Wesak is the festival of Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth. It is a precious time when adults and kids celebrate together.

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 have cake, and then the young people have a “Zeñata” party.

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; Dharma Students remain outdoors for the “Zeñata”; then finish by chanting the Tisarana.