The Victorian Observance of the United Nations Day of Vesak organising committee held their annual friendship dinner at Melbourne's Quang Minh Temple Community Hall on Saturday, 4 April. With over six hundred enthusiastic Buddhists from a range of traditions in attendance, the evening was a great success and everyone had a most enjoyable time.
Traditional Thai Buddhist dancer performing at the friendship dinner. From Andrew. J. Williams
The “Friendship Dinner” acts as the premier fundraising event for the main event of the Victorian Observance of the United Nations Day of Vesak. This takes place annually at the Melbourne Town Hall on the fourth Saturday of May. This year’s celebration will be held on 23 May. The dinner, which brings Buddhists from all traditions together in the spirit of friendship, is generously supported by the Quang Minh Temple, which provides its community hall as well as the delicious Vietnamese food prepared by the temple’s talented chefs.
“Our friendship dinner brings together many of our Buddhist communities of different traditions and origins so we can enjoy and enrich our friendship and harmony. I am not aware of any similar occasion which brings our Victorian temples and communities together such as this. This is one of the great blessings of our Victorian UN Day of Vesak,” said the organizing committee president, Frank Carter, in his welcoming speech. He added, “Any temple or community who wishes to support the UN Day of Vesak by joining the UN Vesak Association will be very welcome. Our harmonious co-operation together is for the purpose of contributing to and strengthening our Victorian Buddhist community.”
Traditional Vietnamese Buddhist dancers performing at the friendship dinner. From Andrew. J. Williams
The event kicked off at 6:30 p.m. and concluded at 10:30 p.m. The evening’s activities began with chanting by the members of the monastic sangha in Pali, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tibetan, and English. The audience were entertained throughout the evening by multicultural performances, with beautiful presentations of traditional Thai and Vietnamese Buddhist dances as well as performances of original and well-known Buddhist songs in English and Vietnamese. In the meantime, the Quang Minh Temple's volunteer staff and youth groups kept the delicious food coming.
Organising committee vice-president and co-MC Gerald Lim said, “The event brings together Buddhist temples from all across Victoria in the spirit of friendship. The evening was a success, raising well needed funds for the main celebrations on the 23rd of May in the city.”
Both the friendship dinner and the main event are entirely run by volunteers offering their diverse skills, time, and energy from over forty temples and communities. Ai Kien Dang, a member of both the organising committee and Quang Ming Temple as well as co-MC for the dinner, said: “I'm so impressed by all of our volunteers, who are of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, and the performances were so inspirational. It really is a great expression of multiculturalism.”
The Victorian Observance of the United Nations Day of Vesak began in 2008 at the Springvale Town Hall, southeast of the city, which holds a capacity of over six hundred people. The following year, the event was moved to the larger and more central Melbourne Town Hall, which holds a capacity of up to two thousand people.
Each year the celebration includes the offering of food to the monastic sangha at a nearby community hall, followed by lunch for everyone and then a procession to the town hall. Once at the town hall, activities include chanting from the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions, a guided meditation, a Dharma talk, various cultural performances, and an original musical based on different stages of the Buddha's life and teachings, performed by more than fifty children and youth. This year’s musical is titled, “The Wounded Swan.”
As mentioned by Australian Prime Minister, the Honourable Tony Abbott MP, in his message to the Buddhist community at last years event, “ . . . It is an important time for the Buddhist community to come together to celebrate, reflect and renew faith. On this occasion Australians are reminded of the significant contribution that Buddhism makes to the life of our country. . . . I acknowledge your commitment to respect, compassion and understanding as taught by the Buddha. I send my best wishes to everyone celebrating Vesak this year.”