Washington Jungto Society & Good Friends USA
(MD) 4605 Powder Mill Rd. Beltsville, MD 20705
(DC) 734 15th St. NW #500B, Washington DC 20005
Tel: 301.937.0748(o), 864.650.2252(c)
E-mail: jungto.dc@gmail.com, goodfriends.usa@gmail.com
We cordially invite you to a Lotus Lantern Ceremony, on the occasion of Buddha’s Birthday. The ceremony will be dedicated to peace in the Korean Peninsula and the World.
It will take place on Saturday, May 15th from 10:30-1pm & 2:20pm-4:40pm, in the Constitution Gardens just off the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Church of the Epiphany near the White House (please see the attached map).
Lighting a lantern on Buddha’s Birthday symbolizes the enlightenment of sentient beings through Buddha’s wisdom and compassion. As this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, we would like to call upon the wisdom and compassion of the world to bring an end to the war and bring about peace and reconciliation to the region.
The ceremony will consist of two parts. In Part I, everyone is invited to make their own lotus lanterns, as well as hear from Venerable Pomnyun and other luminaries. We will also feature traditional Korean merrymaking performances. For Part II, the venue is moved to the Church of the Epiphany near the White House. We will engage directly with Venerable Pomnyun in his renowned Q&A Dharma Talk, “Design Your Life with True Happiness,” which will be interpreted from Korean to English to encourage active participation from everyone.
We hope you can join us for this joyful and happy celebration on Buddha’s Birthday and look forward to seeing you on May 15th.
Sincerely yours,
Soonyoung Min-Kim, Ph.D.
Executive Director
The U.S. Branch, Jungto Society and Good Friends USA
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A Lotus Lantern Ceremony on the Occasion of Buddha’s Birthday
-Dedicated to peace in the Korean Peninsula and the World-
Time: Saturday, May 15, 2010 (Buddhist Era 2554)
Venue: Constitution Gardens & The Church of the Epiphany
Part I: Lotus Lantern Ceremony (10:00am-1:00pm)
Master of Ceremony: Jihyun Kim, Interpreter: Jason Lim
Venue: Constitution Gardens (near the Vietnam War Memorial)
1. Pre-Ceremony: 10:00-11:00am
- Lotus Lantern Making (10:00-11:00, Continued through the ceremony)
- Korean Samulnori (10:30-11:00, Performed in motion around the place of ceremony)
2. Main Ceremony (11:00-12:00)
- Homage to the Three Jewels (in Pali)
- Heart Sutra (in Korean)
- Welcome Greeting (Seungmuk You, President of the Washington Jungto Society)
- Congratulatory Speech
(Ashin Asabhacara, Mangalarama Vihara)
(Robert Kang)
- Salpurichoom (Dance for Soothing the Spirits) & Silent Tribute
- The Prayer for the Departed (Junja Kim, President of the Columbus Jungto Society)
- Peace Message (Venerable Pomnyun Sunim)
- Meditation Dedicated to Peace in the Korean Peninsula and the World
- The Four Great Vows & Closing Statement
3. Merrymaking Performances (12:00-1:00)
- Janggu (Hourglass-shaped drum) Performance
- Seungmoo (Buddhist Monk Dance) (Artist Lisa Mi Seo, Dance One Academy)
- Singing (Cheolon Lee, Senior Research fellow at Good Friends USA)
- Samulnori (Korean Pure Sound)
- Lantern Parade (Chanting of “Shakyamuni Buddha”)
Lunch Break (1:00-2:20)
- A chance to visit the Korea War Memorial
- Lunch
- Change of venue for the Part II event
Part II: Design Your Life with True Happiness (2:20pm-4:40pm)
Q & A Dharma Talk by Venerable Pomnyun Sunim
Master of Ceremony: Spencer Yang, Interpreter: Jason Lim
Venue: The Church of the Epiphany
1317 G St. NW, Washington DC 20005
