Buddha’s Birthday Celebrated At Township Temple

The New Jersey Buddhist Vihara Meditation Center is said to host the largest Buddha statue in the West.

Congregants of the New Jersey Buddhist Vihara Meditation Center on Route 27 gathered at the site May 2 to celebrate the birthday of their Lord Buddha.

The center, located on a largely wooded 10-acre site, is home to what is considered the largest Buddha statue in the West.

The statue will soon be joined by a meditation center that is in the final planning stages.

Wije Kottahachchi, head of the center’s fundraising effort, said about 100 people were expected to take part in the day-long ceremony.

From about 8 a.m. to about 4 p.m., congregants gathered to meditate and discuss the teachings of Buddha, he said.

Then, starting at about 5:30 p.m., there would be devotional songs sung by members of the center’s religious school and “pooja,” or offerings to the statue.

Following that, dinner would be served to all attendees, Kottahachchi said.

“It’s a traditional thing you do on the Buddha’s birthday,” he said.

Buddha’s Birthday Celebrated 2015

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