Finding inner peace just became a little more attainable for those seeking it on the Central Coast. According to Buddhist doctrine, the act of seeing Buddha iconography or participating in virtuous Buddhist activities is believed to bring good karma to those who partake.
With Tibetan music, monks chanting, Mongolian cultural performances, plus a free lunch and educational booths, there will be spirituality in abundance as the Medicine Buddha Festival unfolds deep in the forest of Soquel. Free and open to the community, June 27,10am- 3pm, the festival begins with a procession into the trees at 11am for the hanging of the thangka (painting) at the gompa (temple)in the lower part of the sacred land.
The centerpiece of the annual Festival is a masterpiece of Buddhist art, a 25-foot-tall thangka by Swiss artist Peter Islie. The holy artwork is a sacred object revered in Buddhist culture as a means to receive blessings. Amidst the melodic sounds of Tibetan monks chanting, the thangka will be carried up the hill to the festival grounds and backlit between two redwood trees at the gompa. The procession ends at the Wish Fulfilling Temple to start the festivities with Tibetan music, medicine, dance and hiking.
“The monks and nuns will be in that procession,” says Denice Taylor Macy, Medicine Buddha Festival organizer. Several tables of offerings in front will display “water bowls, all kinds of food, flowers and fruit offerings.” Families are welcome, and kids’ activities include face painting, prayer flag making and more.
The festival is a day of offerings honoring Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s guidance.
Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche has encouraged as part of the Vast Visions for the Foundation for Preservation of Mahayana Tradition to support, create, and display large thangkas and to host a thangka festival where many people can gather to enjoy the beauty and power of the holy artwork, participate in making offerings and other virtuous activities.
“It’s a tradition in Himalayan centers like Tibet and Nepal to have these huge thangkas, and they unroll them on special days of the year. So the tradition came from Nepal and Tibet. He’s from Nepal and brought this tradition.” The thangka procession will be led by the Gamelan Orchestra.
In addition to the 25-foot thangka, the Eight Great Bodhisattva thangkas will also be on display, painted by Gelek Sherpa, a Nepali American.
Geshes from the Sera Jey Foundation will lead a two-mile Peace Hike and a short talk on Medicine Buddha by Geshe Tenzin Legtsok. A geshe is on par with a PhD degree from a monastery.
According to Buddhist doctrine, there are certain benefits to be gained by participating in the festival and viewing specific Buddhist iconography. “The medicine is the dharma, the teachings, the blessings we get … Each of the buddhas has their specialties, like floods and famine.”
Macy also serves as project manager for the Stupa Project, a collection of sacred glass vessels sometimes dedicated to loved ones. Buddhist doctrine is represented in different ways; physically with statues, speech by dharma teachings and an enlightened mind by the stupa.
According to the practice, citizens will receive good karma from seeing or walking around a stupa. “What’s different with a Buddhist stupa is it’s filled with holy objects,” Macy said. “You don’t really need to know the teachings, but somehow being around these things touches your heart in some way, brings peace to you and peace around the world.”
Three sets of dancers perform at the festival, from Mongolian traditional contortion to dancers from the Tibetan Association of Northern California and a kids troupe from Richmond. “The first offering will be songs and performances from the Mongolian community. “It’s a thing with Mongolians to do acrobatics and contortionism,” Macy said. Everybody is invited to get up and join the dance at the end.
Initially a 58-acre parcel, the Land of Medicine Buddhas has grown to a 108-acre resort and conference center. The original resort started in 1909, and LMB has owned the land since the 1980s, Macy said. The first festival was held in 2002. “Even during COVID, we hung our thangka but didn’t have an event. This is the first year since 2019 that we’ve had the full representation of what a full festival would be,” she added.
Visitors are generally requested to refrain from loud noise or behavior on the grounds when people are in meditation or practice, but on this special day, “It’s music and celebrating,” Macy said. “We’re celebrating the Medicine Buddha puja.”
If you go: June 27, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. 5800 Prescott Road, Soquel. Limited parking is available at the land, 462-8383. To make a donation or Puja Dedications, visit online, landofmedicinebuddha.org
