"Buddha's Birthday" in Orange County

Deepa Bharath (949) 553-2903, dbharath@ocregister.com (OC Register, 6/5/09)

Master Thich Chon Thanh inside Lien Hoa Buddhist temple in surprisingly diverse Southern California (Mindy Schauer/OC Register).

Buddhists gather to celebrate Buddha's birthday: For the first time, about 7,000 will celebrate Vesak in Anaheim.

GARDEN GROVE, California – For the first time, Buddhists from all over Southern California are congregating in Anaheim to celebrate Vesak or "Buddha Day" at the Convention Center tomorrow.

"This is Buddha's birthday," said Thich Con Thanh, abbot of the Lien Hoa Buddhist Temple in Garden Grove. "This is like Christmas for Buddhists all over the world."

Thanh is organizing the event, which he expects will be attended by at least 7,000 followers from all over Southern California -- Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego counties. The Buddhist population is Orange County and the rest of Southern California has grown exponentially in the last five to ten years, Thanh said. Members of 15 Buddhist temples from Southern California will participate in the festivities, he said.

Vesak is the most important festival for Buddhists, said organizer Phat Ngiem.

"It's celebrated all over the world by followers of the Buddha," he said. "It's our way of getting the Buddha's blessings and showing our gratitude for his teaching. Our prayers on that day are to remind us of his venerable teachings and what we are supposed to do in our daily lives. We listen to our masters. It's a day of reflection and prayer."

WHERE & WHEN
The Vietnamese Buddhist community of Southern California will celebrate Vesak ("Buddha's Birthday") from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday, June 6, 2009 at the Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Avenue.

FREE lunch will be provided at noon from different cultures. The ceremony and traditional rituals begin at about 1:30 p.m. An exhibition of art work, pictures, and bonsai plants will begin at 10:00 a.m. Cultural entertainment will begin at 4:00 p.m.

This year's theme for the celebration is "A Prayer for Peace and Economic Recovery." Entrance is FREE and open to everyone.

The celebration will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a traditional Buddhist ceremony when abbots from different temples will give sermons and chant Buddhist prayers. Organizers are also creating several exhibits that provide information about Buddhism, their traditions and culture.

"It's more of a cultural exhibition," said Ngiem. "We'll have paintings, pictures, bonsai, and other items that depict the culture and traditions that came from Buddhism."

Vesak is an annual holiday observed traditionally by practicing Buddhists in South Asian and South East Asian countries such as:

• Vietnam
• Nepal
• India
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Cambodia
• Malaysia
• Sri Lanka
• Burma
• Indonesia

It is informally referred to as "Buddha's birthday," but it encom-passes the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Gautama Buddha.

On Vesak Day, most followers eat vegetarian food and participate in traditional chants and rituals, he said. Follower Tom Truong said, for him, Vesak is a "happy occasion." "It's great to see all the temples getting together and coming together as well to celebrate this happy time," he said. Source