Filed under: Entertainment, Events | Tags: blia, brisbane, buddhism, buddhist festival, chenrezig nun's community, chinese, mahayana, southbank
Buddha’s Birthday the ‘Chinese Ekka’
Visitors of the Buddha’s birthday celebrations held at Southbank last weekend have dubbed the festival the ‘Chinese Ekka’ amid concerns it focussed too heavily on Chinese Buddhism and was too commercial.
The Buddha’s Light International Association of Queensland held the festival, which had about 170, 000 visitors, between the 1st and 3rd of May.
On their website, the association said: “BLIA is not the organization of a certain sect, temple, or person. It is an organization that belongs to all the Buddhists in the world.”
But volunteer for the BLIA, Frank Helden, said the festival mainly promoted the Mahayana strand of Buddhism, which is very different from the Havada strand practised in Sri Lanki and Thailand.
Chamith Weerasakaa, a Sri Lankan Buddhist said, “I didn’t go because it’s a Chinese festival. I’m of the Havada faith.”
The festival included Chinese lion and dragon dances, a Chinese Cultural Arts area and a fireworks display.
Concerns were also raised over the commercial aspect of the festival, which showcased many non-Buddhist food stalls, merchandise shops and ‘one dollar for one wish’ monuments to Buddha.
Kimberley Menz, who attended the festival on Sunday said, “I really didn’t like it. I don’t believe that all the shops and phoney ‘make a wish’ stalls were in the true spirit of Buddhism. I felt like I was more at the markets in Chinatown than I was at a spiritual celebration”.
Tibetan nun from the Chenrezig Nun’s community, Tenzin Tsering said while she heard several people raise concerns over the commercialism of the festival, she thought naming the festival ‘the Chinese Ekka’ was ‘a little harsh’.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I personally see the festival as an opportunity to build relationships, harmony and mutual respect,” said Tsering.
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