Celebrating Buddha's Birthday and Mother's Day Festival

The Month of May is a blessed month for Buddhists all over the world. It is in this month that Vesak Day is celebrated, commemorating the birth, the life, and passing of the Buddha. Hence, in May, Buddhist temples and centers the world over organize a rolling series of celebrations for local Buddhists and lay persons alike.

As in past years, we participated in a couple, and will be attending another one toward the end of the Month. Guang Ming Temple of Orlando is one such venue. To take advantage of the Mother's Day that also falls in the month of May, the organizers have combined the two into a Celebrating Buddha's Birthday and Mother's Day Festival on May 11 (Sunday). And there's where we headed last Sunday.

The day's programs included Buddha's bathing ceremony, Chinese book fair, and cultural performances. We arrived in the afternoon to join a throng of people mingling in the courtyard. This is our second visit to the temple, but the first after it has become fully functional. The first visit occured in July 2006 when wify attended the Taking the Three Refuges Ceremony conducted by Master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan (the Buddha Light Mountain). Then only the Main Shrine (Precious Hall of the Great Hero, literaly translated from Chinese) was essentially completed for the ceremony to be held within its august bowel.

This time, the completed temple looks majestic with its gently upward curving roof line, like dragons on the verge of soaring high, and the architecture, elegant against the backdrop of azure sky. The morning service was already over when we arrived. So we helped ourselves to bathing the Buddha, after which we sauntered upstaris to view the Arts exhibition and visited the Book Fair held at the third floor. Here then is a pictorial chronicle of the sights as we sampled the events of the day on this auspicious day in the month of May.

The courtyard lined by food and souvenir stalls (just beyond the view to the sides here), the two tents providing shade from the afternoon sun for the audience enjoying the open-air performances. The small figurines standing on top of the roof edges are molded shapes of animal form (mythical? I can't tell).

A Kung Fu troupe just finishing performing and its protagonists of various ages lining up to deliver a traditional Chinese salute, the Shaolin style, a fist pressed against an open palm. According to the brochure on Guang Ming Temple, the geometric rectangles seen covering the floor of the courtyard "symbolizes rice paddies with weed growing around the edges. We meditate to help remove the weeds and desires from our mind so the harvest will be plentiful. It is also named "the great way to Buddhahood" because we need to walk through it to reach the Main Shrine (Buddha Hall). [Note that the courtyard is used for walking meditation.] Our mind is like the rice paddy. If we plant good seeds then we can reap merits and attain Buddhahood." Also, one of the two lions at each top corner of the courtyard is visible toward the back. "Lions represent bravey, strength and courage since the lion is the "king of all animals". Lions serve as guardians to ward off evil, and since the lions roar is very loud, it helps to awaken us from ignorance", the brochure continues.

Wify engaging with Sister Lana and an American attendee in front of a souvenir stall. In the background stood two Venerables looking at a game of rolling up balls along an inclined chute so that they would fall into holes at the top of the chute in progress. I guess this must be the brain child of the YAD, standing for the Young Adult Division of Buddha’s Light Int’l Association.

The tall urn, standing like a sentinel on guard at the entrance to the Main Shrine.

The Main Shrine fronted by a tableful of four baby buddhas facing each of the four cardinal directions amidst the floral arrangement. The centerpiece beyond is a porcelain white statue of the Buddha flanked by the Chinese inscription of the Heart Sutra, which in turn are abutted by about 80 images of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Guanyin Pusa), who is "the embodiment of great compassion for the troubled and suffering of the world. She will come to the aid of anyone who invokes her name sincerely and mindfully."

Wify doing the honor of bathing the buddha with a wooden ladle, rather gingerly.

CE's turn (actually this was taken about a week after when CE, and WT, came with us to attend the Dharma Talk delivered by Venerable Yung Han on May 17, but it did fit in with the occasion nicely, don't you think?)

The Gatha for bathing the Buddha in Chinese and English. They were actually pasted on two pillars opposite to each other but were combined here.

The significance of bathing the buddha described in English and Chinese. Again these appeared on opposite walls. You would have to click the image to be able to read the contents that would surely enlighten you appropriately.

Some of the drawings displayed on the wall at the Arts gallery on the second floor.

The entrance to the Book Fair on the third floor. Wonder what the parasols signify?

Wify leafing through a book at the Gardening and Hobby Section.