With all events please check with your local church or
temple for specific dates and times that events will be
held.
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April 8
The Buddha's Birthday (Hanamatsuri)
About 2,500 years ago, a prince
of the Sakya Clan was born on April 8 at Lumbini Garden, located
in present-day Nepal near the Indian border. His father, King
Suddhodana, and his mother, Queen Maya, named him Siddhartha.
It is said that the Buddha stood upon birth, walked seven
steps and said, with his right hand raised toward heaven,
"In heaven and on earth, I alone am honored." We
celebrate the Buddha's birthday by holding the Hanamatsuri
(literally flower festival) Service. At the service, we build
a miniature hall called hanamido decorated with flowers, place
the statue of an infant Buddha pointing to heaven and earth
in its center, and pour sweet tea over the statue with a small
ladle.
April 28
Rikkyo Kaishu-E (Commemoration
Service of Establishment of Nichiren Shu Buddhism)
On the morning of April 28, 1253, Nichiren
Shonin, at the age of 32, was standing on top of a hill named
Asahigamori on Mt. Kiyosumi, chanting the odaimoku, Namu Myoho
Renge-kyo, for the first time while facing the rising sun
over the Pacific Ocean. He vowed to save all people with the
Lotus Sutra. From that time onward, Nichiren Shonin, a messenger
of the Lotus Sutra, devoted his life to spread the teaching
of the Lotus Sutra and the odaimoku. We commemorate this day
as the founding day Nichiren Buddhism.
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