Pagoda Stake-Driving Ceremony: MoRAC UM attended the ceremony

A donation ceremony for the restoration of the Phaung Daw Chet Ma Pagoda and a stake-driving grand ceremony were held at the Naga Zaung Tan terrace within the pagoda precincts of Phaung Daw Chet Ma Pagoda in Lewe Township, Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory on December 9. At the ceremony, the guests undertook the Nine Precepts from the Presiding Sayadaw of the Pauk Myaing Pariyatti Monastery in Lewe Township, Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru Bhaddanta Janinda .

Following that, the lay devotees offered Paritta flowers, water, strings, sand and stones to the Sangha. The devotees then reverently listened to the Mettā Sutta and other paritta suttas recited by the members of Sangha. Afterwards, the lay devotees received the Paritta flowers, water, strings, sand and stones from the Sangha and sprinkled and scattered them inside the pagoda compound.

Subsequently, Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Tin Oo Lwin supplicated the religious affairs. He recounted that the severe Mandalay earthquake on March 28, 2025, caused loss of life and property for members of Sangha, nuns, and the people. For Buddhists, 6,503 priceless pagodas and over 4,930 monasteries and nunneries were damaged.

He gave a brief history of the great Phaung Daw Chet Ma Pagoda, for which the stake-driving grand ceremony is being held. He also mentioned that the lead-type printed volumes of the Atthakatha and Tika texts from the Sixth Buddhist Synod printed in 1958 have deteriorated over time, with pages becoming fragile, print fading, and texts becoming incomplete.

Therefore, efforts to transcribe them into digital format and republish them are underway. Continuing, the lay devotees carried the stakes and circumambulated the pagoda grounds in a clockwise direction. Afterwards, the pagoda donors drove the stakes, dug the ceremonial hole, and sprinkled scented water. Following that, led by the Sangha, the Jaya Mangala Gāthās were chanted. The ceremony concluded with the thrice-repeated recitation of "Buddha Sāsanam Ciraṃ Tiṭṭhatu ".