Source: The Buddhist Channel
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=65,4252,0,0,1,0
Olympia, WA (USA) -- A patchwork of colors, styles and cultures at Saint Martin’s Pavilion on Sunday marked the 2,551st anniversary of the birth of the Buddha.
It was the first time that the South Sound Buddhist temples and meditation groups got together to celebrate the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama, whose teachings led to the different forms of Buddhism today.
“We got together all the different cultures — Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, American — to celebrate Buddha’s birthday,” said Bhante Siyabalagoda Ananda of Buddhist Association of Olympia, which meets at the Lien Hoa temple. “When I got here 10 years ago, there was only Lien Hoa. But now there are about a dozen groups that practice Buddhism.
“Our special focus is to let people know how to practice Buddhism and apply it in daily life,” Ananda said. “You don’t need to be religious.