Chinese New Year celebrations at a place of peace

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As thousands of people celebrated the Lunar New Year in Chinatown and Flushing on Saturday, a smaller group gathered at the Temple of Enlightenment on Albany Crescent for the temple’s New Year blessing ceremony. 

“It’s New Year, and today happens to be my birthday, so it’s the perfect day to come,” said Kingsbridge resident Ming Demmerle, who sat toward the back of the hall with her son Idris, 6.

“It’s very positive and it’s very peaceful. I feel a lot calmer when I come here,” she added. 

The Buddhist temple, part of the Buddhist Association of the United States, which has its main temple in Carmel, New York, is a respite from the hectic day-to-day for the mother of two. She took meditation classes at the venue before she became too busy. 

“I really feel a lot calmer when I come here,” she said before the ceremony. 

The Kingsbridge temple has been open since 1964; the Ven. Dr. Dhammadipa has been the temple’s abbot, or leader, since 2012. 

On Saturday, he led about 40 people in prayers and chants. He conducted the ceremony in both English and Chinese, standing before three golden statues of Buddha and an altar laden with fruit and food offerings for the New Year. 

“Today we pay our respects to the Buddha,” he said. “The Buddha gives us wisdom.... No one can compare to the Buddha.”

A connection to the Buddha, he explained, leads to contentment and happiness, according to Buddhist tradition. 

Offerings of fruit, water and incense, meanwhile, symbolize the beauty and virtue of the Buddha. 

After bowing to the Buddha three times, those gathered sang “The Sway of the Glow Incense Hymn” as they received burning incense sticks and proceeded to the side of the hall. There, they placed their offerings in a bowl.

“Everyone is welcome,” said one of the temple’s monks, Sagarananda, as the congregation broke from the ceremony for lunch. 

He came to the temple from Taiwan in 2012 when the new abbotship began. 

“We would like this place to become a community center,” he said of the temple, which offers meditation and Kung Fu classes along with other programs open to the public. 

Some of the temple’s guests traveled far to join in the celebration; others, like Eric Tung, his wife and their three-month-old baby girl traveled just a few blocks for the ceremony. 

“It’s a tradition. It’s a big prayer ceremony,” said Mr. Tung, 39. “We have a set up at home, but coming over here, it’s more formal,” he said. 

“It’s nice to have a place like this. We’re not back in Taiwan or China, so it’s nice that there’s a formal gathering for prayer,” he added.

Lunar New Year, Temple of Enlightenment, Buddhist Association of the United States, Buddhism, Maya Rajamani

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