Wesak
8500 NE Siskiyou St
Portland, OR 97220
USA
Wesak is the festival of Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth. It is a precious time when adults and kids celebrate together. This year marks the first year back to doing the joint celebration, though somewhat scaled back from the past.
A bower of flowers built over a statue of the baby Buddha is placed in front of the main altar. The statue depicts the baby with one hand pointing toward heaven and the other pointing toward the earth, and stands in a deep bowl of sweet tea. During the ceremony, a procession beginning with the priest goes by the bower, each person bowing and pouring a ladleful of tea over the Buddha’s head. This commemorates the story of sweet rain falling on to the baby Buddha at birth.
After the ceremony, we will have cake, and then the young people will go to their respective Dharma School gatherings.
The schedule is as follows:
9:40 Dharma School students join adult sangha for Wesak ceremony
10:00 Birthday cake for all
10:30 Dharma talk for adults; Doug Fir and Spruce reconvene elsewhere