Aug. 6, From 6 AM to 6 PM, buddhists from Vernon temple in Canada sitted crossed leg in the Vernon Japanese Culture Centre, chanting the “may peace prevail in our world” for lifes lost in the Hirpshima bombing in 1945. On the occasion of it’s 64 anniversary, buddhists around North America remembered the Atomic Bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and prayed that the world will never again repeat such a tragedy.
In Canada, the resident minister of the Buddhist temples in Kamloops, Kelowna and Vernon chanted the Pure Land Buddhist sutras in English for the 70,000 innocent civilians who instantly perished, 70,000 people who successively died due to the nuclear radiation, and those who still suffer the aftermath of this tragedy today.
The temples said that the memorial honoured all victims of war throughout the world, with the 12-hour chanting marathon continuing until the commemorative bell sounds at 6 p.m.
Hiroshima Aftermath
The Japanese Cultural Centre in Vernon, decorated by about 15,000 paper origami cranes, was opened to public during the memorial, and the visitors were welcomed to attend and chant with the Sensei, strike the bell, offer incense and fold a paper crane to honer the victims of the Hiroshima in Atomic bombing.
In New York, a memorial service was held in front of a Buddhist temple on Manhattan with about 100 participators. A massage from Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba was read aloud at the ceremony. At local time 18:15, a silent prayer was offered at this exact moment when the bomb was dropped more than 6 decades ago. Protestants took to the streets the peal for pray peace, holding handles calling for the abolition of the nuclear arms. “I will continue to tell people that we must not use nuclear weapons again.” a Japanese buddhist said to the NHK TV after the ceremony.
