Sri Lanka News, update throughout the day....
Sambuddha Jayanthi celebrated in Los Angeles
((Photo by :Sunil Ranjith De Alwis)
The Buddhist era began from the day of "Buddha Parnirvana" or the passing away of the lord Buddha. The year 2006 under the Christian calendar is the beginning of the 2550 th year of the Buddhist calendar.
Theravada Buddhist countries generally agree on the year of Buddha Parinirvana as 543 BC, though this is disputed by some Indian and western scholars, by a few years. The time line computed on Sinhala sources trace the Parinibbana to have taken place 218 years before king Asoka's consecration. However, these academic computations should not detract the Buddhists through out the world from celebrating a day of great significance.
Sri Lanka played a vital and leading role in celebrating the 2500th Jayanthi in 1956. Elaborate festivities and events have been organized in Sri Lanka fifty years hence in commemorating the 2550th Jayanthi. The week beginning on May 9th has been designated as the Vesak week.
The Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in and around Los Angeles, California (seven in all), had elaborate and grand Vesak celebrations on 13th and 14th of May, 2006 to commemorate the 2550th "Sambuddha Jayanthi".
The center of these celebrations was the rotating, giant Vesak Lantern measuring more than 15 feet in height, carrying 12 medium sized lanterns, surrounded by 72 additional small lanterns. It is presently on display till May 21, 2006 at "Maithri Vihara Buddhist Meditation Center " located at 10819 Penrose Street, Sun Valley, California. The dedicated young and elderly Lankans living in Los Angeles who have banded themselves as "The Sri Lankan Patriots" are spearheading the project and are also determined to continue the good work into the future in addressing other social and patriotic issues.
The giant, rotating lantern depicts the "Maathu Posaka Jathaka" (tale in which the "Bodhisathva" is blessed by the mother towards his noble aspiration of Buddhahood), in its frames. The creatively composed sound track, which narrates and dramatizes the Jathaka help the viewer grasp the depiction portrayed in each frame as it rotates. The Chief monk of the Maithri Vihara temple who is actively coordinating the task, states that the lantern has come to personify the unity of the Lankans across the religious divide leveling off other subtle and unspoken disparities as well.
1956 (2500 Buddhist era) was a landmark year for Sri Lanka . Apart from the ascendance of a prime minister during this year, who was facilitating a smooth transition of political power to the common masses, there were giant strides marked in other spheres of society as well, particularly in the fields of literature and arts.
Though this beginning of the new era may have lost its momentum and was made to derail in its onward journey by many a pitfalls, the dawn of the 2550 th Sambuddha Jayanthi brings renewed hopes of the expatriate patriotic Lankans of a peaceful and righteous society, through eradication of terrorism.
Sri Lanka News, update throughout the day....