A diverse group of visitors, about 2000 of them, Vietnamese, American, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, and more, came to Buu Mon Temple’s 2006 Vesak ceremony and 8th annual lotus garden tour this year. We credit the increase in attendance to increased advertising, advance articles in the media, appearances on Vietnamese radio talk shows, an increase presence in the community, and word of mouth from previous visitors.
Among the VIP’s were 70 venerable monks and nuns from all Buddhist traditions, Rabbi Barbara Metzinger of Beaumont’s Temple Emanuel, Pastor Brenda G. Warren from First Christian Church, State Representative Hubert Vo, Judge John Stevens, Port Arthur mayor pro-tem Delores Prince, Do Minh Duc, President of the Vietnamese Community Organization of Houston and the Vicinity, and Nguyen Anh Dung, speaker for a small interfaith group from Houston. 200 visitors arrived Sunday on chartered busses from Houston.
The Most Venerable Chanh Lac from Nhu Lai Temple in Denver, Colorado read a letter from U.S. President George W. Bush. Representative Vo presented Buu Mon Temple with a resolution from the Texas House of Representatives, and Mayor pro-tem Prince read a proclamation written by Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz.
The festival had an increase in the number of vendors participating this year. The Texas Bamboo Society and the Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce’s C.H.I.L.D. program participated for the first time.
The temple’s recently renovated lotus hall hosted several meetings, cultural entertainment, and an exhibition of Buddha images and lotus vases. Two local artists with ties to the temple and to the Buddhist community, Danny Dubuisson and Ren Brumfield, displayed their photography as part of the exhibition.
One of the featured activities was a Tibetan sand mandala offering. Venerable Tashi, a Vajrayana monk from Mongolia, built the mandala over the course of four days, and after explaining the process and chanting a prayer on Sunday, destroyed it, sharing its essence with the audience.
For the Vesak ceremony on Sunday, a standing room only crowd gathered in the pews and the balcony of the newly air-conditioned main hall, and a large drum and gong sounded as a procession of monks and nuns took their places at the altar.
There were several speakers including the Most Venerable Thich Ho Giac, from Phap Luan Buddhist Culture Center in Houston, Venerable Thich Vien Ly of Bao Phap Monastery in Azusa, California, and a Dharma talk by Venerable Rahula of the Houston Buddhist Vihara.
Children from the Houston Buddhist Vihara sang for the audience, and the program concluded with the bathing the baby Buddha ceremony.
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