A large scale Free Vegetarian Event held by Guan Yin Citta Phoenix receives overwhelming response from local community

On August 26, 2018, the Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Practice Center in Phoenix held a large-scale free vegetarian food tasting event at the Phoenix Chinese Senior Center to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Phoenix Chinese Senior Association. The free vegetarian food event is not only a gathering and celebration to honor the contributions by Chinese Americans to the community development, but also a spiritual practice to transmit love and kindness, providing an opportunity for people to experience vegetarian culture and the core values of Buddhism. The event attracted more than 250 attendees and 50 Buddhist practitioners from New York, Philadelphia, Vancouver, New Mexico, California, Las Vegas, and local areas in Phoenix.

At 11:30am in the morning, the event officially started with the welcome speech delivered by the chairman of the Phoenix Chinese Senior Association. With the chanting the Great Compassion Mantra by dozens of Buddhist practitioners from Guan Yin Citta Phoenix, the meeting hall was filled with the atmosphere of peace and solemn. Then the event processed to the main topic of “The Benefits of Vegetarian Diet”, presented by Brother Jerry from Guan Yin Citta in Las Vegas. He dived into the details of the topic with examples from medical research and viewpoints from Buddhism, which revealed the relationships between killing or eating fleshes of sentient beings and formation of karmic debts. Brother Jerry also introduced the positive impact of vegetarian diet on people’s lives and earth environment. After that, Brother Joyce from Guan Yin Citta Philadelphia thoroughly introduced the basic information and development of Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Practice Center in Phoenix during the two years. The Chairman from State Government’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Shijun Huang; the Chairman of the Federation of Overseas Chinese Federations, Zizhong Yu; the councilor from the City of Dara, Mr. Xinmin Huang; and the Chairman of the China General Association, Shunxiong Qiu then delivered congratulatory speeches respectively.

The day before the event started, volunteers from Guan Yin Citta had been fully engaged in the tremendous preparation work with high intensity. They prepared diversified vegetarian dishes ranging from appetizers, entrees, salads, soups, and desserts. These dazzling vegetarian cuisines were full of flavor and rich in nutrition, providing the guests an unforgettable experience of being vegetarian. In the meantime, volunteers from Guan Yin Citta distributed the free admission tickets of the 2018 Public Talk by Master Jun Hong Lu in Los Angeles to the guests with the interest to attend. Every guest also received free gifts of a vacuum-insulated mug and newspapers introducing Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door and Master Jun Hong Lu. The event won a high praise in the community and received overwhelming responses.

Since 2016, the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door Buddhist Practice Center established in Phoenix, the Buddhist Practice Center has been committing to promoting the core values of Buddhism and Vegetarianism, dedicating to the community development and the social harmony. As one of the pure lands of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, Guan Yin Citta Phoenix adheres to the principles of patriotism and loving for the people, promotes traditional Chinese culture with the respect for other religions. Under the guidance of Buddhist Master Jun Hong Lu, every Buddhist practitioner from Guan Yin Citta dedicates to the practice of compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings, eradicating the inherent weaknesses rooted in the consciousness, eliminating the resentment between people, and removing the mental pressure in life. Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door Buddhist Practice Center in Phoenix opens daily and offers free vegetarian food to the public on the last Sunday of each month. Welcome to the spiritual home to start a new life!