Indonesia
The director of LBDFI was invited by Ajahn Jieu, the abbot of Wat Pa in Bodhgaya, to travel to Indonesia for a preliminary meeting to introduce the annual Tipitaka chanting ceremony. The first visit was to encourage monks from Indonesia to join the Tipitaka program, and the following year 50 monks and lay participants from Indonesia attended the ceremony for the first time.
After that first visit, the Indonesian sangha decided to start a Tipitaka Chanting ceremony in the ancient Buddhist holy place of Borobudur, and invited the directors of LBDFI to attend. Accordingly, on July 6-8, 2017, approximately 100 monks and several hundred of their lay followers from the Indonesian Saṅgha chanted the Tipitaka at the ancient stupa, in an event organized by Saṅgha Theravāda Indonesia, and supported by Magabudhi, Wandani, and Patria.
This chanting has now become an annual event, with hundreds of monks, government officials and thousands of devotees from all over Indonesia converging on the ancient stupa site for a three day ceremony. In addition, every year monks from the Indonesia Theravada sangha attend the Bodhgaya chanting program and have their own tent which makes up the eleventh country to join the international program at the place of enlightenment.
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