The First Sunday of the Month Ceremony

March 7, 2016

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the month.  Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple has held a very important ceremony on every first Sunday of the month for decades now.  The ceremony is called in Thai, "Puja Kao Pra".  I will not attempt to explain the ceremony and how it came about just yet because much background information about the Buddha's Teachings must first be given; otherwise, I will not be doing it justice.  For now, suffice it to say that this highly important ceremony is the source of incomparable merit and is usually participated by tens of thousands of devotees from all over Thailand.  The ceremony is also broadcasted live to every branch of Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple all over Thailand and the world where devotees assemble together to participate in the ceremony.  An important part of the ceremony involves meditation practice.  This is guided by Venerable Father Dhammajayo.  It means that it is the time when all the participants of the ceremony nationwide and worldwide have the opportunity to practice meditation together with Venerable Father Dhammajayo and all of the righteous monks of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and its branches.  The number of people and monks meditating together worldwide is at least 100,000.  The sacred and positive energy generated by such an important ceremony is palpable.  This form of energy is called "merit" or "Boon" in Thai.  Venerable Father Dhammajayo teaches that merit or Boon is the source of every good thing in life.  The merit accumulated in this lifetime will send forth most of its fruits in the next lifetime.  It means that the merit  accumulated in our previous lifetime is sending forth most of its fruits here and now.  Therefore, we can tell to a certain extent how well we had accumulated merit in the past by the way our life has turned out in this lifetime.  For example, if one is fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family and stands to inherit a fortune, it means that one had practiced generosity (alms-giving) to a very great extent and regularly in one's previous lifetime. If one is fortunate enough to be born with good looks and good complexion, it means that one had practiced morality (Precepts observation) regularly in one's previous lifetime.  If one is fortunate enough to be born intelligent and wise about life and the world, it means that one had practiced meditation regularly in one's previous lifetime.  To put it simply, every Buddhist is encouraged to give alms, observe the Five Precepts and practice meditation regularly so that the merit earned from such wholesome practices will follow one to bless one with material wealth , good looks and intelligence in one's next existence on earth.