Most Venerables, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you all for joining us this morning as we open our temple and gardens for our largest gathering since the hurricane last fall. There were many victims of hurricane Rita. Buu Mon Buddhist Temple was among them. And many temples, venerable monks and nuns, and friends joined together to give our temple and our community the support we needed.
We would like to welcome you, to ask you to enjoy the repairs and improvements we have made to the temple. For 20 years, Buu Mon Temple has been a big temple with a large area, many rooms and lots of potential. Now, with better facilities, an improved building, and more air-conditioning, we are at a point where we can begin to breathe life into some of our dreams.
I want to say “thank you” to everyone who helped us. I want you to know how much I appreciate your help and your hard work.
Buu Mon Temple is now an excellent facility to host retreats dedicated to learning the Buddha’s teaching, and to practicing meditation. We look forward to offering events that bring laypeople, as well as, nationally and internationally known meditation masters and Dharma masters to the city of Port Arthur.
On this occasion, when we recognize the life of our Lord Sakyamuni Buddha, we would do well to remember the compassion we all showed toward each other in our collective time of need.
The Buddha set forth a path for us that is built upon wisdom, compassion and loving-kindness. It is a path that stresses the importance of charity, non-violence, community, and learning. Vesak is one our most important ceremonies of the year, and is an opportunity for all of us to remember the patience, truthfulness, equanimity, and determination of the Buddha.
This day, also, is a celebration of the spirit of community as we open our house and our gardens to the public, and share with you the beauty significance of the lotus flower.
This year marks the 20th year since Buu Mon Buddhist Temple moved to Port Arthur. The gardens are nearly as old. It has been and continues to be our goal to create and maintain a culture of tropical plant gardening in Southeast Texas. This is the 8th year we have held the Lotus Garden Tour. Each year we have made new friends and welcomed the return of old friends. We enjoy the opportunity of getting to know all of you, as well as, sharing our gardens and our knowledge of gardening, and our temple with you all.
In closing, I hope you will enjoy your day here. I would like to thank everyone again for the spiritual and financial support you have given us over the past years. Your well-wishes are greatly appreciated.
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