PATRONS:
The Global Buddhist Congregation will be held under the benign guidance of a most distinguished panel of patrons, eminent Dhamma practitioners and scholars. Jayaratne, Hon'ble Prime Minister, Sri Lanka
His Excellency Lyonchen Jigme Yoser Thinley, Hon'ble Prime Minister, Bhutan
His Excellency Sukhbataar Batbolt, Hon'ble Prime Minister, Mongolia
Dr. Karan Singh, eminent scholar and dipl
omat, Chairperson of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), India. Goenka, renowned Vipassana Meditation Master, India
EMINENT INVITEES:
The eminent personalities invited for the Congregation include:
His Holiness the 70th Je Khempo Trulku Jigme Chhoeda, Bhutan
His Holiness Samdech Preah Agga Mahā Sangharājādhipati Tep Vong, Great Supreme Patriach, Cambodia
His Holiness Samdech Preah Abhisiri Sugandhādhipati Bour Kry, Supreme Patriarch of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, Cambodia
His Holiness Samdech Preah Sumedhādhipati Non Nget, Supreme Patriarch of the Maha Nikaya, Cambodia
His Holiness Phra Achan Maha Phong Samaleuk, Sangharajah and Acting President Lao Buddhist Fellowship Organization, Laos
Most Venerable Udugama Sri Dhammadassi Ratanapala Buddharakkitha, Mahanayaka Thero, Asgiriya Viharaya, Sri Lanka
His Eminence Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala, Mahanyaka Thero, Malwatta Chapter of Syamopali Maha Nikayaka, Sri Lanka
His Eminence Agga Maha Panditha Dawuldena Gnanissara, Mahanayaka Thero, Supreme Prelate of Amarapura Sangha Sabha, Sri Lanka
His Eminence Weveldeniye Medhalankara, Mahanayaka Thero, Ramanya Nikaya, Sri Lanka
His Eminence Dr.Bhaddanata Kumarabhivamsa, Chairman, State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee and President, Aggamahapandita, Abhidhaja Agga-Maha Saddhamma Jotika, Myanmar
His Eminence Bhaddanta Kumara, Abhidhaja Maha Ratthaguru, Abhidhaja Agga Maha Saddahamajotika, Myanmar
Most Venerable Dr. Ashin Nyanissara, Chancellor, Sitagu International Buddhist Academy, Myanmar
Ven. Dr. Nandamalabhivamsa, Rector, International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University, Myanmar
His Eminence Khambo Lama D. Choijamts, Supreme Head of Mongolian Buddhists, Gaden Thekchen Monastery, Mongolia
His Eminence Ch. Dambajav, Chief Abbot, Dashicholing monastery, Mongolia
His Eminence Damba Ayusheev Pandito Khambo Lama, Supreme Head of Russian Buddhists, Russia
His Eminence Beopjeon Sunim, Supreme Patriarch, Korean Buddhist Jogye Order, South Korea
His Eminence Jaseung Sunim, President, Korean Buddhist Jogye Order, South Korea
Most Venerable Yuan Zhog, President, Chinese Buddhist Association, Taiwan
Most Venereble Liao Chung, President, World Buddhist Sangha Council, Taiwan
Most Venerable Hsin Tao, Dharma Master, Taiwan
Ven. Ming Kuang, President, Buddhist Association of Taipei, Taiwan
Venerable Guo D**g, Abbot President, Dharma Drum Mountain World Centre for Buddhist Education, Taiwan
His Excellency Phan Wannamethee, President, World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB), Thailand
Most Venerable Prof. Dr. Phra Dhammakosajarn, Rector, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (MCU), Thailand
Most Venerable Phra Theppariyattivimol, Mahamakut Buddhist University, Thailand
Anurut Vongvanij, President, World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth (WFBY), Thailand
Most Venerable Kok Kwong, President, Hong Kong Buddhist Association, Hong Kong
Most Venerable S*k Sau Chi, Hong Kong,
Most Venerable S*k Kwang Sheng, President, Singapore Buddhist Federation, Singapore
Most Venerable Kwang Shen, President, Bright Hill Temple, Singapore
Most Venerable Wei Wu, President, Than Hsiang Temple. Malaysia
Datuk Dr. Victor Wee, President, Buddhist Gem Fellowship, Malaysia
His Eminence Kouno Taitsu, Chairman, All Japan Buddhist Association, Japan
His Eminence Enami Kakuhan, President, Japan Association of Buddhists for World Federation, Japan
Most Rev. Her Eminency Otani Kiyoko, President, All Japan Women Buddhists Federation
Japan
Most Reverend Hashimoto Shonen, Chief Abbot, Shinshouji, Japan
Most Reverend Nichiko Niwano, President, Rissho Kosei-kai International, Japan
Most Venerable Tongariodjo Angkasa, Maha Saddammajotika Dhaja, Chairman, International Buddhist Centre, Indonesia
Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Spiritual Director, Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), USA
Kyabje Sogyal Rinpoche, Founder & Director, Rigpa International and author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, France
Lama Gelek Rinpoche, Founder & President, Jewel Heart International, USA
Dr (Smt) Kapila Vatsyayan, Member of Parliament, Renowned scholar of Indian art, culture, dance and architecture, educationist, Author Chairperson, IIC-Asia Project, India International Centre, Founder and Former Academic Director Indira Gandhi National Centre of the Arts, New Delhi, India
Dr. Lokesh Chandra, Padma Bhushan Awardee, former Member Of Parliament, Eminent author and Scholar of Buddhism and Indian arts, Director, International Academy of Indian Culture (IAIC), Vice-President of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Eminent invitees to the Congregation also include Supreme Masters, foremost Buddhalogists, scholars and experts from India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, South and North America, Africa and Europe. DELEGATES:
500 delegates from various countries will participate in the Congregation. The organizers will extend necessary support for all delegates. Travel and hospitality support, including air-fare (to and from New Delhi), hotel accommodation (from 26 November to 30 November) and local transportation will be provided. A complimentary pilgrimage* by special train to Buddhist holy places in India from 01 December to 05 December has also been organized. Delegates are requested to reach New Delhi on 26 November 2011. OBSERVERS:
300 observers from various countries have been invited to the Congregation. Hotel accommodation (from 26 November to 30 November) and local transportation will be provided. However, observers are requested to bear their own travel costs to and from New Delhi. Observers are requested to reach New Delhi on 26 November 2011. PILGRIMAGE:
In order to connect with the sources of Buddha’s Enlightenment and Dhamma, a complimentary pilgrimage by special train to the holy sites of Varanasi, Bodhgaya, Nalanda and Rajgir has been organized for all invitees, delegates and observers. Varanasi - The trip to the holy city of Varanasi and Sarnath will allow us to pay homage to the Supremely Enlightened One where he gave his first sermon. It would offer us an opportunity to remember and redouble our effort and devotion toward, the invaluable teachings of Dhammacakka. Bodhgaya - This pilgrimage will take us to the source of Buddha’s Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in the 2600th year of the Sambodhiprapti. Nalanda - The visit to Nalanda, a great seat of Buddhist learning from the 3rd to the 13th centuries, will no doubt make us vibrate with the great thoughts created and enshrined there and fill us with gratitude to our great ancestral teachers. Rajgir – Visit to the holy site of the second turning of the Wheel of Dhamma Cakka- the Saddharmapundarika (and Prajanaparamita) will remind us of the momentous event. BUDDHIST CULTURE HERITAGE FESTIVAL:
Buddhism can encourage spirituality in a generation that has grown up on materialism and an over-emphasis on the importance of the individual rather than the collective. Thus the Global Buddhist Congregation will actively engage with young people and seek to communicate how the Dhamma can provide a healthy, happy and moral path for modern living. The Congregation aims to reach out to the youth through a Buddhist Cultural Heritage Festival that will include stage performances, film shows and art, photography and book exhibitions from various countries. For this international celebration of Buddhist heritage, cultural troupes from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and various parts of India have been invited. With these we hope to bring together not just followers of the Buddhist path but young people from all religions, beliefs and faiths, enabling them to witness the embedded feeling, power and creativity that enabled the formulation, evolution and dissemination of the force released by Buddha’s enlightenment 2600 years ago.
