Dear Buddhist Town Members and Friends, We wish you a happy and prosperous Year of the Dragon! 

Respected Buddhist Town Property Owners, Members, and Friends, Greetings to all! Holy Heavenly Lake 2023 Recap and 2024 Outlook As we bid farewell to the busy month of December, we are also about to part with the year 2023. Let's take a moment to review the activities of the past year and look forward to the coming year. 

Respected Buddhist Town Property Owners, Members, and Friends, Greetings to all! Thanksgiving Community Gathering at Holy Heavenly Lake Buddhist Town! Over the years, neighbors from the surrounding areas have occasionally curiously peeked at our front gate, and some students from Buddhist classes organized by Zhaxi Zhuoma Rinpoche have also often made inquiries. Therefore, earlier this year, we decided to host a year-end event to promote neighborly relations. We decided to hold a small gathering on Sunday, November 19th, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, the weekend just before Thanksgiving. During this event, we shared, expressed our gratitude, said our prayers, and released water lanterns together. After weeks of intensive preparation and distributing hundreds of invitation posters door-to-door, we decorated the event venue by the lake with lights and banners. Surrounding a seating area with a TV screen playing videos introducing HHL Buddhist Town were a hearty food area with finger food like hot chicken wings, pot stickers, mini pumpkin cakes, apple pies, and cheese and crackers, along with a fun snacks section where visitors could make their own popcorn or fruit dipped in chocolate fountains and roll their own cotton candy. The sports area included activities like wiser ball, soccer and kite flying; while the treasure hunt area provided various accessories, books, and cards from the gift shop of the International Art Museum of America. The arts and crafts area involved making origami cranes and molding sugar frosting animals, attracting both adults and children to participate joyfully!

The Youth Group is established!

Thank you, all volunteers, for the successful July event! It would not be possible without your participation and contribution! We were able to host the 2023 Wiser Invitation Tournament with 12 teams from 5 countries, US, Canada, Japan, China and Taiwan. More than 800 people came to enjoy the summer festival for the two-day celebration of the Holy Birthday of H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, with a memorable lantern offering and water lantern releasing, carrying our wishes for the world peace and harmony! More than 150 volunteers participated in supporting the event, from reception, Wiser support team including the referees, the meals preparations, the booths, the ground cleaning, the safe guards. They came from all over, New York, San Francisco, Canada, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and more. With no prior rehearsal, everyone jumped right into the tasks assigned and work as a team like old friends. The sales proceeds were voluntarily donated by each attending booth to World Buddhism Association Headquarters for the fund of True Dharma Temple. We were able to raise more the $50,000 (see the attached receipts numbers and amounts for each team)  Holy Heavenly Lake is a place we can all come and enjoy. It is always open to all.

On the hottest day in record, July 4, the Wiser Tournament successfully completed. After long weeks of preparing and attending the Dharma assemblies in June, coming to Holy Heavenly Lake to join the summer festival by the lakeshore was refreshing. A two-day celebration, with the Wiser Tournament, a bazzar, art and craft workshops, food festival, and the performance of the lighting the lantern, expressing our gratitude of being safe, healthy, and peaceful, and to offer the prayer for the people who are suffering and lost.

July 4th festival is on the calendar, and we are receiving enthusiastic responses. People from many countries are coming! As we are receiving inquiries into the project, we realized there are misunderstanding as to what Buddhist town entails. Many people thought Buddhist Town is the same as the True Dharma Temple. In actuality, the True Dharma Temple is the center focus of the Buddhist Town, and together with more than 30 temples and centers around the world surrounding the True Dharma Temple will form the Buddhist Town to create a venue of learning, exploring, experiencing all different aspects of the Buddhist culture around the world and through history. It would not only become a home base for all Buddhists around the world, it will serve as a fountain of resources of all things Buddhist for everyone. The development is in two phases, with the True Dharma Temple, Zheng Xing Garden, the Machang Yuan (monastery) and Fa Chan Temple being the phase one, and the remaining complexes to be the Phase Two. It will host many regular and seasonal activities and workshops including religious, educational and entertaining for the public to enjoy. It is a place created to benefit all beings!

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