Utretcht, NL Festival: Painting the 8 Auspicious Symbols [6-8 Sept 2013]

On September 6, 7 & 8 near Utrecht, The Netherlands, Carmen and her assistant Romeo will create a big painting of the Eight Auspicious Symbols at the Happinez Festival – And YOU can join them!

These are the same welcoming symbols for the Dalai Lama that she was asked to create 4 years ago when H.H. the Dalai Lama came to The Netherlands.

So please step by their booth to watch or paint along, learn about the meaning of these symbols, learn more about thangka painting and have a look at the special offers of beautiful Thangka gifts.

More details (in Dutch) and photos at Carmen’s website.

Famed Buddhist temple going global: North America Shaolin Cultural Festival, Oct 2013

China Daily
2013-06-19

The Shaolin Temple, known as the cradle of Chinese kung fu, is preparing to stage its first cultural festival in the United States as part of efforts to expand its global clout.

The first North America Shaolin Cultural Festival is scheduled to be held from Oct 8 to 14 in Los Angeles, according to Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Buddhist temple in the city of Dengfeng in Central China’s Henan province.

Image of the Day: India Wesak preparations

NY Times
India Ink
May 24, 2013

Arindam Dey/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A statue of Lord Buddha in Agartala, Tripura, being cleaned on the eve of Wesak, a Buddhist festival that commemorates the birth of Gautam Buddha.

[link]

Running under a giant [thangka] for good tidings

The Star
May 25, 2013

Empowering act: Devotees allowing the ‘thangka’ to undergo the traditional        practice of drawing power from the sun at the                                                                        Enlightened Heart Buddhist Centre in Tambun, Ipoh, Malaysia.

IPOH: Hundreds of devotees unfurled a giant canvas painting of Sakyamuni Buddha at the Enlightened Heart Buddhist Centre in Tambun here, in conjunction with Wesak Day.

It is a traditional practice to unfurl the thangka in the temple compounds for it to draw power from the sun.

Devotees would also run under the 60m by 12m canvas to receive blessings from Buddha.

Buddhists also thronged other temples around the city to perform prayers, seeking blessings during the celebration, which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.

[link]

Surabaya, Indonesia: Path of Awakening Featured Speakers 21-30 June 2013

For more on the festival, visit the official website at:  http://buddhistfestival2013.com/new/

Or the festival’s Facebook page.

Malaysia: Gearing up for Wesak Day

The Star
By OH CHIN ENG
Photos by ZAINUDIN AHAD
20 May 2013

Getting ready: A devotee arranging lotus candles on a table at Wat Chaiyamangalaram Temple in Burmah Lane, Penang.

 

 

BUDDHIST temples and asso-ciations in George Town, Penang, are all geared up for the annual Wesak Day celebrations on Friday.

The Wat Chaiyamangalaram Temple in Burmah Lane was all abuzz with activity as some 70 volunteers were seen giving the temple a fresh, clean look.

The temple’s main attraction – the 33 metre-long reclining Buddha statue built in 1958 – was cleaned by only male devotees.

Surabaya, Indonesia: Path of Awakening Festival 21-30 June 2013

Every five years, the Buddhist Education Centre (BEC) in Surabaya, Indonesia holds the Buddhist Art and Cultural Festival to promote unity and harmony amongst the many Buddhist traditions around the world. The first Festival was held in 2003 and since then it has been extremely well-received, bringing a fresh face to the calling of Dharma propagation.

Photo Essay: South Korea Celebrates Buddha’s Birthday with Famous Parade

Epoch Times
By Jarrod Hall
May 15, 2013

On the evening of Saturday May 11, thousands of Korean Buddhists carried paper lanterns through the streets of downtown Seoul. The Lotus Lantern Parade celebrates Korean Buddhist culture and traditions. It’s one of the country’s most popular annual events.

The two and a half hour parade launched the Lotus Lantern festival, which lasts for one week and is held each year in May to mark the birthday of the Buddha. The festival features Buddhist ceremonies, performances of traditional music and ritual dance as well as folk games, temple food and meditation.

“This Buddhist festival is really important to me because I can share Buddhism’s features with others,” said Amy Kim, a university student from Seoul, “It’s not just about belief – I can show other people, this is how we do things…. It makes me feel proud.”

The festival is called Yeondeunghoe in Korean, which literally means “lantern lighting”. The lighting of lanterns to celebrate Buddha’s birthday has been observed in Korea since the Goryeo Dynasty, over 1000 years ago. The lanterns symbolise the light of wisdom.

For more photos, follow the [link].

Join the crowd at Sanja festival

Japan Times
EDAN CORKILL
MAY 17, 2013

The story goes that precisely 1,385 years ago, two brothers, Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari, were fishing in Sumida River when they discovered in their nets an unlikely object: a statue of the Bodhisattva Kannon. Buddhism itself was still little known in Japan back then, but that didn’t deter a local landowner named Hajino Nakatomo, who was so impressed by the discovery that he enshrined the statue on his property. Thus were the humble beginnings of one of Japan’s most famous temples, Sensoji in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, and those felicitous events are now remembered in the temple’s annual (and famously boisterous) Sanja Matsuri, which will be held this weekend.

Tens of Thousands Throng Tibet festival in Japan

Tibet.net
May 14, 2013 4:23 pm

Representative Lhakpa Tshoko with the dignitaries during the Tibet festival in Tokyo, Japan.

TOKYO: Over 80,000 people came to the Tibet Festival 2013 at the Gokokuji temple in central Tokyo. The festival was organised by Tibet House, the cultural section of the Liaison Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan and East-Asia, with support from Ven. Eiji Okamoto, Chief Abbot and Ven.Thaikou Kobayashi, Vice-Abbot of the Gokokuji Temple.