On Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th May, the Rocca di Lonato will host the celebrations of Vesak, the most significant holiday for Buddhists that commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Buddha. The event, organized by the Italian Buddhist Union (UBI), will feature a series of public meetings aimed at deepening various aspects of the dharma in action, such as creating contexts of care and ecological relationships. The celebration will follow the Theravada, Seon, Vajrayana, and Zen traditions, culminating in the ritual offering of a meal to the monks.
The two-day program includes lectures on relevant topics such as the contributions of Buddhism to Italian universities and ecological relationships. Among the planned speakers are academics and experts such as Marcello Ghilardi from the University of Padua and Davide Quadrio from the Museum of Oriental Art in Turin. Sunday will see the highlight of the event with a ritual ceremony to celebrate the three fundamental moments of Buddha’s life and a shared lunch between monks and participants. According to Filippo Scianna, president of UBI, Vesak represents a crucial opportunity to strengthen interpersonal relationships in a historical period marked by conflicts.
Italian Version
