During the week 26 February to 4 March 2007 over 5,000 people came to the Melbourne Town Hall to see the exhibition celebrating the life of the Buddha and his 2550 anniversary. We had a beautiful array of rare Buddhist art drawn from all over the world. Images have come from India, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Tibet, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Laos and Nepal as well as many new interpretations which were created in Australia.
In addition to the exhibition we held lectures and workshops on an array of Buddhist topics from calligraphy to history and pilgrimage. One of the highlights of the week was the Buddha Symposium held at the Capitol Theatre on Swanston Street. Featured speakers were Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso Abbot of the Bodhinyana Monastery in Perth, Kyabgon Traleg Rinpoche Spiritual Teacher of KEBI in Carlton, Ven. Phuoc Tan Abbot of the Quang Minh Temple in Braybrook and Ven. Chikwang Sunim Abbess of the Soen Centre in Kinglake.
The exhibition was also a fundraiser for our partner organisation, the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund and the Buddhist Council of Victoria's Education Project, which is bringing Buddhist education into primary state schools. On this page we will show you some highlights of the exhibition, an event which was accessible to everybody and which demonstrated the great harmony of our diverse community. The event was completed by the dissolution of the sand mandala built by the Sera Je monks, prayers for rain, and musical and dance performances at Federation Square.
Thank you to all who participated - click here.
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