Lynn Buddhist monastery marks 6th anniversary

LYNN – The little house near the corner of Boston and Cottage streets in West Lynn once looked like any old family home in Lynn, even as it bustled with activity inside. But after the addition of two flagpoles outside the house Sunday morning, there is no mistaking the building?s purpose.In a short ceremony Sunday morning, city officials and Buddhists of Cambodian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese descent stood in front of the International Shakyamuni Buddha Vihara and Vipassana Center, a monastery located at 140 Cottage St., and raised the American and Buddhist flags beside each other in commemoration of the center?s sixth anniversary. The celebration also marked the 2,600th anniversary of The Buddha?s Enlightenment.The International Shakyamuni Buddha Vihara and Vipassana Center, or ISBVVC for short, is a “monastic residence,” and a place of worship and celebration for the city?s many Asian cultural groups.?Various communities?Bangladesh, Nepal, Burmese, Thai, Cambodian?all come here,” said the venerable Dr. Pollamure Sorata, a Sri Lankan monk.The center is used as a space for people to come to celebrate events like births and marriages, but the monastery is the size of a single-family home. The larger ceremonies are typically held at the Khmer Buddhist Temple on Chestnut Street.On Sunday, the resident monks, along with Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, Councilor at large Hong Net and other community members, met to chant, pray and eat traditional dishes from several different Asian countriesOver curry and rice pudding, Kennedy, Net and the monks discussed the future endeavors of the center, which aims to aid the City of Lynn through the Buddhist tenet known as “social activities.”The Venerable Dr. Bhikkhu Praghyalok, a Nepalese monk, founded the center six years ago after spending several years in Cambridge and Malden and seeing a need for a Buddhist community center in Lynn.?Lynn is a historical place. And there are so many Asian nationalities,” Praghyalok said. “It?s a place where we can serve those who are underprivileged, and that is our duty, our practice.”Outside of the city, the monastery?s goodwill reaches all the way back to Nepal, where they sponsor 65 children in need and where they are working to establish the International Monastic Buddhist College for Eastern and Western students alike.?We very much focus on Western students in Buddhism,” Praghyalok said.Praghyalok referred to Kennedy during the celebration as “the mother of the city,” a fitting title for a mayor.?I said, ?Mothers always need the older children to help look after the younger ones,” Kennedy said. “The monks will be the older children.”During the ceremonies, Kennedy and the monastics discussed how the city can work together with the center to create programs for Lynn residents of all ages and ethnic groups who are interested in the Buddhist way of life.?Part of the teachings of the monks (is) to be a benefit to the community,” Kennedy said. “They?re really looking forward to helping us, and I told them I?d be happy to work with them.”Cambodian members of the group working to raise money for a massive Khmer Buddhist Temple in Lowell.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].