World Buddhism Association Headquarters Announcement No. 20190104:

Regarding the Water, Rocks, and Sand from the Holy Heavenly Lake

The reports we obtained from geological institutions validated What His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III said, that there is an underground crystal lake beneath the Holy Heavenly Lake, and the water quality of the lake is very good. There is also one of the world’s only two large underground rivers that runs from south to north. The water in the lake is not the water in the underground river because there is a big difference between their water elevations. The water level of the crystal lake is at 2,720 feet, while the water level outside the crystal lake is at 2,700 feet. The water utility company drilled five wells in the ground of the Holy Heavenly Lake, i.e., the Buddhist City, to sell water to the public for residential, commercial, and industrial uses.

The Buddhist City is naturally an extremely magnificent and auspicious site. However, some Buddhists who visited the Holy Heavenly Lake took water from the lake to drink. They even took rocks and sand from the ground in the Buddhist City. They claim that they are holy rocks and holy sand. They are speaking nonsense. We must now seriously and earnestly tell everyone that such a behavior is one of impure karma and is improper. This is tantamount to going to a temple and secretly steal things from there. Can someone who steals still be a Buddhist who abides by the rules and precepts? We can only make contributions to temples. How can we take things away from the Buddhist City privately?

There is something even more stupid in all of this. The reason why the quality of the underground water beneath the Holy Heavenly Lake is good is it has been filtered and treated by the water utility company. On the other hand, the water you scooped from the lake is not sanitary. There are always hundreds of wild ducks, flying gooses, and wild birds playing in or above the lake for example. There are inevitably bacteria carried by their bodies. Additionally, the bottom of the lake has not been dredged for many years. Drinking that water will not be good for your health. So, please do not drink the water from the Holy Heavenly Lake. Do not take lake water, rocks, or sand from the Buddhist City privately. Those are not holy water, holy rocks, or holy sand. Please do not think with a wild imagination. If you say that water is holy water, you are simply misleading others.

For those who took away water, rocks, and sand from there, please return them to the Holy Heavenly Lake on your own. Do not bring them to the Holy Miracles Temple. The Holy Miracle Temple is already in a crisis with all the water, rocks, and sand that you brought over which you took from there. The Holy Miracles Temple will no longer accept any rock, sand, or lake water that you took from there. The temple does not have the manpower to accept and dispose of these rocks or sand for you. We are very sorry. Thank you for your cooperation.

World Buddhism Association Headquarters
April 26, 2019