On August 26th, 2018, a grand Vegetarian Carnival was held at the auditorium of Pacific Renaissance Plaza located in the heart of Oakland’s thriving Chinatown, California. The event was organized by Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Practice Center in Oakland, aiming to promote vegetarianism and the upcoming Public Talks by Master Jun Hong Lu in Los Angeles on October 7, and in New York on October 14, 2018. Over 500 guests attended this vibrant event with more than 40 volunteers participated.

The event has five sessions: Totem Video, story sharing, Poetry Reading, Buddhist Song Singing, and Prize-winning Quiz. In the totem video session, many attendees’ were blown away by Buddhist Master Jun Hong Lu’s ability to tell one’s past, present and future through Totem Enquiry. These diversified true cases ranging from health issues, relationships, mental problems, and career development brought awareness of the Law of Cause and Effect, making people look at the world from different perspectives, and attempt to understand themselves better in the process of life. During all these years, Buddhist Master Jun Hong Lu has been tirelessly preaching Buddhism in different countries, helping people alleviate from sufferings and find their true self, which lies behind the physical body, shifting emotions, and chattering mind. Tens of thousands of people benefitted from practicing Buddhism and changed their lives.

In the Story Sharing Session, a Buddhist friend, Lily, shared her story of saving a life of a passenger who passed out on an international flight from US to Sydney by reciting Great Compassion Mantra. The actual experience made Lily believe further the great compassion and great mercy of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, and taught her what to do when adversity strikes. Many of the guests were deeply touched by the story and realized the importance of spiritual practice. When they learned that Master Lu Jun Hong will come to Los Angeles and New York to hold large scale Dharma Talks in October, many guests rushed to the consultation office to inquire and then received free admission tickets. The following performances of Buddhist songs and poetry readings brought the event to a climax. Many of the volunteers rehearsed multiple times beforehand and presented wonderful performances which won the praise from the guests.

As the highlight of the event, vegetarian tasting is one of the most exciting aspects. The volunteers from Guan Yin Citta prepared more than 80 kinds of delicious dishes for the guests to taste. In order to take care of the elderly who were not convenient to move, the catering team specially prepared 250 plates of meals directly delivered to the hands of seniors to facilitate their tasting. These fine vegetarian cuisines earned high praise from people and made them have a new understanding of vegetarian food.

The success of the event is inseparable from the strong support of the volunteers from Guan Yin Citta, who selflessly devoted themselves, their time and energy to every part of the event. The catering team, registration team, free distribution team, equipment team, transportation team, and the maintaining order team worked hard together with high-performance and good collaboration. The staff from Pacific Renaissance Plaza also expressed their great appreciation for the cooperation the cleaning work after the gathering. Wishing the coming Public Talk by Master Jun Hong Lu in US a great success and deliver more sentient beings!