Buddha Day in Strasbourg

On the weekend of 2 to 3 July, after a two-year break, the Buddha Day resumed at the Josephine Pavilion in the Orangery Park in Strasbourg.

The Buddhist communities met on Friday morning to set up the various stands so that everything was ready on Saturday.

Shortly after the opening of the stands to the public on Saturday morning, the Tibetan community of Kuttolsheim offered us an initiation to meditation according to their tradition.

At the beginning of the afternoon, Olivier Reigen Wang-Genh, president of the Buddhist Community of Alsace, organiser of the event, began his opening speech by underlining how much the pandemic of the last two years reminded us of the importance of impermanence in our lives and of the interdependence of things in the world, two values dear to Buddhism. He then presented the different Buddhist traditions present in Alsace and at this festival (Tibetan, Zen, Laotian and Vietnamese).

After a moment of shared silence, the officials took the podium.

Throughout the weekend, visitors were able to attend various meditation workshops, receive information about all the Buddhist communities and enjoy delicious Vietnamese food and cakes prepared by the Zen community of Weiterswiller.

Two highlights were the lecture by the Vietnamese Venerable Thich Nhu Dien on Saturday afternoon and the lecture by Master Wang-Genh on Sunday on the theme of "Meditation and Kindness". This beautiful festival ended with Laotian dances.

The Buddhist communities have agreed to meet again next year.