Source: The Buddhist Channel/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=62,7552,0,0,1,0
The Christmas tree with multicolored lights in one corner seemed out of place with the large white Buddha statue positioned along opposite wall.
But according to Bhante Pemaratana, a monk at the Buddhist temple along Route 908 in Natrona, the values and philosophies each represent have much in common.
That was the purpose of a service and luncheon Sunday at the Buddhist temple, a converted house where the statue and tree shared the main room.
About 50 to 60 people attended the event.
"Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country but we have a very large Christian population and a large Muslim populations, so we celebrated Christian holidays, we celebrated Muslim holidays," said Ramesh Santanam of Pittsburgh, a Sri Lanka native and former Valley News Dispatch reporter.