Happy Hanamatsuri!
April 8th is the birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha, Kanbutsu-e.
We celebrate Kanbutsu-e, or Hanamatsuri on Sunday closest to the 8th. This year, we celebrated on Sunday, April 4th.
Here is our Hanamatsuri Service by Rev.Sugahara.
In the afternoon, Dharma School had Hanamatsuri activity -- we actually met in person after a year of meeting virtually! It was appointment only, with limited number of people per time slots, with masks and hand sanitizers and social distancing, but it still was wonderful to be together!
The weather was gorgeous -- a bit chilly at first, but with clear blue sky and spring breeze!
Hanamidou was set outside the temple entrance. Dharma School teachers decorated the hanamidou with beautiful spring flowers!
Students brought flowers from their garden to add to Hanamidou, and they poured sweet tea over the Baby Buddha to celebrate his birth.
The photos are from the first hour of the activity -- the hanamidou got more and more beautiful as students and family added flowers after this!
There were scavenger hunt in the garden -- as the students tried to find answers to the questions, they learned some fun facts about the temple.
After the scavenger hunt, the students had craft activity, and picked up their supply bag for April Dharma school classes!
What a fun way to celebrate Buddha's birthday!
This could not have been done without the time and dedication (and their garden flowers) of all the Dharma School teachers -- and of course all the families who came!
and the few puppies who patiently waited in the parking lot!
If you are interested in OBT Dharma School, please write to :
dharmaschool@oregonbuddhisttemple.com