Legacy of Khun Yai and the Great Dhammakaya Cetiya : หน้า 57/200

on Saturday, April 22, 2000, Khun Yai was 91 years old when the great Cetiya was completed. She lived to see that big day. The Great Dhammakaya Cetiya is indeed a gift to mankind. The compounds surrounding the Cetiya are now the gathering ground for Buddhists around the world. Over one million Buddhists gather at the Cetiya during important Buddhist events. The Dhammakaya Temple, Khun Yai’s brain-child, is now the center of Buddhism for all Buddhists around the world. Khun Yai passed away on the morning of Sunday, September 10, 2000. At her Cremation Ceremony in 2002, 100,000 Buddhist monks from 30,000 temples all over Thailand, many senior monks from twenty different countries, and hundreds of thousands of others from around the world came to pay their final respect to Khun Yai. This is the biggest gathering of Buddhists in history. Like the story in a fairy tale: A tiny little farmer girl, completely illiterate, took a journey on a spiritual quest, found a Great Master, learned the great Knowledge from the Master, went on to build a great temple, produced many true monks and virtuous people, and brought goodness to mankind. Khun Yai’s legacy lives on.