We're All In This Together (16) - Let's Celebrate A Joyous Buddha's Birthday

[Amelia]

There is a Shin temple near where I live that has a festival, obviously cancelled this year. It's very small, but they have a cool building. They sell books and arts and crafts, you can pour the tea over the baby Buddha, and enjoy treats like mochi ice cream.

Gassho
Sat today, lah

[Yokai]

Happy Birthday!...
...Root of the Tree

tree.jpg

Gassho C stlah

[Jundo]

There is a Shin temple near where I live that has a festival, obviously cancelled this year.

I am trying to see if any Buddhist temple in Japan or the west moved the celebrations online this year. Hmmm. So far, I don't see one, but will look a bit more. One of the largest Jodo-shu (Pure Land) Buddhist groups in Japan posted just this about their temple festivities this year ...

Notice about New Coronavirus (COVID-19)

In light of the current spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), we will discontinue the following activities that we have been conducting every year.

(1) The birthday celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha's birth by bathing Baby Buddha in sweet tea: Suspended
(2) Suspended distribution of sweet tea (tea bags), flower festival drops, flower festival picture postcards
(3) White elephants, Buddha's cut out photo panel, trick art photo installation corner etc.: Cancelled

However, the statue of Shakyamuni Baby Buddha will be placed at the flower hall near the Mikage-do hall, so please feel free to visit.

Hmmm. Even that last part is impossible now, as the government is asking everyone to stay home.



Gassho, Jundo

STLah

[Jundo]

Okay, I knew it ... some of the younger and cooler priests have been active online ...

Chiumi Matsuzaki ( @matsuzakichikai ) is a priest at the Jingodo Shinshu Honganji school “ Eimeiji ” in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture . We posted on Twitter how to make a custom-built flower festival, the buddha statue, to put sweet tea on a Buddha statue.

"For the number of retweets in this tweet, the priest will put sweet tea on Buddha instead."

Tomoumi Matsuzaki (a monk not for sale) @ Jodo Shinshu Honganji school
@matsuzakichikai
Today is the day of the flower festival to celebrate the birth of Buddha, but I think that many people cannot participate because of this situation. So according to the number of retweets of this tweet, the priest instead puts sweet tea on Buddha. Retweets are counted until noon on 4/8. pic.twitter.com/LCP2MisREM

44,504
3:07-April 8, 2020
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49,804 people are talking about this topic

Matsuzaki offered to send a picture of the Buddha online for those who could not participate in the flower festival.

As of the 8th, more than 32,000 retweets have been sent to this post ! Looking at numbers far beyond imagination, said Matsuzaki-san…

Mr. Matsuzaki decides that he will do it even in the case of a rainy day. It was decided to broadcast live from 14:00 on the same day.

Thank you for many retweets.
We have already received over 20,000 retweets.
I'll do it! I'll do it!
The image of the Buddha will be broadcast live from 14:00 below.

This year's flower festival is going to get hot https://twitter.com/matsuzakichikai/...86779294621696

The Buddha will surely be surprised at the state of the “Flower Festival” that became this challenge to overcome barriers!

How about watching Matsuzaki's hot battle to do so!

https://grapee.jp/809853

STLah

Gassho, J

PS - And I found the video of his netcast: I am going to write this totally cool priest and tell him how moving this is, on behalf of all of us!! The video gets going from about a minute in, followed by a chanting ceremony about 3:00 mark ... bathing and singing about the 1:50:00 mark ... the climax of 20,000 ladles at about 8:29:00 ... and this priest was apparently ONLINE FOR OVER an 8 HOUR MARATHON of tea bathing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bq40KvFF_U&feature=youtu.be

[Kotei]

Hello,
in my hometown, there are quite a lot of buddhists in the different traditions.
Years ago, they decided, apart from their own festivities, trowing a big, several hundreds of people, buddha birthday party together.
It was scheduled for June this year, but of course already cancelled, too.

Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Seibu]

Happy Hanamatsuri

Gassho
Seibu
Sattoday/lah

[Tai Do]

Thank you for the video of the priest bathing the Baby Buddha, Jundo.
It was quite a challenge to him and his assistents. And it was a wonderful way to participate one way.
Please, thank him in our name.
Gassho,
Mateus
Sat/LAH

[Sekiyuu]

Recently I learned that it's a tradition to eat pancakes on Hanamatsuri: the kanji for "buddha", 仏, can be pronounced "hotoke", which sounds a lot like "hottokeki" ホットケーキ, or "hotcake", another name for pancakes.

Apparently eating curry is also a tradition, but I can't find an explanation for that, does anyone else know?

Of course, someone made an anime mascot for the occasion:

https://twitter.com/matsbox/status/1247546553381687296

Gassho,
Kenny
Sat Today

[Jundo]

Recently I learned that it's a tradition to eat pancakes on Hanamatsuri: the kanji for "buddha", 仏, can be pronounced "hotoke", which sounds a lot like "hottokeki" ホットケーキ, or "hotcake", another name for pancakes.

Apparently eating curry is also a tradition, but I can't find an explanation for that, does anyone else know?

Of course, someone made an anime mascot for the occasion:

https://twitter.com/matsbox/status/1247546553381687296

Gassho,
Kenny
Sat Today

NEVER heard of this, but crazy enough to be true ... and turns out that it is!

http://www.daitokuji.jp/sksk_day/0408_hotto

Can't find a curry connection in Japan, but since Vesak is very big in South Asia ...

https://globalpressjournal.com/asia/sri_lanka/food-stalls-open-sri-lanka-annual-vesak-poson-holidays/

Gassho, J

STLah