Event : Kagyu Monlam at Borobudur, Yogyakrta, Indonesia
Date : April 22-24, 2011
Website 1 : http://www.kagyumonlam.org/english/news/Announcement/2011_International_KM.html
Website 2 : http://www.kagyumonlam.or.id/id/manfaat-borobudur.html
The first Indonesian Kagyu Monlam for global peace, led by His
Eminence Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche, was completed very successfully on
March 30th.
Some 180 members of the Southeast Asian Buddhist community took
part in the ceremony at Borobudur, the Indonesia’s 8-9th century
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Buddhist monument at Borobudur is one of the world’s most
revered places for Buddhist pilgrimage. It was built at the foot of
the mountains in Central Java when Buddhism was the majority
religion in Indonesia. The great Vajrayana master Atisha came from
India to Indonesia to gain the Bodhisatva vow from Dharmakiti in
around the 8th century, making the country of importance to world
Buddhism.
The Monlam ceremony was deemed successful and joyful by all
participants, who included members of Buddhist groups from not only
Indonesia but also Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
Four Rinpoches and 30 monks and nuns from Bhutan, India, China,
Hong Kong, Sikkim, Nepal and Taiwan gathered at Borobudur for the
three-day ceremony to chant a series of prayers for a peaceful
world compiled from classic Tibetan Buddhist texts.
The Monlam movement was begun by His Eminence Kalu Rinpoche
based on his perception that the world is approaching a period of
danger. The first ceremony was held at Bodhgaya, India in 1983.
Since then, Monlam ceremonies have been held in Nepal, East
Tibet, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and now Indonesia. A Monlam is
held annually at Bodhgaya.
His Holiness Karmapa XVII has now taken a strong personal
interest in the movement and encourages Buddhist communities across
the world to invite leading members of the Sangha to hold a Monlams
in their respective countries.
Leading participants in the Borobudur Monlam said that the
global economic crisis has demonstrated that humanity is the major
threat to its own survival and spiritual well-being. The greed of
humanity derives from ignorance and has currently plunged millions
into poverty and hardship.
Many other factors ranging from environmental destruction, the
careless creation of materials which are poisonous to the
environment and unbridled commercialism continue to threaten the
world and create the need for stronger awareness of humankind’s
place in it.
His Holiness the Karmapa has specifically mentioned that he is
greatly concerned about the environmental decay which is currently
destroying the globe and the threat from climate change.The
Indonesian Monlam at Borobudur was organized by Triyana Dharma
Center in Surabaya with assistance from volunteers from the Dharma
community in Jakarta.
Slideshow
http://picasaweb.google.com/lamachodrak.photoalbum/IndonesiaKagyuMonlam?authkey=Gv1sRgCPqfj5KGlKm73QE#slideshow/5332181212078013874