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On 15th December 1999, representatives from thirty-four countries proposed to
the General Assembly of the United Nations that the full moon day in the month
of May be recognized and observed at the United Nations Headquarters and its
Regional Offices as the United Nations Day of Vesak. The General Assembly
so resolved (Agenda Item 174 of Session No. 54) and, accordingly, the UN Day
of Vesak was instituted in the year 2000 with the support of all Buddhist
traditions. In pursuance of that Resolution, we, participants from eighty-five
countries and regions, have come together on May 28-30, 2015 (B.E. 2558). As
in the previous years, the celebrations were generously organized by
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, and graciously supported by the
Royal Government of Thailand under the guidance of the Supreme Sangha
Council of Thailand.
During the celebrations we have explored the theme of "Buddhism and World
Crisis" promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between organizations
and individuals from all Buddhist traditions. At the conclusion of our successful
celebrations and meetings we have unanimously resolved as follows:
1. In honor of the 60th Birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn, to publish the Common Buddhist Text;
2. Also in honor of the 60th Birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha
Chakri Sirindhorn, to launch Phase I of the Union Catalog of Buddhist Texts
(UCBT), which will be a new UCBT online catalog that will link the online
catalogs for all the Buddhist canons; Phase 1 will consists of creating and
launching a technically advanced catalog website for the MCU edition of the
Pali canon and the MCU Thai translation of the Pali canon;
3. In solving world crisis of all forms, to urge all parties concerned to (a)
contemplate the interdependence of sentient beings with other sentient beings,
and sentient beings with their environment, and (b) promote optimism that,
through compassion and wisdom, we can transform crises into opportunities for
well-being;
4. To urge all individuals, especially those in positions of responsibility, to
promote the empowerment of women worldwide;
5. To urge all governmental and non-governmental bodies to invest more in
education to promote mindful education, religious diversity, ethical values and
spiritual-development, among the young and for society at large, as, for
instance, in the Village of the Five Precepts Project in Thailand;
6. To promote personal spiritual transformation and structural changes at the
social, economic, legal and political levels, through a simple contented lifestyle
with virtuous ethical principle, in order to create an ecologically sustainable
environmental community that addresses global warming and environmental
degradation; to encourage fellow human beings to live with, but not exploit, the
Earth; and to urge the world community to promote a greater awareness of the
interconnectedness between human beings and the natural environment;
7. To commend on the relief efforts for natural disasters and famines, such as
the recent earthquake in Nepal, already undertaken by the Buddhist
communities worldwide and to further urge them to pull together their resources
to promote this practice of compassion in action;
8. To urge all the governments and communities within the ASEAN
Community, together with their neighbors, to find a solution for the dire
situation with the Mekong River and its fragile ecosystem;
9. To encourage Buddhist leaders to strengthen their ongoing inter-religious and
inter-ethnic and cultural dialogue in order to promote mutual understanding,
reconciliation, respect, peace building, and harmony, to create a more integrated
society within the ASEAN Community and beyond; and
10. In addressing social problems, such as narcotic drugs, ethnic violence and
domestic abuse, to employ resources available in the Buddhist traditions, such
as the practice of mindfulness, compassion, wisdom, self-responsibility, respect
for life and for all people, regardless of social status and gender, as for example,
with the use of mindfulness meditation to rehabilitate prisoners.
Done as the Bangkok Declaration of the Twelfth Anniversary Celebrations of
the United Nations Day of Vesak, this 30th Day of May 2015 (B.E. 2558).
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