Message of Appreciation to Phraarjabhavanavisudh : หน้า 66/103

Message of Appreciation to the Most Venerable Phraarjabhavanavisudh By Khun Ladawan Wongsriwong On 26 December 2004, Thailand faced the most severe natural disaster in her history being hit by a tsunami tidal wave along the coasts of Andaman Sea where six southern provinces are located. People were not warned in advance of the possibility of the tidal wave meaning over 5,000 Thai and international tourists lost their lives in the natural disaster. Survivors remain confused by their sudden loss and did not know how to carry on with their lives. Amidst darkness there is always a path of light. The overwhelming response of benefactors from our own country and abroad brought support and comfort to the victims. As the first stage of the problems had been gradually resolved, the follow up required restoration of morale to the survivors. Having seen the aforementioned need, nonprofit organizations, state enterprises and the private sectors jointly organized two memorial services for the victims of the Tsunami Tidal Wave - in Phuket Province on 5 January 2005 and at Takuapa District, Phang Nga Province on Wednesday 19 January 2005. On this occasion, religious rites were held jointly by Buddhist, Christians, Moslems, Sikhs and Jews. Both memorial services were well organized and extremely successful. Several ten of thousands of Thais and Westerners, sixteen countries' diplomats, and many hundreds of international volunteers congregated for the ceremony. Furthermore, 2,000 Buddhist monks led the Buddhist Memorial Service by chanting and illuminating over ten thousand lanterns in each event. The ceremonies were sacred, beautiful and orderly and not only released people's sorrow but brought their minds back to refuge in the Triple Gem. The Thai Press and over thirty overseas press agencies broadcast the news throughout the world. The atmosphere of the Takuapa event made it to many newspaper front pages which was said to be the most attractive news picture in the world over the past twenty-four hours. It more than restored Thailand's image and re-itterated to the world the compassionate heart of all Thais. In the meantime, it also informed the people in the world that Thailand had brought the situation under control and had returned to business as usual, ensuring tourists were not afraid to re-visit Thailand and that the economic situation in the disaster area could be revived. Thailand has benefited greatly from both memorial events. Great success was derived from the cooperation of many non-profit organizations, the private and public sectors, media and the Thai grassroots with an outstanding contribution by the Most Ven. Phraarjabhavanavisudh (Luang Phaw Dhammajoy), the President of Dhammakaya Foundation, who strongly supported both ceremonies and invited monks to partake in the ceremo-