Holiday

Hundreds Killed in Cambodia

| arun

I know it’s not about Tibet or Burma, but several hundred young Cambodians have recently died in a stampede during holiday festivities in Phnom Penh. According to the BBC:

At least 339 people [have] been killed in a stampede during festival celebrations in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Hun Sen has said.

Huge crowds had gathered on a small island for the final day of the Water Festival, one of the main events of the year in Cambodia.

The stampede took place on a bridge, which eyewitnesses said had become overcrowded.

Hundreds more people were injured in the crush.

This is a huge tragedy, and I am honestly too overwhelmed to say much else.

Vacation

| arun

I’m on a week-long vacation in the glorious city of Chicago. Aside from eating my way through the city (very strong recommendations for Green Zebra and Pho 888), I have the time to catch up on a huge backlog of blog posts that have accumulated since mid-summer. Who knows if I will, but my apologies in advance for bringing up (many?) issues which are so out of date, at least by the standards of today’s hyperspeed blogosphere. In the meantime, I’m off to see Harry Potter.

Bazaar Weekend

| arun

Obon season may be over, but temple festivities continue! This weekend the Buddhist Church of Sacramento and the Midwest Buddhist Temple(Chicago) are hosting bazaars. Both celebrations date back over half-a-century to a time when the Japanese American community struggled to rebuild itself out of the trauma of the concentration camps. As the Ginza Chicago website explains…

Ginza Holiday found its beginning in 1956. […] The event serves two purposes; one as a fund raiser to meet the temple expenses and the other as a way of sharing Japanese traditions with the people of the neighborhood. […] The first event proceeded with some apprehension as it intended to draw upon the non-Japanese community. Most members harbored unfavorable experiences in the decade preceding. Uprooted from the West Coast to isolated camps, they made their final trek to Chicago on news of jobs and friendlier surroundings. The dread of non-acceptance ran deep.

The optimists among them proved right as fears were totally unwarranted. The good neighbors of Chicago attended in droves. Teriyaki chicken became an instant success. An old family recipe surely helped. To the consternation of a few, it may have eclipsed some of the cultural events.

These bazaars endure as a testament to the vitality of the Japanese American spirit and the temples’ longstanding openness to reach out to the local community. If you’re in Chicago or Sacramento and enjoy whiling your time kvetching about “insular Asian Buddhists”—please visit your local bazaar, grab some lunch or dinner and then leave me a comment to relate these temples’ insufferable refusal to be involved in the greater community!

Photo courtesy of Ginza Chicago.

Gardena Obon 2010

| arun

The last Obon celebration in Southern California took place at the Gardena Buddhist Church. This year felt more crowded than last year. Below is a joint taiko performance with the UC Irvine Jodaiko (in white and blue) and the Gardena Buddhist Church Junior YBA (in black) playing together.

We could barely squeeze into the dance circle. As usual, I forgot all my moves, but I was far from alone—no matter, the other dancers were more than happy to help us out. The best way to practice is to go Obon hopping as much as you can during the summer!

The next Obon festival is at the San Luis Obispo Buddhist Temple next weekend. Not quite Southern California, but it’s a matter of perspective. The last one in the Southwest is in Las Vegas on August 14.

That’s enough posting about Obon for this year!

Vassa Begins

| arun

This week began with Asalha Puja, the holiday commemorating Lord Buddha’s recitation of the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta. Below I’ve collected links of some other bloggers who have written related thoughts.

For this Vassa, I’m committing myself to sitting at least an hour a day. I usually fail to make time for sitting every day, so we’ll have to see how well this goes. Hopefully I can maintain this habit for all of Vassa—and onward too…

Obon in the East

| arun

I started posting too late on Obon to mention the festivals out in the Eastern United States. And by “Eastern,” I’m talking about anything East of the Mississippi. Below are the dates of Obon festivals that have passed. I believe there was also an Obon festival at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago, but I couldn’t find the past date online.

The past few posts on Obon have been a bit carried away over the dance and festivities. The other (and for many, the primary) side of Obon is that it’s a memorial occasion. If you happen to look up “Obon” on a local temple calendar, it’s probably a good idea to find out first whether you’ll be attending a party-like festival or a more somber memorial occasion.

Obon Norcal

| arun

In a few hours I’m heading up to Northern California, which reminded me that my last post was exclusive to Obon festivities in the Southern California Shin network. Unlike most of Southern California, temples Northern California seem to schedule their events separately.

This weekend, you can catch Bon Odori at the Buddhist Temple of Alameda and the Buddhist Church of San Francisco. (If you’re in Southern California, you should check out the party at Higashi Honganji this weekend!) I’ll post more about Obon happenings elsewhere in North America after I get back.