Dear Sombath,
Greetings from the Netherlands. I was asked to write you a letter. That is not easy, I don’t know where you are, how you are; are you still in this world? It is very difficult to imagine that your presence is no longer under your own control. The first time we shared an event was the Gross National Happiness conference in Canada in 2005. We all got absorbed in the joyful style of this conference and the place that was given to spirituality, good food, the First Nation people of Canada, art, the initiators from Bhutan and to young people. You wholeheartedly joined the preparations for the next GNH conference, first in Thailand for partners from the Mekong region, and in 2007 the international event in Nongkhai and Bangkok, Thailand. You had hosted the visit of a delegation from Bhutan to PADETC and several places in Laos in order to familiarize our Bhutanese friends with the way of life in the Mekong region. We discovered a lot of the same intentions across countries: in particular to support young people in their discovery of genuine happiness; and how to integrate this happiness perspective in education.
You presided over the interreligious opening ceremony at Wat Hin Mak Peng, just the opposite bank of the Mae Kong River from Vientiane. You spoke at the provincial hall in Nongkhai and at the main auditorium of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The memories come back now as we prepare for the next GNH conference in Thimphu, Bhutan. We all miss you dearly, Sombath.
What I most remember, now, is that we meditated and prayed for the wellbeing of all people at many occasions. You often led us in these meditations. When I go back to these moments of silence I feel united with you, with all the people you prayed and worked so hard for. With effort I feel even united with the people who are responsible for your disappearance. May we all be well and happy and realize the sometimes awful mistakes we made. Let us try to bring back your sincere intentions and your inner strength.
Hans van Willenswaard, School for Wellbeing Studies and Research
Today we made merits for you as well to blessed us all for the fresh Lao new year. Wherever you are i wish you received our pray and the food we offer in spirits. We did the ceremony at the wooden house that you bought just couple months before someone disappeared you. I remember very well this house and the rice hut, you said you were very very proud you found it, they are old that the owner wanted to tear it down and you want to preserve it. I never thought before that I will have to work on this house for you, moving them in pieces all the way from Savannakhet province and rebuild in Vientiane capital. It was my very first time in my life to build a house, and I always wish that you could come back and tell me what I should do with these old pieces of woods.
I sometimes thought whether it’s worth to work on them, but I manage to finished them at last, with some adaptation. For nearly 2 years that it’s done, we never use it, and not many people see the house attractive because it’s typical Lao house. But to me, I always say to myself that this house is lovely. I love looking at it and it make me smile inside. For me it’s symbol of you, your taste and happiness. Hope you will get to come back to see it by yourself soon. Jit
o, to mark the day, members of your family and I went to offer food for the monks in the forest temple, Wat Na Khoune Noi, the temple that you have been so closely associated with. This is the temple where you first started the Buddhist Development Program (BDP), under the protective endorsement from Phra Arjan Sali, the Vice Partriarch of the Buddhist Sangha. Through the BDP you were able to introduce to some monks the concepts of Engaged Buddhism, a system of Buddhist teachings and practice that encourage the monastics to step outside the confines of their temples and be more engaged in issues that affected the wider community and society. 