2012 Exhibitions

Las Vegas exhibition – December to remember
Photo gallery is here: Las Vegas exhibition – December to remember

Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple, Hacienda Heights on April 28, 2012
To celebrate the Buddha’s birthday and reach out to the local community, Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple hosted a special exhibition on April 28, 2012. In commemoration of the birth of the Buddha and how people in medieval China held such celebrations, over a hundred volunteers, ranging from eight to eighty years old, put this exhibition together in a year. Specially-trained docents introduced the life of Śākyamuni Buddha, the spread of Buddhism to China through the Silk Road, and the amazing parades of the Later Zhao kingdom and Northern Wei. A thousand people of various ages and ethnic backgrounds visited this exhibition in the first weekend.

See more photos here:

http://www.paradeofthebuddhas.org/?p=1313

The Buddha’s Birthday Education Project stemmed from Venerable Juewei’s doctoral dissertation, Acculturation as seen through Buddha’s Birthday Parades in Northern Wei Luoyang: a micro perspective into the making of Buddhism as a world religion. Her research at the University of the West reached out to a larger audience through a creative collaboration of artists, architect, animation artist, musician, curators, and docents.

On April 28 or the eighth day of the fourth lunar month on the Chinese calendar, Chinese Buddhists celebrated the birth of the Buddha worldwide. Here in Hsi Lai Temple, young adults welcomed children through face painting and photography of themselves as future virtuous rulers or Buddhas. All visitors were entertained with original music and songs by Mario Cee, who had spent weeks organizing singers and students of Hsi Lai School. Another highlight was a set of activities designed for children, such as origami and coloring. This birthday “party” also included high-quality Puer tea sponsored by Bana Tea Company and homemade cake pops for this celebrative occasion.

There were three unique features in this exhibition. First, artist, Dr. Nancy Cowardin, produced a six feet triptych based on a literary description found in a sixth century text, A Record of Buddhist Monasteries in Luoyang. It presented how Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei and people at the time celebrated Buddha’s birthday by hosting a parade of over a thousand Buddha images in the capital city of Luoyang. Dr. Cowardin carefully researched all characters and architectural designs in this triptych.

In addition, Mr. Peter Martin, an architect from Cambridge, Massachusetts, designed a technologically advanced altar carriage commissioned by King Shihu in the fourth century. Mr. Martin studied available technologies based on a historical account in Records from the Region of Ye. Using Mr. Martin’s design, Frank Yuan created an animation of the Later Zhao carriage. Given 21st century technology, visitors to this exhibition saw vividly how people in China 1,700 years ago were able to construct an altar carriage that re-enacted the Buddha’s birth story. This carriage showed dragons spewing water over a Buddha’s image and wooden monks circumambulating and offering incense to the Buddha.

Another original creation in this exhibition was a Silk Road scroll spanning 5,000 miles. Dr. Nancy Cowardin painted the journey of the Buddha’s birth story, as well as the artifacts and entertainers that went into making image processions a reality in China. From this Silk Road scroll, one can also see the spread and acculturation of Buddhism.

Whittier Narrows Park on May 20, 2012
The BBEP Exhibit at Whittier Narrows Park was at the Buddha’s Birthday Celebration on May 20, 2012. Photos are here:

http://www.paradeofthebuddhas.org/?p=1459

Last edited on March 21, 2013