Happy Wesak! May All Beings Be Happy!

Wesak 2008

5th Annual Wesak Celebration at the Hidden Gardens

The fifth annual Wesak celebration was held in the beautiful surroundings of Glasgow’s Hidden Gardens on a sunny Saturday 10th May and was a great success. The celebration was enjoyed by Buddhists from different traditions as well as number of non-Buddhists.

Wesak is a chance to remember the story of how the Buddha gained Enlightenment and to reflect on what it might mean for individual Buddhists to move towards Enlightenment themselves.
The opening ceremony began with chanting and a procession led by Venerable Rewatha (Scotland’s Buddhist Vihara), Shanthikektu (Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) and Karl Kaliski (Cloud Water Zen Group), and the Bodhi Tree was placed at the outdoor shrine.
A range of activities were on offer for the children who attended, including storytelling, mask and card making and a drumming workshop.
Over 400 people attended for the DANSELA (donation of lunch), which was generously prepared by devotees of Scotland’s Buddhist Vihara.
The subject of this year’s symposium was ‘Generosity’, and the discussion was chaired by Professor Perry Schmidt-Leukel, Professor of Systematic Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Glasgow. The discussion was led by Venerable Rewatha, Karl Kaliski and Dharmacarani Ratnadevi and was concluded with an interesting question and answer session with the audience.
Our thanks go to FWBO Glasgow Buddhist Centre, the devotees of Scotland’s Buddhist Vihara who prepared the delicious Sri Lankan food, the Cloud Water Zen Group, Rokpa House, Global Exchange Volunteers, staff of the Tramway and Hidden Gardens and all who attended on the day.

Wesak at the Hidden Gardens

Wesak at the Hidden Gardens
Saturday May 10 2008

Welcome to the fifth celebration of Wesak at the Hidden Gardens of the life of the Buddha. Wesak is a chance to remember the story of how the Buddha gained Enlightenment and to reflect on what it might mean for individual Buddhists to move towards Enlightenment themselves. Our theme this year is generosity (dana) and there’ll be plenty of opportunities to give and to receive. Throughout the day, there will be information, craft and activity stalls scattered throughout the Hidden Gardens and Tramway.


11.00 Opening procession (from backdoor of Tramway – assemble in Tramway 4 if wet)

followed by Welcome, offerings and chanting (Tramway 4)

12.00 Meditation (Tramway 4)

Mask and card making workshop (Tramway – near back door)

Storytelling (Yurt)

12.30 Dana - donation of lunch (Boilerhouse)

1.45 Meditation (Tramway 4)

Walking meditation (The Rill)

Drumming workshop for children of all ages (on lawn – in Yurt if wet)

2.30 Symposium: Generosity (Tramway 4) Ven Rewatha (Scotland’s Buddhist Vihara), Karl Kaliski (Cloud Water Zen Group) and Dharmacarani Ratnadevi (Western Buddhist Order). Short talks, discussion and audience Q+A. Chaired by Prof Perry Schmidt-Leukel, Professor of Systematic Theology and Religious Studies, University of Glasgow

4.00 Closing ritual (on lawn – Tramway 4 if wet)

With an ancient Buddhist chant: 'SABBE SATTA SUKHI HONTU' – may all beings be happy. Let’s hear it in as many languages as possible! We’ll end with a brief recitation of some of the Buddha’s words on loving kindness.