All Welcome to Day of Meditation, Lectures and Performance...

In Japan, Zen Buddhists celebrate April 8 as the Buddhas Birthday. Continuing a celebration that began locally last year, the Zen Group of Chattanooga will bring together three Buddhist traditions to offer a day of meditation, dharma talks (lectures) and performance on Saturday, April 7 to honor the great teacher.

Anyone interested in Buddhism will find times during the event to learn more, as Zen meditation instruction, a lecture by a Theravadan monk, another with chanting by followers of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and yet another from a representative of the Zen Group, will be presented. Beginners instruction in zazen, the Zen form of meditation, will be offered as well. The event will open with a traditional Zen hanamatsuriceremony commemorating the birth of Buddha.

Performances designed to celebrate Buddhist thought will also be featured, including a reading of Allen Ginsberg's America (Ginsberg was a practicing Tibetan Buddhist), readings of poems by contemporary Buddhist poet Jane Hirshfield, and performances by the musical groups NADA and the Atlanta-based Triop.

The day will be a benefit for the Chattanooga Zen Center, leading to the goal of incorporation as a nonprofit and eventually establishing its own space and zendo, so a $7 donation at the door will be welcomed, but no one will be turned away.