Hanamatsuri (花祭り) Flower Arrangement Exhibition
When
Where
Hours
Tuesdays - Sundays • 12 - 4 pm
Description
Hanamatsuri (festival of flowers) commemorates the birth of Siddartha Gautama, the manifestation of Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Higher Wisdom and Compassion. A flower shrine, known as hanamido, is set up before the main altar during the commemorative service. This shrine contains a figurine of the infant Buddha, who points his right hand toward the heavens and his left hand toward the earth.
The sangha offers flowers and pours sweet tea over the figurine in a rite known as kambutsu, or bathing the Buddha's body. This simplified reenactment of the Buddha's birth signifies the glory and joy that filled the world at this event.
This exhibition collaborates with the Ikebana Teachers Association of Southern California teachers and the chief of Kado Koyasan (Mt. Koya Flower Arrangement) from Japan and is supported in part by the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Takahashi Foundation.
This event is free and open to the public.
