tipitaka network ... his life, his acts, his words                 sabbe satta bhavantu sukhi-tatta

News at Tipitaka Network

up a level

Monks honor Buddha's birthday, mothers

By Greg Clary, lohud.com, Monday, May 11, 2009

KENT (Putnam) Hundreds of visitors yesterday helped monks at the Chuang Yen Monastery celebrate two special occasions - Buddha's birthday and Mother's Day.

From special cultural performances to mark the festivities to a drop-in clinic for Eastern medicine, those in attendance got as much spirituality as they did family time watching dancers, martial arts experts, singers and a virtuoso violinist who is in her first year of high school.

Chris and Mitsuko Antal of Wappingers Falls, parents of five kids between the ages of 4 and 9, brought their brood to enjoy a Buddhist celebration like those Mitsuko practiced in her Japanese household.

"We even got Buddha haircuts for all of us boys," Chris Antal said, lifting his hat to show newly shorn stubble that matched his three sons' heads.

"It's good for the kids. They get a little bit of the culture. We're a multiracial family with multiple religions. They love coming here. They love going to church on Sunday."

Judging from the respite from kid-wrangling his wife got, Antal obviously remembered the other half of the special day.

So did Kent Supervisor Kathy Doherty, herself a mother of four, who spoke in honor of both celebrations but focused on the area she knew best.

"There's no mystery at all to being a mother," Doherty said, after joking about her sons believing that she developed X-ray vision and bionic hearing to keep them in line.

"It's on-the-job training. Sometimes children can be your best teacher. I've learned I had to let go."

She reminded the mothers in the audience to "enjoy being a mom and every minute with your children."

Many of the kids in attendance were enthralled by the martial arts and weapons demonstration by Walter Zuazo and his three teenage warriors-in-training.

Zuazo, 51, has studied since the age of 8 in a form of martial arts that traces its roots back 34 generations.

Yesterday, he drew applause and a few gasps when he danced and whipped a staff that had three sections connected by chains, menacing even when it was stationary.

"It's a difficult weapon to master," Zuazo said. "You need time to learn."

His performance with a broadsword and chain whip was no mere encore, as he swung both dangerously close to those brave enough to stand at the edge of his circle.

The loudest applause, however, was for Sirena Huang, a ninth-grader from West Hartford, Conn., who has been playing the violin since she was 3 and by 11 had performed for the king and queen of Jordan and met the Dalai Lama.

"When I started, I sounded horrible," Huang quietly told the crowd after finishing four short classical pieces. "It took a long time."

Bhikkhu Bodhi, one of the members of the monastery, shook hands and offered his thanks as he smiled at the turnout and the day.

"It's always a day of celebration," Bodhi said of Buddha's birthday. "It's always full of rituals, ceremonies and learning."

source: http://www.lohud.com/article/2009905110324

Buddhist News Features:

Thursday, May 4, 2023 Vesak Extra!
UN: At this time of strife, Buddha’s teachings are a source of solace and strength

Sunday, May 15, 2022 Vesak Extra!
UN: Each crisis reminds us of how far we have fallen away from Buddha’s timeless teachings

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Vesak Extra!
UN: Let’s resolve to build lives of peace and dignity for all on a healthy planet

Samsara Pulse
China
Painter helps make Buddhas whole at grottoes from Sui Dynasty era


Thailand
International Buddhist Confederation organised symposium on Vipassana Meditation in Bangkok


Thailand
International Women’s Meditation Center Foundation announces outstanding Buddhist women for 2024


Samsara buzz
Japan`s new bullet train line takes you to the country`s Buddhist heartland


Turkmenistan
The project on restoration of the Buddha`s head continues in Turkmenistan


Sri Lanka
De-conspiring the inscription


CNN
This ancient Buddhist temple food gets a modern makeover


Vermont
`A safe place for everybody to do their thing`: Brattleboro church becomes interfaith center


Pakistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa`s train safari unveils ancient Buddhist sites


Laos
A Japanese sculptor takes his skills overseas to restore Laotian artifacts


India
Ruins of ancient Buddhist site unearthed in Odisha’s cuttack


South Korea
8 overlooked temple gates to be designated as national treasures


China
Buddhist chants given intangible cultural heritage status in Changzhou


India
Buddhist relics and Sikh Empire`s link unveiled in New Delhi`s latest exhibition


Cambodia
President of WFB offers condolences on the passing of Supreme Patriarch Most Venerable Tep Vong


Bangladesh
Buddhists celebrate Probarona Purnima


Samsara buzz
41st Niwano Peace Prize awarded to American university professor Mohammed Abu-Nimer


Obituary
Cambodia`s Great Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong passes away


Nepal
Tilaurakot–Kapilavastu Heritage Festival celebrates tangible & living heritage


Thailand
Pattaya students commemorate Makha Bucha Day at Wat Chaimongkhol Temple



Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammāsambuddhassa.
Buddha sāsana.m cira.m ti.t.thatu.