The locations at which vases should be placed were selected based on the following criteria:

• Places of massive deforestation and troubled ecology due to pollution, logging, etc.
• Places of spiritual importance to the people native to the area in which the vases are being placed ("power points" determined by other religious and spiritual practices). In the Amazon Rain Forest, for example, places considered sacred or intrinsically spiritually potent by the native residents of the rain forest are locations at which vases should be placed.
• Places of great strife - sites of past battles, present social unrest, locations of other social problems associated with the residents of the area, those associated with conflict over ecological policies (such as areas in which the rights or reasons for deforestation are disputed)
• Places of ecological rejuvenation or places where the local ecology has been effectively protected from exploitation (for example - where a forest has been protected from outside interests in a notable fashion or where a traditional way of life, which relies on certain ecological assets, has had its assets protected).
• Places where rare animals and plants may live and/or may be in danger due to contemporary encroachment (for example, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia).

In addition to the above places, it is planned that every country's capital, primary mountain range, and primary river system will receive at least one vase each. The vases should be spread out to cover the country as evenly as possible.

The involvement in placing these vases is said to produce a lot of merit for anyone who participates, even in the most limited manner. Even to wish for the successful accomplishment of the vase placement is adequate to receive merit from this project.

This project is also one of the final great projects conducted by H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He conceived of the project, directed the assembly of the vases, and conducted the consecration ceremony along with other Rinpoches. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche assumed responsibility for placing the vases when His Holiness passed away.

Any assistance which you may render to facilitate this work will be greatly appreciated.