Buddha birthday bash attracts 20,000

by Wilfred Lui

April 15, 2008

“I can feel the spirit of Tibet around here,” Perth resident Judy Garsed said as she strolled around the Buddha Birthday Festival held in the Supreme Court Gardens on Saturday April 12.

She was showing a friend from Britain around town when they stumbled upon the annual festival.

“The festival is peaceful, lovely and very well done,” she said. “We enjoyed walking around and I like the arts and craft displays very much.”

Held in the verdant gardens since 2004, the festival commemorates the birth of Sakyamuni Buddha. eMU news estimates 20,000 people attended.

Popular with punters was the ‘bathing of the Buddha’ ritual, where visitors used fragrant water to bathe a statue of Buddha.

Other highlights included mediation sessions, making a wish to Buddha, a vegetarian food fair, and Buddhist souvenir stalls.

South Perth resident Kathy, a first time visitor to the festival, said she came across the river to learn more about Buddhism.

“I attended a similar festival in Japan and decided to come down to this one because I’m interested in finding out more about the religion,” she said.

A multi-faith prayer for peace ceremony on Saturday evening involved representatives from diverse faith groups. The ceremony was followed by a fireworks display.

Reverend Ning, who came over from Sydney to assist, said that about 1000 volunteers were mobilised for the festival. She also said the event allowed Buddhists to reach out to the community.

“The objective of our temple is to promote Buddhism through cultural events and provide information about our services to the community,” she said. “We want to work closer with the community through our activities.”

Reverend Ning also pointed out that, through community involvement, myths about the religion could be dispelled

“Buddhism isn’t just about chanting in the temple,” she said. “By reaching out to the community, we hope to promote the values of Buddhism and human life.”