Trustee Election Results

All the ballots for the recent trustee election were counted and the result was announced at the Annual Meeting: Sangha member Chris Maley was elected to serve a 3-year term.
Thank you, Erika, for your willingness to run and for all you do to support the Center. And thank you, Chris, for stepping into this new role as a trustee. Click here to learn more about our Board of Trustees.

Buddha’s Birthday Weekend is Here!

Friday, May 24, Temple Night and Jukai

Our annual celebration begins with Temple Night, which includes the Taking-the-Precepts Ceremony (Jukai) in the Buddha Hall. Friday evening will also be broadcast on Zoom (same meeting ID and passcode as used for sittings and sesshin). If you’ve never attended Temple Night or Jukai before, please consider giving it a try! Many find it inspiring to sit informally in the Buddha Hall and to recite the Precepts together. An overview of Friday evening is here.

Saturday, May 25, Buddha’s Birthday

The festivities on Saturday include a live (!) Gamelan orchestra performance (starting at 10:45 am), storytelling, a parade led by an elephant, a potluck vegetarian lunch, and, of course, birthday cupcakes! Details for Saturday are here including information about parking.

For the vegetarian potluck picnic that follows the parade, the Center will provide veggie burgers and “not dogs,” beverages, and dessert (featuring a tower of cupcakes!). Please bring either a main dish or a salad to share (fruit salad counts). Remember to take your dishes home with you when you leave. Please, no meat, poultry, or seafood, and size your dish to serve eight.

Want to get more involved this weekend?

If you play an instrument, we invite you to the Center’s library on Saturday, May 25 at 10:00 am for an impromptu rehearsal. The talented Phil Swanson will lead the parade with his trombone.

If you’re a parade veteran and would be willing to miss it this year to help with food setup, let Trueman Taylor know. You may free up a staff member who hasn’t yet had the opportunity to participate in the parade and follow in the footsteps of the elephant!

In fact, volunteers are also needed to help set everything up during the workday on Friday, May 24. The workday begins at 8:00 am, and we usually end with a pizza lunch at 12:30. If you can volunteer on Friday and/or Saturday, contact Lila.

…And afterwards…

The Center will close on Sunday and Monday for Memorial Day (but there will be the usual hour-long Zoom sittings on Monday at 7:00 am and 7:00 pm). We’ll reopen with in-person sitting at Arnold Park and Chapin Mill on Tuesday at 6:00 am.

A printable schedule for the entire weekend as well as the schedule in pdf is here.