This Sunday, May 1, we celebrate the Buddha’s Birthday in the annual festival of Wesak, and also open the May Sit. This is a precious time when the entire sangha – adults and kids, parents and those without children – celebrates together.

The children meet before the Wesak ceremony to decorate a bower with flowers. This becomes shelter for a statue of the baby Buddha placed in front of the main altar in the hall.

During the ceremony, everyone joins a serpentine procession, going to the bower, bowing, and pouring a ladleful of tea over the Buddha’s head, reflecting the legend that sweet rain and flowers fell from the sky when the Buddha was born.

After the Wesak ceremony, we will do a brief ceremony to open the May Sit, and then everyone meets for the birthday party, which includes a large birthday cake and a zeñata.

Join us this Sunday, May 1, for zazen, sanzen and the Wesak Festival. Jiko and Gyoshi offer sanzen. Note that the schedule is slightly different.

8:30am Zazen (with optional sanzen)
9:00 Kinhin (walking meditation)
9:10 Zazen
9:40 Short Morning Service
10:00 Break/Announcements
10:15 Wesak Festival