Buddha knows : Preface & Background

          While Buddhism was born and has prospered in the Orientalworld, 

blessing people with the teachings that guide them towards happy lives and both mental 

and physical wellbeing, people from the Occidental world have recently become 

increasingly moreinterested in Buddhist philosophy as a way to find the answers for their lives that cannot be explained by science and technology.

            This book was derived from an introductory interview between

Monica Øien, the hostess of a number of Norwegian TV programs, 

and  Luang Por Dhammajayo, the abbot of the Dhammakaya Temple and

president of the Dhammakaya Foundation, who sacrificed his valuable

time from the duties of promoting world-peace through inner-peace,

to answer all the challenging questions from western people who lack

a background knowledge in Buddhism. His answers, which contain a

lot of Buddhist wisdom, have given light to the interviewer who has

spread this knowledge to a Norwegian audience via her television show.

            The publisher considers this interview to be beneficial

for all people who wish to access the Lord Buddha’s teachings

through simple, conversational language. For all non-Buddhists

who are curious about Buddhism, this book is a quick guide that

provides the fundamentals of Buddhist views. We have obtained

permission from Luang Por Dhammajayo to publish this book.

            A survey in Norway has revealed that there are many things

people still wonder about in their lives, like human birth, how to

raise children and lead a wholesome family life, the practice of a

monk’s celibacy, death and the afterlife, effective time management,

and the Buddhist engagement in religious ceremonies. All these

questions inspired the Norwegian producers from TV2,
who have tried to provide some answers to these questions that will help
the audience solve their problems and maximize their lives. This program

is called “Gudene Vet” which means “God Knows” in Norwegian,

where different religious leaders are interviewed for TV broadcast.

            The presenter of this chat show is Ms. Monica Øien,
a well  established hostess and TV producer, who has traveled around
the world in search of answers to the mysteries of life. She has met and

interviewed many people from various religions, with different beliefs

and from diverse backgrounds, who have given her various perspectives

of their worldviews that form the foundation of her program.

             The producers’ team was very interested to hear the Buddhist

worldview, so they researched the Buddhist countries and found 

a prominent organization that has become internationally successful 

in spreading the wisdom of Buddhism. The team asked for permission

from the Dhammakaya temple to interview the abbot, Luang Por

Dhammajayo (The Most Venerable Dhammajayo Bhikkhu), 

and record the Kathina ceremony, an annual offering of robes for

Buddhist monks at the temple. After the sacred Kathina ceremony

on 5th November 2006, there was an interview with the abbot the

next day at the Tusita Pavilion of Dhammakaya temple. 

The interview ran from 2:00 – 5:30 pm. Apart from giving an interview, 

Luang Por Dhammajayo also taught the production team how to meditate,

which brought each of them a unique experience of inner peace.

                The program “God Knows” which is on TV2, one of

Norway’s most popular channels, broadcasted the conversation

between the abbot of the Dhammakaya temple and Ms. Monica

Øien from 11th February to 18th March 2007. This program

was on the air during Sunday prime time, from 6 pm onward.