The Nepalese community in Edmonton, Canada observed 2563rd Buddha Jayanti amidst a special culture event at Lansdowne Community Hall on May 18, 2019. The cultural event was organized by Newa Cultural Society of Alberta (NCSA), a local organization to practice, promote and preserve Newa culture and traditions in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The cultural event was jointly inaugurated by venerable Guruma Bodhi, a Canadian nun and President of Canadian Engaged Buddhism Association (CEBA), Edmonton; and Dr. Hemanta Joshi, President of NCSA; by lighting Twadewas, Nepalese traditional artistic oil lamps.

In the cultural event, Dr. Hemanta Joshi, President of NCSA, honored venerable Guruma Bodhi by offering Khata and souvenir. In his welcome speech, Dr. Joshi said that NCSA has started the tradition of observing Buddha Jayanti in Edmonton as an annual cultural festival in the community to commemorate Buddha’s birth anniversary, enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana. According to Dr. Joshi, Buddha’s teachings and precepts are useful in ending suffering and maintaining global peace.

In the cultural event, venerable Guruma Bodhi offered prayer to Lord Buddha. She gave a speech about Buddha’s teachings on compassion. According to her, people do not need to be Buddhist to follow Buddha’s teachings and techniques. She also conducted a meditation session to the participants.

In the cultural event, Bhojan Dan (a ritual of offering food to the monks) was offered to venerable Guruma Bodhi. At the end of the cultural event, participants were entertained with spiritual songs and melody related to Buddha.