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 excellent—one of the world’s only two large underground rivers run from south to north. The water in the lake is different from the water in the underground river because there is a big difference between 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 extraordinarily magnificent and blessed site. However, some Buddhists who visited the Holy Heavenly Lake drank water from the lake. 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 behavior is one of impure karma and is improper. That is tantamount to going to a temple and secretly stealing 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 quality of the underground water beneath the Holy Heavenly Lake is good because it has been filtered and treated by the water utility company. On the other hand, the water you scooped from the lake has yet to be sanitized. There are always hundreds of wild ducks, flying gooses, and wild birds playing in or above the lake. Inevitably, their bodies carry bacteria. Additionally, the bottom of the lake has not been dredged for many years. Drinking that water will not be suitable 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 the water there is sacred, you mislead others.
For those who have taken water, rocks, and sand from the Holy Heavenly Lake and the Buddhist City, we urge you to rectify this. Please return these items to the Holy Heavenly Lake on your own. Do not bring them to the Holy Miracles Temple. The Holy Miracles 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 has no 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
(Eric Huang worked on translating this public announcement from Chinese to English. The translation was last edited on 2024/06/04.)
