Wishing everyone a happy belated Lao New Year!
I was able to attend the celebration at the local Lao Buddhist temple. Part of the ceremony involves prayers and blessings for a healthy and prosperous new year.
We also get to douse the sacred Buddha statues with holy water. And if you have elderly relatives, then you can also sprinkle them with holy water too. Or if you are young at heart, you would have a fun water fight.
I am looking forward to catching the PBS special on April 7th - Prince Siddhartha of India. The documentary will look at the life of Prince Siddhartha, or more commonly known as the Buddha.
The bodhi tre and leaf is an important symbol in Buddhism. As Buddha achieved enlightenment while sitting under a bodhi tree. I took this photo many summers ago at a Buddhist temple in northern California.
The reclining statue of the Buddha in Uttar Pradesh. - Photo from PBS, The Story of India. There are also statues like this found in many Buddhist temples in Laos and Thailand.
Here is a little synopsis of Buddha’s life from the University of Minnesota, Mankato:
“The historical Buddha was born Prince Siddhatha Gotama in Kapilavatthu, near the present-day border of India and Nepal, on the May Full Moon day in 623 B.C. His parents, King Suddhodana and Queen Maya, had waited for a child for a long time. Everyone in the kingdom rejoiced at his birth.
At this time India already had a rich spiritual heritage. It had been prophesized there would soon be an ascetic who would realize the ultimate truth and become the greatest teacher. According the Hindu tradition, five days after his birth seven Brahmin priests came to the temple to name the baby using astrology and forecast his future by reading his body signs. Each of the Brahmins said this baby would become a universal monarch or leave his princely life to become a world spiritual leader. The youngest priest, Kondanna, was so confident that this was the future Buddha that he left the priesthood to wait in the forest for his future teacher.”
And here is the preview. Check your local listing here mark your calendar!
When it comes to meditation, people usually think of Buddhism. Meditation is a good way to relax and connect with your inner self.
Mediation has been used with integrative medicine to help people cope with chronic pain. Even those with mental issues can benefit from meditation as well.
And some people, such as my mom, meditate for spiritual enlightenment. It’s a way to calm the heart and mind. I have tried meditating once at a Buddhist temple retreat. But group meditation just isn’t for me.
This beautiful lotus blossom is from horizontal.integration, taken via Flickr CC.
Recently I came across Metta Meditation. It is more of a loving-kindness meditation that you chant to yourself. It’s suppose to help you overcome fear, anger, and other negative feelings. As you practice Metta Meditation, you also begin to radiate feelings of warm and happiness. Something many of us could use during this hectic holiday season.
It’s easy to do since you can practice in a formal sitting meditation or while walking. Or even when doing your daily chores, for me it would be doing the dishes.
Acharya Buddharakkhita recommends, “To begin, take a few moments to quiet your mind and focus your attention on the experience of loving kindness. You will begin by offering Metta to yourself. If distracting thoughts arise, acknowledge them, make a mental note to return to them after your Metta practice, but quickly move them aside to maintain concentration.”
These pictures of a lotus blossoms and pods full of seed is so lovely. I have not had fresh lotus seeds since I was a child. Sometimes I eat raw snap peas to remind me of these seeds and bring me back to my childhood.
Photo from Flickr (unknown photographer).
And lotus blossoms also remind me of my mother, a devout Buddhist. In Buddhism, lotus blossoms symbolize purity and wisdom. And no matter how far I am from home, to see a lotus blossom is to bring me back to my mother’s side once again.
