Seeing Sacramento & Beyond
Exploring a City with a Small-Town Feel and World of PotentialArchive for April 20, 2009
The Art of Ceremony
Crocker Art Museum Entrance
It was Sunday, April 19th, nearing 3pm, and the air was balmy outside the Crocker Art Museum in Downtown Sacramento. Couples, families, teens and solitary souls made their way to the back lawn of the museum grounds for a ‘Mass Meditation on Peace’. It was the closing ceremony for the ‘Buddha’ Exhibition.
I headed toward the entrance and past a guard who simply smiled as I walked by. There were no fees, no bag checks, no sign-in sheets, no questions, no hassles. The rather full crowd was mostly sitting in chairs and on the grass; a few were resting comfortably at picnic tables or standing around the shady perimeter.
There were brief introductions and warm welcomes to and from members of the Dalai Lama Foundation and Lion’s Roar Dharma Center, the exhibition’s curator and Sacramento’s City Manager. There was a brief (and very soothing) chanting demonstration by 3 monks in red and gold robes. And then the mass meditation and chanting began.
The crowd whispered the mantra of compassion and self-transformation (Om Mani Padme Hum) over and over again within the tall protective hedges of the grounds. It was so softly audible that I wondered what it might sound like to a passerby.
More like “an applied sacred psychology” than religion or even philosophy, Buddhism has long been revered for its openness and acceptance of others’ ideals and traditions. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me then that the gate to the museum lawn remained open during the entire ceremony – with people quietly wandering in and out, and back in again. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised at the complete ease that seemed rooted within this ceremonial gathering, and radiated so effortlessly throughout the crowd.
There is something special about Sacramento; the rich land upon which she was built, the rivers that flow through her, the bounty around her and the people who make it their home.
Life is good in California’s Capital City for many reasons, including climate and geography, community and amenities, nature and wildlife, and more. It’s hard to imagine a warmer feeling than a sunshine-drenched morning here, an easier feeling than a refreshing spring day, or a more engaging experience than a night on the town after a cleansing rain.
There’s truly something for everyone and every mood, for Sacramento is a shifting entity itself, with four distinct but relatively mild seasons, diverse neighborhoods and people, a ripening food and restaurant scene, year-round events and outdoor fun, and daytime and nighttime adventures. Its magic is a blend of history and tradition, vision and reinvention. And there’s so much pleasure to be had here – with family and friends, food and wine, adventures and experiences – that they’re likely to create the kind of fond memories that might seem so familiar… but aren’t quite like any other.
