This project was initiated in 2525 B.E. (1982) in order to promote Dhamma education and the application of Dhamma knowledge to one’s daily life. Young participants range from students at the kindergarten level all the way to the undergraduate level. Other participants include soldiers, policemen, and teachers. His Majesty the King has kindly bestowed an honor shield to each year’s top national winner. This project has also received wide support from all concerned because everyone realizes the importance of youth to the future of our country and our world. Today, the project attracts around 500,000 participants annually and during the past 20 years, about ten million young people have benefited from this project.
In April 2543 B.E. (2000), this project was listed as a UNESCO Culture of Peace and Non-Violence.
The Path of Progress was initiated in 1982 by Most Venerable Luang Por Dhammajayo. The aim of the project is to provide youth with a guideline on how to live wholesome lives with respect to “virtues and knowledge.” The International Buddhist Society (IBS), under the patronage of Most Venerable Somdej Phramaha Ratchamangkhlachan, organizes this event annually and receives royal support from His Majesty the King and the Royal Family in bestowing the first place honorific trophy to the winner. In addition, IBS also receives tremendous support from private and public sectors.
The Path of Progress is a project that has garnered strong interest from numerous schools and educational institutions throughout Thailand. Each year, several million students from kindergarten to undergraduate level participate in the Dhamma quiz contest.
The contest is not of competitive nature and every student benefit from their participation. Even if the students do not win first prize, each will acquire knowledge from the book called the 38 Mangala (highest blessings in life) as a resource that they can apply to their daily life. This will help cultivate their virtues and develop them into wholesome individuals for their family, community, society, and the rest of the world.
The Path of Progress aims to plant strong moral principles in our youth and has earned approval from the Board of Education and is one of the projects under UNESCO’s Culture of Peace and Non-Violence.