First time in Buddhist and USA history

Light of Buddhadharma Foundation International

Dear Friends,

A very amazing and historical moment in time today! We received a personal message from the President of United States, President Barak Obama, sending good wishes for VESAK 2016 and also from Governor Gerry Brown of California. As far as I know, this is the first time in US history when the President has issued a message saluting this great Buddhist occasion. President Obama, writes:

"I send greetings to all those observing Vesak.

Vesak is a special day for millions of Buddhists to honor the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Buddha. At temples around the world, Buddhists use this time to engage in prayer and reflect on the virtues of wisdom, courage, and compassion. By taking part in these acts of humility, the men, women, and children who uphold the proud traditions of Buddhism contribute to the diversity of cultures and religions that define our common humanity. As you come together to mark this occasion, I wish you all the best."

Over the last year, we have been working with a small committee in the USA to bring VESAK to the White House. We are still hoping for this in 2017. In the meantime, we received this morning a beautiful message from our President of the United States honoring VESAK for all Buddhists and sending his good wishes.

I also received this morning a message from our Governor of California endorsing VESAK.

I would be happy to send you the message of President Barak Obama in case you would like to read it out at your VESAK temple on this historical occasion. Please inbox me a message with your temple's details and I can send it to you by email. Please just include your temple name and the time of your VESAK celebration. We would ask that you send us a photo of the reading of the message by the President on behalf of your Vihara.