President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines sent the message of appreciation to Phrathepyanmahamuni (Luwang Por Dhammajayo) for sending the instructor monk and the team to teach meditation and the Universal Goodness 5 (UG 5) practice to the the people of the Philippines. Mr. Raphael Sekis, Deputy of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines attended the Earth Day Ceremony on April 22, 2016 to read the President Benigno’s message and offered the award to Luwang Por Dhammajayo. Mr. Raphael also meditated at the ceremony, and he was greatly impressed with the orderliness at the Dhammkaya temple.
Mr. Raphael continued with meditation regularly, even after he arrived back home in the Philippines. He experienced peace within. By meditating regularly, he felt that this helped with his productivity at work. He would like to share this experience with his staff at the Department of Foreign Affairs. So, he invited the instructor monk from the Middle Way Institution to teach meditation and the 5 Universal Goodness (5G) practice at the Department of Foreign Affairs Headquarters in Manila, Philippines on Thursday May 26, 2016. This was the first time the meditaiton event was being hosted at the Department of Foreign Affairs, in which there were 30 attendees. For most attendees this was the first time they practiced meditation. After meditation, many experienced peace and relaxation and was able to ease the tension experienced from daily work related tasks. Most were impressed with the simplicity of meditation, yet effective. After the event was concluded, the attendees joined for the group photo. They also received the meditation CDs so they can continue with meditation at home. Mr. Raphael and the staff were impressed in the event’s activities and would like this type of activities to continue in the future in which he would like to invite more people to attend.
