Wesak Celebration at the Berkeley Buddhist Priory-A Soto Zen temple

1358 Marin Avenue,Albany CA 94706

30 May, 2021

Description

The Berkeley Buddhist Priory, a Soto Zen Temple, will be celebrating Wesak, the birth of the historical Buddha on Sunday, May 30. This is an invitation to the Priory's Wesak celebration on Sunday, May 30. All activities will take place in the temple garden with everyone wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. On Wesak, Buddhists throughout the world commemorate the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. It is the most spiritually significant day of the Buddhist calendar and it is traditional for Buddhists to join together and express their gratitude for life of Shakyamuni Buddha and the great gift of the Dharma. Everyone is welcome to come for whatever part of the day they wish. On Sunday, May 30, there will be a meditation period at 9:30 am followed by the Wesak ceremony at 10 am. It is a particularly joyous service with an altar covered with silk flowers, and a statue of the Buddha as a baby which stands on the altar. During the ceremony we pour water over the head of the baby Buddha, representing the water of compassion abundantly flowing over all beings. After the ceremony, the Priory will have a Dharma talk. At around 12:15 pm,we will have a vegetarian potluck lunch. Everyone's family and friends are welcome to join us for the Wesak service or just come to the potluck and to share in our celebration of the birth of the Buddha. The Priory potlucks provide a wonderful offering of foods, and allow us to spend some time with others who are practicing Buddhism.We hope you can join us in this celebration for the Buddha.