World Buddhism Association Headquarters
The reports we obtained from a geological institute prove, just as H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III said, that there is a crystal lake under the ground of the Holy Heavenly Lake. The water quality of the lake is very good. Additionally, there is also one of the world’s only two large underground hidden rivers that run from south to north. The water in the lake is not the water from the hidden river. This is because there is a big difference between their elevations (from sea level). The elevation of the underground water level of the crystal lake is 2,720 feet, while the elevation of the underground water level outside the crystal lake is 2,700 feet. The water utility company drilled five wells on the ground of the Holy Heavenly Lake of the Buddhist city site to sell the water from the wells to the public for residential, commercial, and industrial uses.
The Buddhist city is certainly an extremely magnificent and auspicious site. However, some of the Buddhists who went to the Holy Heavenly Lake scooped water from the lake for drinking and also took stones and sands from the ground of the Buddhist city site. They claimed that those are holy stones and holy sands. Such words were spoken baselessly. We must now seriously and earnestly tell everyone that such behaviors belong to the improper conduct of impure karma. This is tantamount to going to a temple and secretly stealing things from the temple. Can a person who steals things from others still be a rule-and-precept-abiding Buddhist? What one should do is to contribute to the temple. How can anyone secretly take things away from the Buddhist city?
There is an even more stupid aspect of such behaviors. The good quality of the water from below the Holy Heavenly Lake is after the filtering and treatment by the water utility company. But the water you scooped from the lake is not hygienic. As an example, there are often hundreds of wild ducks, flying geese, and wild birds playing on the lake. They certainly carry bacteria. Additionally, the bottom of the lake has not been dredged for many years. Drinking that water will not be good to your health. So, please do not drink the water from the Holy Heavenly Lake and do not take lake water, stones, and sands from the Buddhist city without permission. Those are not holy water, holy stones, or holy sands. Please do not think with wild imagination. If you say that water is holy water, you are simply misleading others.
For those who took water, stones, and sands from there, please return them to the Holy Heavenly Lake on your own. Do not bring them to the Holy Miracles Temple. As a matter of fact, the Holy Miracles Temple is already in a crisis with all of the water, stones, and sands that you took from there and then brought over to the temple. The Holy Miracles Temple will no longer accept the stones, sands, and lake water that you took from there. The temple does not have the manpower to accept or handle them for you. We are very sorry. Thank you for your cooperation.
World Buddhism Association Headquarters (Seal)
April 26, 2019