Fo Guang Shan in Frankfurt and the Frankfurt Association of the International Buddha’s Light Association held an outdoor Buddha Bath at Liebfrauenberg Square in the center of Frankfurt on May 25 to celebrate the birth of Buddha Sakyamuni, the leader of Buddhism. Due to the impact of the epidemic, this project has been suspended for four years. Therefore, Frankfurt Foguang people have organized and prepared Buddha bathing ceremonies and garden parties with great enthusiasm to connect with the public. Huang Ruikun, Director of the Frankfurt Office of the Taipei Representative Office in Germany, Economic Team Leaders Hong Jingting and Lin Xingyi, President of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce Lee Hsiao-wen, and other distinguished guests and hundreds of local people participated. Countless passersby stopped to watch the wonderful cultural performance and gave warm respond.
The ceremony kicked off with the introduction of the origin of Buddha bathing by youth members Tina and Xu Yifan. 24 Buddha Light members and friends of Buddha Light, dressed in Thai clothes, novice monk clothes, princess clothes and other special clothes, presented tea, incense, flowers, fruits, etc. to the Buddha. Six kinds of offerings: lamps and food. Master Jueyan of the temple led the crowd to recite the Heart Sutra and read the “Buddha’s Birthday Prayer” by the founder of Fo Guang Shan, Master Hsing Yun, and then said that the true purpose of bathing the Buddha is to purify the body, speech and mind, and practicing the “three good things” is the best of practical methods.
In his speech, Huang Ruikun said that he was very happy to renew his relationship with Fo Guang Shan in Frankfurt and experience the merits of the Buddha. Liu Bo, president of the association, invited everyone present to learn more about the life of Buddha and to better understand Buddhism.
The garden party and two cultural performances included an exhibition on the life of Buddha, a vegetarian charity sale, tea meditation, calligraphy experience, children’s art and colorful cultural performances, which nourished the body and mind of the participants. The lovely statue of the Prince attracts passers-by to bathe the Buddha and learn more about humanistic Buddhism. The performance part combines dynamic and static performances, including Foguang Choir, Guzheng, Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Western Music Ensemble, Waist Drum, Peking Opera, Youth League and other exciting performances, attracting visitors to stop and watch. Especially when the Fo Guang Chorus sang the famous German song “Freut euch des Lebens”, the passing Siranon Kerzell Choir joined in and sang happily. The joyful character of Humanistic Buddhism received an enthusiastic response.
Since 2001, Frankfurt Fo Guang Shan and Fo Guang Association have insisted on holding outdoor Buddha bathing activities in downtown Frankfurt, hoping that this can help Buddhism go out and better integrate into local German society. After an absence of five years, the Buddha Bathing Garden Party has returned to the center of Frankfurt. The wonderful programs and the high-quality performance of not leaving any garbage at the venue after the meeting have made the surrounding businesses happy to praise the Fo Guang people.
This year’s event has greatly exceeded previous ones in terms of the number of volunteers and the number of local people who came to celebrate the Buddha bathing. It is particularly worth mentioning that the members of the Youth League have continued to grow through activities one after another. Whether it is judicial instruments, program hosting, introduction of “Buddha’s Life”, etc., they all demonstrate the effective inheritance of Humanistic Buddhism in Frankfurt.
Rena, a friend of the Buddha’s Light in Germany who has participated in the Buddha Bathing for many times, was still willing to participate when his daughter was taking exams for graduation and his son was ill. He used meditation to help him relax and focus. Barbie, a former employee of China Airlines from India, and her daughter Bani recently came to Germany and participated in outdoor Buddha bathing for the first time and played the guzheng. They felt that they had a strong sense of participation in the activity and were very happy. In Germany, a reserved and conservative country burdened with a long-standing cultural spiritual baggage, Humanistic Buddhism has received more and more positive responses, showing the great charm of the humanistic character of Humanistic Buddhism.
