Buddhists Gather to Celebrate Buddha's Birthday

June 5, 2009

Author: Deepa Bharath

Source: The Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/buddha-buddhist-vesak-2446016-day-buddhists

For the first time, Buddhists from all over Southern California are congregating in Anaheim to celebrate Vesak or Buddha Day at the Convention Center Saturday.

"This is Buddha's birthday," said Thich Con Thanh, abbot of the Lien Hoa Buddhist Temple in Garden Grove. "This is like Christmas for Buddhists all over the world."

Thanh is organizing the event, which he expects will be attended by at least 7,000 followers from Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties. The Buddhist population is Orange County and the rest of Southern California has grown exponentially in the last five to 10 years, Thanh said. Members of 15 Buddhist temples from Southern California will participate in the festivities, he said.