Tipiṭaka Press Conference
and
Reception for Tipiṭaka Patrons from 10 Institutes from 10 Countries

On the Occasion of
The Tipiṭaka Presentation to 10 Institutions
in Memory of
Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana of Thailand
Patron of the World Tipiṭaka

November 13, 2551 at 18.30
Nai Lert Park Hotel : A Raffle International Bangkok

World Tipiṭaka Reception Address

by Maj. Suradhaj Bunnag
Chancellor of Dhamma Society & President of the World Tipiṭaka Project
and
Advisor to the World Tipiṭaka Recitation Ceremony at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
in Memory of H.R.H. Princess Galyani Vadhana

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am happy to welcome you all to this Tipiṭaka Preview and Reception. Warmly welcome especially to Their Excellencies the Ambassadors of Sweden, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Republic of Korea.

Today the representatives of ten leading institutions from Asia and Europe have arrived in Bangkok to accomplish three purposes:

(1) to receive the World Tipiṭaka in the Roman Script;
(2) to participate at the World Tipiṭaka Recitation;
(3) to attend the Royal Cremation Ceremony.

Tomorrow the Constitutional Court of Thailand will organize the World Tipiṭaka Presentation and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration together with the Dhamma Society will organize the World Tipiṭaka Recitation in memory of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, the Patron of the World Tipiṭaka.

The Tipiṭaka is the world heritage containing the message of wisdom and peace. It has been preserved in Asia in Pāḷi language written in national scripts.

The Dhamma Society is a small private organization under the patronage of His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand.  Because of the dedication of the patrons and the use of modern technology, the Dhamma Society completed its first main task in 2005, the production of the World Tipiṭaka in Roman Script based on the resolution of the International Tipiṭaka Council held over 50 years ago. Since then the Dhamma Society has continued its second main task, the presentation of the World Tipiṭaka, by presenting the 40-volume of the World Tipiṭaka to leading institutions, by developing web-based technology to access to the electronic Tipiṭaka, and by organizing the Tipiṭaka Recitations.

Tipiṭaka Recitation is a wisdom-based activity. From the Tipiṭaka, all participants derive wisdom, happiness, and peace by reciting together the words of the Buddha while reflecting on their meanings. For this, the Tipiṭaka Recitation Manuals based on the Roman-script World edition are produced and distributed as a gift of Dhamma. Tomorrow, the whole country joins in reciting from the World Tipiṭaka in Roman Script. I thank the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for publishing one million copies of the World Tipiṭaka Recitation Manual and also organizing this mega event in memory of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, Royal Patron of the World Tipiṭaka.

It is our expectation that through this meritorious act, millions of people in Thailand and the Tipiṭaka patrons from various countries will realize that the great potentiality of the World Tipiṭaka in Roman Script in maintaining lasting peace and wisdom in the world, the vision of the late Pincess Galayani Vadhana and also her grandfather, King Chulachomklo of Siam, who published the world’s first Tipiṭaka edition in 1893. It is the mission of the World Tipiṭaka Council as well. Therefore, I expect the Recipients of the World Tipiṭaka to utilize the potentiality of the World Tipiṭaka for the benefit of the world. Let us work together to accomplish this noble mission.

May Her Royal Highness achieve the supreme bliss of Nibbāna.