On 13 and 14 January 2018, H.E. Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand to India, together with his spouse, M.L. Piyawan Gongsakdi, and Ms. Venus Asawapoom, Acting Consul-General, Royal Thai Consulate-General, Kolkata, attended the Buddhist Ordination Ceremony in celebration of the 60th Birthday Anniversary of Professor Doctor Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand, at the Royal Thai Monastery in Buddhagaya and under the Maha Bodhi Tree, Mahabodhi Temple, in Bodhgaya, India, a district in which the Lord Buddha attained his Enlightenment, and which is nowadays considered as one of the most sacred places for the Buddhist communities worldwide.

              The Buddhist Ordination Project, which covered the duration of 9 days between 13 and 21 January 2018, was the fruit of joint collaboration from Thailand’s national agencies, including: (1) Office of the Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister Office, (2) Chulabhorn Research Institute, (3) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (4) Department of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Culture, and (5) Office of National Buddhism. The Ceremony was, from the monastic side, headed by Venerable Phra Dhamma Panyabodee, Chief Monk of Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit (Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit Temple, Bangkok), and Venerable Phra Dhamma Bodhivong, Dr., Chief Monk of the Royal Thai Monastery in Buddhagaya and Head of Overseas Dhammaduta Bhikkhus in India-Nepal; and from the laic side, headed by H.E. Mr. Kobsak Pootrakul, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister.

               Thailand’s personalities who were ordained as monks during this Ceremony were H.E. Mr. Thakur Phanit, former Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka and current Vice President of Chulabhorn Research Institute, and H.E. Mr. Chalermpol Thanchitt, former Ambassador of Thailand to Switzerland and current Vice President of Chulabhorn Research Institute. Besides, H.E. Mr. Chalit Manityakul, former Ambassador of Thailand to India and current Vice President of Chulabhorn Research Institute, also attended the said Ordination Ceremony.

               After the Buddhist Ordination Ceremony, the delegation of ordained Buddhist monks and lay persons journeyed along the India-Nepal Buddhist pilgrimage circuit to the districts/towns/cities of Sarnath, Varanasi, Sravasti and Kushinagar in India, and the city of Lumbini in Nepal, in commemoration of the Lord Buddha’s achievements during his lifetime and beyond, and as a merit offering to Professor Doctor Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand, who turned 60 on 4 July 2017.