation.

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Luang Phaw Dhammajayo
The President of the Dhammakaya Foundation

This year, on 19 May 2008, we will have a meaningful celebration with the gathering of more than 200,000 high-school students from all over Thailand known as V-Star (Virtuous Star) along the four wings of Grand Meditation Stadium, Dhammakaya Temple, Pathumthani, Thailand. V-Stars are students who voluntarily join the World Ethics Recuperation Program (Virtuous Star Challenge) taking special days in Buddhism like Vesak Day to do moral and social activities.

This huge group of students across the country will impress everybody who witnesses the event. These youths will be about to learn Dhamma from the stories of the Lord Buddha’s life in the longest exhibition in the world about four kilometers around the Grand Meditation Stadium. We believe even little knowledge in Dhamma can be the starting point of the greatest thing. The youths are expected to learn how to be kind and caring to their school friends. They can generate the cycle of goodness both at home and with other people in the society. The true happiness and inner peace will shine from within. The whole world can be improved by the small hands of children together with the help from their families and schools.

In the afternoon, there will be a ceremony held at the main chapel for ten newly ordained monks who aim to devote and spend their whole life in priesthood. These ten novices are the martyrs who renounce their material comforts in order to preserve and continue the teaching and belief in Buddhism.

In the evening - the joyful and breathtaking moment - it is awarding time to the winners from 200,000 V-Stars who join the World Ethics Recuperation Program at the Grand Meditation Stadium. Later on, we will pay homage to the Lord Buddha under the moonlight sky of Vesak. These will be the joyful moment of Vesak Day.

Morning Session: At the Grand Meditation Stadium
07:00 A.M.	V-Star Registration
08:00 A.M.	Experience the longest exhibition in the world around Grand Meditation Stadium and Join the activity "V-Star in Miracle Merit Land"
11.00 A.M.	Lunch Brake

Afternoon Session: At the Grand Meditation Stadium
12.00 A.M.	Special Talk Show from Teachers and Students in the World Ethics Recuperation Program
01.00 P.M.	Orientation for Students and Teachers in the World Ethics Recuperation Program
02.05 P.M.	The Buddhist Culture and Buddhist basic knowledge contest

Afternoon Session: At the Main Chapel of Dhammakaya Temple
01.05 P.M.	The Ceremony of long-life ordination of 10 newly ordained monks

Evening Session: At the Maha Dhammakaya Cetiya
04.30 P.M.	The recognition and awards for 40 regional core schools in the World Ethics Recuperation Program
05.50 P.M.	Photographing together
06.15 P.M.	End of Evening Session