Buddhapalooza: Zen Group focuses on three Buddhist traditions

(from nooga.com:)  The Zen Group of Chattanooga is celebrating the Buddha's birthday, and everyone is invited. 

Buddhapalooza will take place on Saturday at the Barking Legs Theater, featuring performances, talks and meditation practices from three Buddhists traditions. The day will also feature performances of sacred music, poets and plays based on Buddhist thought. 

Organizers say attendees will be able to see and hear how Buddhism has influenced artists and others who are not necessarily practitioners. 

The event is open to everyone from the casually curious to regular practitioners and is designed to present basic concepts in a nonthreatening way. A $7 suggested donation will be accepted at the event, but no one will be turned away. 

"This is a way for people to explore some of the aspects of Buddhism without having to commit to a two-hour [meditation]," Janis Hasche, spokesperson for the group, said. 

The day will begin with a traditional Japanese ceremony marking the Buddha's birth called Hanamatsuri and will close with a simple birthday cake complete with candles. 

During Hanamatsuri, Hasche said whoever is present for the ceremony can participate by bringing garden flowers, which will be placed around a representation of a baby Buddha. Everyone then walks past the baby and pours water over it. According to an ancient legend, "sweet dew rained down from the sky to bathe the newborn prince," and the poured water is a symbol of the rain. 

After the brief ceremony, the first of several short teachings, or Dharma talks, with Shokai Steven Hart from the Atlanta Zen Center will be presented. Later, there will be a reading of Alan Ginsberg's America as well as meditation instruction and 15-minute group meditations. The Tara Mandala Sangha, or community, will present sacred music and chanting. A reading of Buddhist-inspired poems and a short play will also be a part of the birthday celebration. 

Throughout Asia, different countries recognize various dates in the year as the birthday of the Siddhattha Gotama, whose teachings are the foundation of Buddhism. Celebration traditions vary as well. For the Zen Buddhists, who are hosting the event in Chattanooga and follow Japanese traditions, April 8 is the date widely accepted. Because that day falls on the same day as Easter Sunday in the Christian religion, the group decided to celebrate the day before. 

"It is normal for Buddhists to celebrate other traditions. So we decided to have it on the 7th so people could celebrate both," Hasche said. Hasche and the Zen Group of Chattanooga meet weekly on Sunday afternoons at ClearSpring Yoga from noon until 2 p.m. The group is a satellite center of the Atlanta Zen Center. 

What: Buddhapalooza 

When: Saturday, April 7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Where: Barking Legs Theater 

How much: $7 suggested donation

(from the Times Free Press:) April 8 is celebrated by Zen Buddhists as Buddha's birthday in Japan. Last year for the first time, the Zen Group of Chattanooga celebrated the day. This year, members will continue the tradition on Saturday by bringing together three Buddhist traditions in a day of meditation, dharma talks (lectures) and performance. 

The day will include Zen meditation instruction, a lecture by a Theravadan monk, another with chanting by followers of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and yet another from a representative of the Zen Group. Beginners' instruction in zazen, the Zen form of meditation, will be offered as well. 

The event will open with a traditional Zen hanamatsuri ceremony commemorating the Buddha's birth. Performances designed to celebrate Buddhist thought also will be featured, including a reading of Allen Ginsberg's America (Ginsberg was a practicing Tibetan Buddhist), readings of poems by contemporary Buddhist poet Jane Hirshfield, and performances by the musical groups NADA and the Atlanta-based Triop. 

The day will be a benefit for the Chattanooga Zen Center. Donations are welcome, but no one will be turned away. 

EVENT SCHEDULE 

10 a.m. Hanamatsuri ceremony (Zen) 

10:15 a.m. Dharma talk: Thanissara 

10:45 a.m. 15-minute sitting (Zen) 

11 a.m. NADA: sacred music/chanting 

11:30 a.m. Tara Mandala Sangha Dharma talk: Tibetan 

Noon. Reading of "America," discussion

12:30 p.m. Meditation instruction (Zen) 

12:45 p.m. 15-minute sitting (Zen) 

1 p.m. Reading of Jane Hirshfield poems/5-minute play

1:30 p.m. Dharma talk: Shokai Steven Hart, Zen 

2 p.m. Triop (Atlanta band) 

2:30 p.m. Buddha's birthday cake