Buddha's Birthday Celebration and Cultural Festival May 3, 2009

IBPS Chicago will be hosting a special ceremony and festival honoring the birthday of Sakyamuni Buddha. For over two thousand years, Buddhists around the world have celebrated the Buddha's birthday. It may be celebrated at different times on the lunar calendar due to differences in historical recordings. However, this day is the most significant amongst all the different Buddhist traditions around the world. There will be a bathing of the Buddha, which is a symbol of inner purification, the tradition is said to assist with the purgation of sins. A universal message that, it's simple to wash away physical dirt but it is much more difficult to cleanse one's inner dirt of greed, anger and ignorance. There will be a special exhibition of Buddhist statues and images throughout the ages for viewing inside the temple. After the ceremony, there will be various cultural performances: Yuan Ji Dance, Tai Chi and Kung Fu demonstrations, Chinese Erhu, guzheng music, culture dances and children's performances. There will be a varied array of vegetarian delicacies at our food court. Booths will be set up on the property for kid's games, a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and a Dentist who will give free dental checkups. Please join us on this special day! IBPS is located 1/2 mile South of Route 75th Street on Route 53.

Official Website: www.ibpschicago.org