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釋迦牟尼佛聖誕慶祝法會，台北駐舊金山經文處處長李世明應邀到萬佛聖城參加，和數百名信眾一同浴佛，並表示在人心為戰爭、疾病惶惶不安之際，舉辦法會淨化人心，功不可沒。
李世明處長一行於五月四日上午九時許抵達，由方丈恆律法師陪同李處長一同浴佛，當天萬佛聖城飄著微風細雨，將大地清洗得乾淨清涼，萬佛城內浴佛的廣場上搭起了大帳篷，內供七尊佛像供信眾浴佛，李處長浴佛後，隨即與大家一起參加上供儀式，並和數百名信眾一同用素齋。
午齋時，李處長應邀致詞（講詞詳見第36頁）柏克萊宗教聯合研究所的教授兼行政人員克蕾兒費雪，曾經深入研究印尼巴厘島的宗教與文化，先後帶領三屆學生前來萬佛聖城研究比較宗教學，並與法界佛教大學校長阿匹納博士在宗教聯合研究所共同授課。她接著致詞表示，很高興能應邀來到萬佛聖城參加浴佛節，今天當大部分的人都為世界局勢、以及人類精神福祉狀態，深感焦慮不安時，我們要記住釋迦牟尼佛所說的輪迴的信息，因為這是極其重要的。
宗教聯合研究所中的佛學研究所教授，淨土信宗的金谷特別強調慶祝釋迦牟尼佛聖誕，就要記住佛最重要的教誨：眾生一體，大家都是互相依存的。她自己是日裔加拿大籍人士，她說萬佛聖城有很多人來自世界各國，但大家有緣共聚一堂，正如柏克萊宗教聯合研究所聚集了不同宗教的人士，彼此互相學習，互相了解，透過這樣學習和了解，才有可能為人類在這個世界上創造一個更好的生活空間，並獲致眾生一體的共識。
實法師接著指出：根據他自己的經驗，浴佛節當天發願特別靈，誠心發願一定滿願。他又提到萬佛聖城開山祖師上宣下化老和尚，生前在弘揚佛法的同時，也同樣重視興辦教育，他從十六歲起就在家鄉辦義學，一生都是教育家。宣公上人曾說過，如果這個國家的教育興盛，則佛法將興，如果教育淪喪，則佛法也將式微。
實法師在促進各宗教之間的合作與對話一向十分盡力，他發現許多宗教都說，現在大學生不來參加聚會活動。但是萬佛聖城培德中學畢業校友組成的「法界青年會DRBY」上個月在聖荷西金聖寺舉辦一項心靈研討會，吸引了一百二十多位年輕人參加。這群年輕人今年夏天還將到萬佛聖城來參加兩梯次的楞嚴經研討會，為期各四週。恆實法師欣見年青學子繼起研究與生活結合的佛學哲理。
方丈律法師最後開示，以七香水浴佛，是提醒我們人人本具清淨自性，在聖不增，在凡不減。釋迦牟尼佛到世間並不是要大家浴佛或歌頌，而是希望大家了解浴佛的真義—清淨自性。
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Mr. Matthew Lee, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Culture Office in San Francisco, visited the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) on Shakyamuni Buddha’s birthday. He joined the hundreds of participants in the Bathing the Buddha ceremony and indicated that there was definite merit in holding this Dharma assembly to purify people’s minds at this time of anxiety about war and disease.
On Sunday, May 4, Director General Lee and his entourage arrived at CTTB around 9 o’clock in the morning. The place was clean and cool due to the breeze and drizzling rain. The Abbot, Dharma Master Heng Lyu, accompanied Director General Lee to bathe the Buddha under the big awning behind the Buddha Hall where seven Buddha statuettes were placed for people to bathe. After bathing the Buddha, Director General Lee attended the meal offering ceremony and had a vegetarian lunch with the assembly. He then gave a brief talk. (Please see
page 36 in this issue for his talk.)
Professor Clare Fischer with the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) gave a talk after Director General Lee. As an anthropologist, she has done research into the religion and culture of Bali. She has taken three generations of students to CTTB for the study of comparative religions. She has also team-taught at GTU with Dr. Akpinar, the Chancellor of Dharma Realm Buddhist University. Prof. Fischer said that she was happy to attend this ceremony: “We’ve kept in mind how important the message is: the birth and the rebirth of all of us at the time when so many of us have considerable anxiety about the state of the world and about the state of our spiritual well-being.”
Another GTU faculty with the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Prof. Patricia Amy Kanaya, represented the Jodo Shinshu tradition. She stated that to celebrate Shakyamuni Buddha’s birthday, we need to remember one of his most valuable and basic teachings, that of interdependence. Prof. Kanaya is Japanese-Canadian. She pointed out that many of GTU’s faculty and students represent various religious traditions, but they’ve come together to learn about each other’s traditions and understand each other in order to be able to create a better place for people in this world. Through understanding and learning, they realize that they are all together in oneness.
Dharma Master Heng Sure then shared with the assembly his own experience that any resolutions, vows, promises one makes sincerely on Shakyamuni Buddha’s birthday will have a very wonderful effect on our life. He also mentioned that the founder of CTTB, the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, was a hard-working Buddhist advocate and a lifelong educator who started schools wherever he went. At sixteen,he established a free school in his hometown. Dharma Master Sure recalled that the Venerable Master once said that if education thrives in this country, then the Buddhadharma will thrive; if education is weakened in this country, then the Buddhadharma has no hope.
Dharma Master Sure has been working hard in coordinating dialogue among religions. He has found that in many religions, people are asking, “Where are the young people?” In contrast to most college students who don’t go to their religious gatherings, Dharma Realm Buddhist Youth (DRBY), which is organized partly by the alumni of Developing Virtue Secondary School, held a conference on spirituality in April at Gold Sage Monastery, San Jose. It was attended by more than 120 young people. DRBY is holding a Shurangama Sutra retreat at CTTB this summer in two four-week sessions. Dharma Master Sure was happy to see that young people are studying the principles of Buddhadharma, which apply to everyday life.
Finally, the Abbot of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Dharma Master Heng Lyu, explained that the reason we bathe the baby Buddha with seven kinds of aromatic water is to remind ourselves that we all have the original pure nature, which is neither more in sages nor less in ordinary people. Shakyamuni Buddha manifested in the world not to have people bathe his statue or praise him, but to teach everyone the true meaning of bathing the Buddha, which is to understand our pure inherent nature.
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