Join us for a special ceremony blessing Saturday September 20th at 11am, welcoming in the new Zen Garden at the Dharma Bum Temple. This is a very auspicious occasion led by Venerable Bhante Piyananda and we are honored to share it with you all! We are grateful Bhante will come back to San Diego for this beautiful day.
Bhante Walpola Piyananda, a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka, arrived in the West Coast of America on July 4, 1976. He was 33 then. During his early days in the United States, people had never heard of a Buddhist monk. He was ridiculed, humiliated and ignored; at times, he was a victim of mistaken identity. However, all the nasty incidents did not deter Piyananda from settling down in the United States where he has been residing for 33 years. Ordained at the age of twelve, he took the name of his village, Walpola, and the Buddhist name, Piyananda, which means “pleasant joy”.
Bhante is the author of two books, Saffron Days in LA and The Bodhi Tree Grows in LA which feature funny and poignant tales of his life as a Buddhist monk in the United States. His third book is in the works. He is the founder-president and abbot of Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the oldest Theravada Buddhist temples in North America. He is also president of the Sangha Council of Southern California, Chief High Priest in the United States, and advisor to the President of Sri Lanka on international religious affairs.
***Please note our Family Sangha is also scheduled this day at 11am. So if you have kids, bring them along and they can stay with the other kids in the downstairs meditation hall.
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