From May 31 to June 2, 2012 (B.E. 2555), the 9^th United Nations Day of Vesak celebration was held at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in Ayutthaya Province, the ESCAP Hall at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, and Buddhamonthon in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. The celebration was hosted by Mahachulalongkorn- rajavidyalaya University, overseen by the International Council for the Day of Vesak, with support from the Thai Government and blessings from the Supreme Sangha Council. Participants from 86 countries attended the celebration.

The event marked the 2600^th anniversary of the Buddha’s enlightenment (Buddhajayanti) and honored two royal milestones: the 80^th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit (now Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother) and the 60^th birthday of His Royal Highness Prince Vajiralongkorn (now His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua).

Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Walailak (now Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Krom Phra Srisavangavadhana) presided over the Opening Ceremony. The President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa, attended the celebration and delivered the keynote speech, while H.E. Yingluck Shinawatra, the Prime Minister of Thailand, presented a congratulatory message at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The closing ceremony of the celebration was presided over by His Holiness Somdet Phra Buddhacharya, Thailand.

The celebration had the privilege of welcoming numerous esteemed Buddhist dignitaries and leaders, including:

• His Holiness Samdech Preah Agga Maha Sangharajadhipati Tep Vong, the Grand Supreme Patriarch of Mahanikaya in the Kingdom of Cambodia
• Most Ven Shi Ming Sheng, Vice President of Buddhist Association of China, China
• H.E. Devanand Konwar, Governor House of the State of Patna (Bihar), India
• Most Ven Phra Achan Bouakham Saribouth, Vice President of LBFO Head of Central Buddhist Education, Laos
• Most Ven. Udugama Sri Buddharakkhita Mahanayaka Thero, Mahanayaka of Asgiri Chapter, Sri Lanka
• Most Ven. Niyangoda Vijitasiri Anunayaka Thero, Anunakaya of Malwatta Chapter, Sri Lanka
• Hon Nilanga Dela Bandara D.N. Sri Dalada Maligawa, Lay Custodian of the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth), Sri Lanka
• Most Ven Prof Thich Tri Quang, Vice Supreme Patriarch of the Patronage Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Vietnam

with Phra Bhavanavitayt (Luangpor Khemmadhammo), Abbot of Wat Pah Santidhamma, The Forest Hermitage in Warwickshire, UK, delivering the keynote address.
A closed-door workshop on the Common Buddhist Text (CBT) was also conducted.
The celebration was held concurrently with the 2^nd Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Universities (IABU), which addressed five topics:

• Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation Practices
• Unifying Buddhist Philosophical Views
• Teaching Dhamma in New Land
• Buddhist Psychotherapy
• Buddhist Texts and Commentaries in Traditional and Contemporary Context

During the celebration, distinguished Buddhist leaders participated in the First Closed-Door Round-Table Meeting, organized by the National Office of Buddhism and Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, to discuss the development of Buddhamonthon as the centre of world Buddhism.

• At the conclusion of the celebration, participants unanimously adopted resolutions in the Bangkok Declaration as follows:  Recognizing the profound life-transforming impact on humanity that the Buddha’s Enlightenment and his pragmatic teachings have had throughout the World in the last 2600 years, we shall tirelessly strive with our practice of the Noble Eightfold Path to share the Buddha’s peaceful teaching with the world.
• Being aware of the multifaceted nature of conflicts in the world: the role of society; the interplay of social responsibility; and economic development, we urge the governments in the world to be pragmatic and promote forgiveness to help bring an end to the social and political conflicts in the world. Especially, the Buddhists of the world seek to promote peace and reconciliation throughout the world by the skillful application of Buddhist teachings of forgiveness, non-violence, compassion and tolerance; and, to work tirelessly against the human nature of unlimited desire, hatred and ignorance in order to establish a society which embraces the values of mankind.
• In appreciation of the unprecedented increase in environmental disasters facing the world, we promote the greater awareness of interdependency between human beings and our natural environment.
• To promote mental, ethical and cognitive transformation in society, we encourage the promotion of the meditation practices that have been richly preserved in all Buddhist traditions.
• Commemorating the Buddhajayanti 2600 years of the Buddha’s Enlightenment, and mindful of the unanimous support expressed for the establishment of The Centre of World Buddhism, we recognize and rejoice in the successful roundtable conference organized on 1 June 2012 at the main campus of the Mahachula- longkornrajavidyalaya University at Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, jointly by Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University and the National Office of Buddhism. We seek the implementation of the decision to establish The Centre of World Buddhism for the purposes, among others, of more effective networking for the Buddhist world, at Buddhamonthon; towards that ends, we also joyfully record the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Centre.
• Mindful of the close connection that it has with the ICDV, we rejoice in the successful completionof the 2nd Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Universities which explored the topic of Buddhist Philosophy and Praxis, through a process of academic deliberation, discussions, and collaboration.
• We continue to maintain and strengthen the progress made towards two of the ICDV flagship projects: the compilation of the Common Buddhist Text and Union Catalog of Buddhist Texts.
• We applaud the cooperation among the UNESCO, the Government of Nepal, the business sector and various Buddhist non-govern-mental organizations (NGO’s) in the establishment of measures taken for the monitoring and mitigation of air pollution at Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha and a designated World Heritage site.