Mandala in Long Beach 2016
Dear all,
If you missed to attend Mandala in Long Beach. Here are the news and the world record for largest human Mandala which will be posted in The Guinness Books of Records.
Enjoy and Happy Holidays
—Thang
Compassionate Service Society WPG 2016
THANK YOU LETTER
Dear Venerable Masters, spiritual leaders, supporters, volunteers, and all attendees of the 2016 World Peace Gathering (WPG),
Thank you for your participation in our 8th Annual WPG event. This year is especially meaningful as it marks our first ever world record “Largest Human Mandala” and our first interfaith tea meditation ceremony for world peace. The grandeur of the ceremonies, the pageantry of seeing all faiths in their religious garbs, the wonderful colors of the mandala, the sights of interweaving circumambulations and bowing formations of people, majestic Buddha statues, bright lights, fragrant flowers and sounds of angelic chanting, prayers, bells, drums, and gongs of WPG are just some descriptions that makes WPG so unique, spiritual, and magical to behold. With the strife that is happening around the globe, a little prayer, meditation, and positive energy emanating from approximately 3,000 people at our 3-day event could only be a step forward in spreading the message that world peace can be a reality if we all practice to have inner peace first.
As with any grand event, there are many behind-the-scenes staff/personnel who makes it all possible. The intricacy of organizing this event is evident with about 300 volunteers near and far, from the tea masters, tea makers, mandala construction team, ushers, photographers, decorations team, food/catering, audio, visual, video, website, public relations/marketing, publications, sales, youth, fundraising, finance, integral taichi (iTC) instructors, 3-steps-1-bow team, emcees, translation team, database, security, parking, transportation, first aid, information, delivery, loading/unloading, cleanup, and numerous miscellaneous acts of generosity, kindness, dedication, and heart and spirit of a bodhisattva, this WPG would not be a success. Additionally, the 250 Temporary Altruistic Leave-home monks and nuns, the Bodhisattvas-in-training team, the guest sangha, and our Venerable Masters Hang Truong and Heng Der, gives us the spiritual weight, meaning, soul and essence needed to elevate WPG with solemnity and dignity required for this level of global attention.
Conclusively, all of us, played an important role for the success of this year’s WPG. We are grateful for your participation, your service, your belief in our event and message, and we hope to see you again next year at our 9th Annual WPG. Wishing you and your family the warmest and best of the holiday season and New Year.
Peace to all,
WPG Organizing team
THANK YOU LETTER from
Compassionate Service Society YOUTH
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Dear CSS Youth, Parents, and Supporters,
This year's World Peace Gathering was an amazing success for the youth! Our youth group had over 90 members this year (not including parent chaperones and support staff), almost double our attendance from last year. Together, we accomplished many great things and made our presence known throughout the Long Beach Convention Center and beyond into the global community. Below are some of our highlights from this year's WPG:
1. The youth group hosted a reception and gave a presentation on CSS and Tea Meditation to over 200 religious dignitaries from around the world (Buddhist nuns, monks, Christian priests, Muslim imams, Jain leaders). Some members of our youth also served as Tea Masters during the Tea Meditation. This meditation included prayers from leaders of each religious faith for world peace.
2. The youth group attended the World Peace Gathering's Human Mandala this year. This ceremony was a way for us all to pray for world peace. The youth were part of over 1,800 attendees and together we set the world record for the Largest Human Mandala with an official member of the Record Setter judging committee present! We hope that this record will inspire other like-minded communities around the world!
3. The youth group organized our Inaugural CSS Youth Conference, which was held in a room in the Hyatt Regency Hotel adjacent to the convention center. At this conference, we formalized the existence of our CSS Youth Group and our mission statement: "The CSS Youth Group exists to provide opportunities for young people to discover and deepen their spirituality; to inspire others through altruistic service; and to build and support like-minded communities throughout the world." At this conference, Thay Hang Truong gave a talk about the generation of Givers in us and his vision for our group. The youth group also shared ideas for new youth activities throughout the course of the year, one of which being a Summer Camp. We are excited for new youth to step up and join our working group - we are beginning the planning phase for this camp already!
The WPG 2016 program for youth would not have been possible without the enthusiasm from all of us this year, the hard work of the parents who supported us, and the generous donations received. Money given to us was used mostly for youth-related expenses (breakfasts and dinners, volunteer uniforms, meeting room for Youth Conference, Santa hats, bow ties, etc.). We sincerely wanted to thank Thay, all parents and CSS volunteers who guided and helped us throughout the WPG 2016 event. We would not be able to accomplish any of this without your help and we hope you will continue to join us again in our future endeavors to bring about World Peace our way!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
With warmest regards,
Long-Nghi (VA), Andy (CA), and Uy Viet (TX)
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