..续本文上一页 Purposes of the Festival:

　　A.

　　1. To make 912,500 Buddha images (equal to the number of days in 2,500 years) and then raise the number to 1,000,000, each one inch tall and made of either stucco or baked clay, to be distributed free of charge to all people who come and join in the festival. Whatever images are left over will be buried in the foundations of the chedi that is to be built.

　　2. To make five large images representing the Buddha at the moment of his Awakening, delivering the first sermon (the Dhammacakka), delivering the final sermon before totally entering nibbana, totally entering nibbana, and sitting in meditation. (This last is to be the major image in the ordination hall.)

　　3. To make small images, 500 each of silver, gold and gold bronze, each weighing about four grams, to be placed in the chedi as a gift to our descendants.

　　B. To finance a complete set of the Buddhist Canon — Sutras, Vinaya and Abhidhamma — translated into Thai.

　　C. To ordain 80 monks, 80 novices, 80 upasakas (lay men wearing white and observing the eight precepts) and 80 nuns (lay women wearing white and observing the eight precepts). If larger numbers of people are ordained, so much the better. Each person is to be ordained for at least seven days. Ordination ceremonies will be held from May 12 to May 20, 1957. Whoever desires to be ordained should give the following information to the ordination committee: name, address, age, date of birth, and whether or not you will be able to supply your own requisites. The committee will arrange to find requisites for all those unable to supply their own. Whoever would like to sponsor an ordination of any kind is welcome to inform the committee. The cost of requisites is as follows: for upasakas and nuns, 100 baht; for novices, 150 baht; for monks, 300 baht. Those wishing to be ordained may apply at the Wat from now until April 15, 1957.

　　D. When the festival is over, there will be one further aim: to build a chedi as a memento of our having participated in this important anniversary, and to enshrine relics of the Buddha, Buddha images, copies of the scriptures and other objects related to Buddhism. This chedi will be a cluster of thirteen spires built on three levels, four spires to each level, with a central spire on the uppermost level. The central spire will be the largest — 6 meters square and 26 meters tall. The surrounding spires will be smaller. The laying of the foundations for the chedi will begin before the festival. The location will be at Wat Asokaram, Samut Prakaan, which is planned to be a center for instruction in the practice of meditation for monks, novices, lay men and lay women in the years to come.

　　II. Merit-making ceremonies to be held during the Festival:

　　A. Monks will chant consecration chants, eight monks a day, for seven days. Monks will sit in samadhi, presiding over the consecration of sacred objects, eight monks a day for seven days.

　　C. Five sermons relating the history of the Buddhist Councils will be delivered, one sermon per day. The passages in response to each sermon will be chanted by 40 monks. This will be to dedicate merit to relatives and ancestors who have passed away.

　　D. Food will be donated to the 500 monks and novices invited to participate in the first seven days of the festival. Afterwards, food will continue to be donated to monks and novices until the two weeks of the festival are over. The second week approximately 300 monks and novices will be fed each day.

　　E. During the first seven days there will be a candlelight procession in celebration each night.

　　F. On Visakha Puja — May 13, 1957 — a ceremony will be held to enshrine objects in the foundations of the chedi.

　　G. Mahayana services will also be held, i.e., three days of kong tek (merit-making ser…

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