The Relationship of Faith to The 4th Dhammayatra to Buddhabhoomi : Mekong- Ganga Declaration on Dhamma Century, Republic of India” The first destination is Sanchi Buddhist Monastery with the path of the Arahant Relics under the care of Upatissa Thero, the current President of Sanchi Buddhist Monastery and President of the Maha Bodhi Society of Sri Lanka.

November 30, 2024 is an important day in a year when the Indian government invited the relics of Sariputta and Moggallana, the right and left chief disciples of the Lord Buddha, from the secure chamber inside the Sanchi Buddhist Monastery in India for the public to pay homage. The person who played an important role in taking care of the relics was Upatissa Thero, the president of the Sanchi Buddhist Monastery and the president of the Maha Bodhi Society of Sri Lanka. He also signed the approval to invite the relics along with the relics from the museum in Delhi to be enshrined in Thailand from February 22 to March 19, 2024, so that Buddhists in the Mekong River Basin can pay homage under the 3rd Dhammayatra project, “Ganga-Mekong Holy Buddha Relics Dhammayatra”. This is the first time that the relics have been invited from the Sanchi Buddhist Monastery. Under the encouragement of the faith of Dr. Supachai Veraphuchong, Secretary-General of Bodhigaya Vijjalaya 980 Institute, together with the Thai government

Venerable Upatissa Thero told the story of the history of the Arahant Relics that he was taking care of, up to the present life history, in a forum on the topic of “Dhammavijaya to the Century of Dhamma” organized by the Bodhigaya Institute 980 at Wat Mahawanaram or Wat Pa Yai, Ubon Ratchathani Province. He said that he felt that Dr. Supachai was a friend and good friend, just like the group of Indian monks who traveled with him this time. He believed that the success came from the power of the Arahant Relics that were invited.

Venerable Upasissa Thero recounted the history of this set of Arahant relics, from the past when they were invited from Sanchi to London before moving from London back to India via Sri Lanka, where the former Sanchi Stupa was discovered by the British after Buddhism had disappeared from India for almost 800 years in the 12th century.

When Venerable Upatissa was 12 years old, he traveled from Sri Lanka to India to study in Sarnath, where people traveled from all over the world to pay homage to the sacred objects. He had Buddhist friends from Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and other countries, but no Buddhist friends in India because Buddhism had disappeared from India. Buddhism was then returned to India by Venerable Anagarika Dharmapala to spread and restore Buddhism to India and the world again. He founded the Mahabodhi Association of Sri Lanka in 1891, so he invited friends from Thailand and Myanmar to work together. The Mahabodhi Association records state that a prince from Thailand was one of the members of the association. At present, Venerable Upatissa Thero is the third president of the Mahabodhi Association. He has tried to build relationships with all Buddhist countries around the world. In Sri Lanka, there are 6 sects of Buddhism. He is in the Siam sect, so he has a close relationship with Thai Buddhists.

In 1851, the relics of Sariputta and Moggallana were brought to London by an Englishman, who kept them in a museum for over a hundred years. During this time, Anagarika Dharmapala built a Buddhist temple in London. Sri Lankan monks visited the museum and learned that the relics were there. They reported the matter to the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Dharmapala then began to demand that the English return them to the Buddhists. However, he was not successful during his lifetime. He passed away in 1933. His disciples continued the demand until they were successful. His grandchildren brought them back from London and returned them to Sri Lanka for several years before they were successful.

The journey of this set of Arahant relics passed through Sri Lanka and then returned to India. During that time, no matter which city the Arahant relics passed through, the leader of that country or city would have to come to pay homage and welcome them. And every time they were invited, there would be a miraculous phenomenon of the sky changing.

In 1941, the relics of the Arahant were brought from England to Sri Lanka to India at Calcutta, with the first President of India personally traveling to receive them, to return them to the city of Sanchi, the origin where the relics were kept in the past. And the Sanchi temple was built to permanently keep the relics, which the Muslim king of Madhya Pradesh donated land to build the temple. Completed in 1952, with the President personally traveling to open the temple.

Since 1952 the relics of the Arahants had been kept in the Sanchi temple and had never been taken out even once. Then one day a letter came from Thailand asking for permission to temporarily enshrine these relics in Thailand for the celebration of His Majesty the King's 60th Birthday Anniversary. It was a great pleasure to be a part of the celebration and to help spread the Dharma.

Similarly, the visit to India by Dr. Supachai Verapuchong, Secretary-General of Bodhgaya Vijjalaya 980 Institute on 29 November 2024 at the invitation of Phra Upatissa Thero to participate in the ceremony to invite the relics of Phra Sariputta and Phra Moggallana at Sanchi Buddhist Monastery is a way to strengthen the relationship through Buddhism between the two river basins and is the first root destination of The 4th Dhammayatra to Buddhabhoomi : Mekong- Ganga Declaration on Dhamma Century.

Written by: Patcha Nilangso