Sunday Times 2
7th anniversary celebration of the Samadhi Buddha Statue at New Jersey Buddhist Vihare
View(s):PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY – The Seventh Anniversary of the Samadhi Statue at the New Jersey Buddhist Vihara & Meditation Center in Princeton, New Jersey was celebrated on August 20.
This all day celebration was attended by many dignitaries including a Sri Lankan ambassador, President of a Japanese Buddhist temple in New York, Mayor Phillip Kramer, Deputy Mayor Ted Chase and Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad (D-At Large). Also attending were Darrin Russo, the Democratic candidate for Somerset County,and Somerset County Freeholder Brian Levine. Councilman Prasad read a township proclamation honouring the event.
The evening celebration was highlighted by a flower procession in the Meditation Trail through this wooded 10-acre property. There were also religious chantings in the afternoon and evening led by the Chief Incumbent – Ven. Bhanthe Hungampola Sirirathana Nayaka Thero., in a special handmade Teak gazebo (“Mandappaya”) donated by former ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva, flown in from Sri Lanka. The evening was capped by a celebratory dinner prepared by the center’s members.
The statue which took two years to complete is reportedly the largest representation of the sitting Buddha in the Western hemi-sphere. It was constructed mostly by volunteers and a special monk flown from Sri Lanka according to Dr. Kottahachchi, Chairman of the Center.In just a few years, the center has gone from serving 70 Sri Lankan families to over 300 families of all nationalities.
The Center is about to embark on a major $2.5 Million expansion which consists of a large building which includes a meditation Hall, Library and residence for the monks, parking and an expanded meditation trail with a Bridge over a meandering stream. This expansion was necessitated by the growing interest in the Center enhanced by the completion of the Statue in 2009.