Union Square is a very busy place and in opinion we are all going be lost in the Manhattan crowd. It is going to be very inconvenient for Zingdahg to offer tea and snacks to Sherpa brothers and sisters because Union Square is 4 blocks Square in size. Parents who cannot afford baby sitter or who has no choice of leaving kids at home than bring them to Union Square will definitely be very busy watching their kids running around rather than paying attention to the Lamas praying mantras.
It is 100% not a good spot to celebrate Buddha Jayanty there. Kyidug please think about all the Sherpas inconvenience. Like Lhakpa007 said, "Look before leap".
I hope you will consider our inconvenience and choose plan B celebrating Buddha Jayanty in the big enough hall where we all Sherpas can have enough room to perform SHEBRU and Naading. And may be Hip Hop, just kidding.
In my opinion celebrating the 'Buddha Jayanti' in a public place like Union Square is a great idea. It will give an exposure to our great culture and religion to others. It will also provide chance for local people to participate in this special event.
Buddha Jayanti does not belong to we Sherpas alone. People in the west are showing more and more interest in Buddhism these days. So Sherpa Kyidug's decision of not organizing such important event in a constricted hall, but in a open public place, And not treating it as just another reason for a 'Chyangthung Party' for we sherpas, but as a great event for all, will be more benificial than inconvenience to all, in a broader sence.
Aawaz jee, Your lesson on morality was a great one. Hope you are living up with what you are preaching, and I will try to do the same. No one is perfect. That's why we are all 'sentient beings,' those who are not enlightened in a Buddhist term.
But,I thought we were actually discussing on merits and demerits in celebrating Buddha Jayanti in public place like Union Square, were we not?
My point is,people who's got better understanding of our culture and Religion are more likely to contribute for our cause in the future, like when we need their support in the
projects like building a Monastery, for example.
To make others understand our culture and Religion is our job. Celebrating events like Buddha Jayanti or even losar in a public place will serve that purpose.
If people from different community parades down fifth avenue on their special days, if Chinese New Year is celebrated hugely in the streets, what is so wrong in celebrating our losar in the central park? I think we should also parade down fifth avenue as well in the future, on our very special occasions. Thank you.
Off-hand I can only name 'Easter' and 'Thanks Giving' as non political parades, that parades down fifth avenue. There could be more... One must do more research on the given topic, before forwarding their points, in the case if they are not so sure. This will make discussion more discussable, interesting and will not cause the thread to go haywire. Otherwise, I will only percieve it as someone being pretentious, and this is not why we are here- atleast not me.
Now, when I used fifth avenue or central park as venues for our celebrations, they were used only as 'metaphoric expression.' to the context. To be direct, it would mean 'PUBLICALLY.' We all know that our community is not quite huge enough to parade down fifth avenue yet. Thank you.
