Did you know that more than one million children from 5000 schools in Thailand gathered in the Phra Shammakaya Temple to meditate for world peace? This was a part of the project called V-Star Change the World which takes place every year.
The children are brought to a Buddhist temple in Thailand to spend a day in meditation. On the last event, there were approximately million children. They meditate for a whole day because they believe that the world can be transformed with the help of meditation.
Continue reading the article to learn more about this project…
The V-Star Change the World Project
Without doubt, getting one child to sit still can be quite the challenge so imagine what it means to have million children meditating together? This is apparently a normal thing in Thailand where there are annual child meditations in this Buddhist temple.
The goal of the project is to raise awareness among the population for world peace, something our planet needs right now. Every V-star that stands for virtuous star is selected to take part of this amazing event. The participants have been recognized for their moral excellence in schools and communities.
The idea of the project is to have all of these people in one place to connect and create a support network and share stories about the good things they do on a daily basis.
Being a part of this event is not as easy as you may think- before the event; the children who are selected to meditate need to fulfil 10 tasks on a daily basis for a period of 90 days. Some of the tasks include saving pocket money, helping their parents with housework, and making their beds regularly.
The Beginnings of the V-Star Project
It all began back in 2008 as part of the World Morality Revival which was created by the abbot at Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple. For the abbot, children are the future and need to be raised with good moral values that they can spread to others. With an uncertain future ahead of us, this has never been more important.
The representatives of the program explain that if we want to make the world a better place for everyone, we need to begin with the small things and with our children. And, changing the world, as they believe, begins when we change and improve ourselves.
Hence, these children are trying hard to become better people who can further help change the world.
Why Meditation?
Meditation is practice which helps us stay in the present moment, increases our awareness, helps us fulfil our potential and brings us together by removing prejudice and everything else that creates barriers between us.
Nonetheless, other Buddhists have criticized this temple’s display and calling it a show rather than a genuinely virtuous endeavour. Despite this and some other criticisms, the project believes in its success and vision for worldwide peace.
Meditation can help remove the things that are hurtful and improve relationships among people. This idea is inspired by the vision that we are all one and that we need to work together if we want to achieve world peace.
The Minister of Education, Dr Suchart Thadathamrongvej congratulated the children for the event and said that he was impressed by seeing so many children doing so many good deeds. He is confident that this method is the right choice and it will help make the world a beautiful place again.
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