Bell Block and Taranaki’s Sri Lankan community brought its culture alive on Saturday 18th May 2013 in celebration of their religious and cultural festival Vesak. The festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, it is similar to what Diwali was to Hindus and what Ramadan was to Muslims. More than 125 people attended the fifth celebration held in Bell Block, as well as three monks who travelled from Auckland to take part in the ceremony. The day began with an offerings ceremony, in which flowers, incense and beverages were passed around a circle to the monks who then placed them on a statue of Buddha.
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