THE BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF AVALOKITESHVARA BODHISATTVA

As one of the key activities of the Huong Pagoda festival season, the art program Celebrating the Birth Anniversary of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 2017 was held at the Tam Bao Thien Tru yard, Huong Pagoda as a spiritual music space to honor the merits of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and spread the compassionate spirit of Buddhism to a large number of Buddhists and tourists from all over.

Under the content direction of Venerable Thich Minh Hien and the staging of Dream Studio, the program was developed as an artistic ritual, where music, choir, dance, and lighting blended with the natural landscape of Huong Son to create a contemplative experience. Throughout the program, 12 Buddhist-inspired musical works were performed by artists who are all Buddhists, combined with the Huong Thien choir and the Huong Sen dance troupe. Songs such as  “Hương Thu Ca”, “Về Bến Chân Như”, “Áo Cà Sa”, and Hương Thiên not only praised the merits of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva but also depicted the pure beauty of Huong Tich sanctuary, bringing the audience back to the state of mindfulness amidst the festival season.

The special feature of the project lay in the way Dream Studio approached Buddhist art using contemporary theatrical language while still maintaining the full solemnity of the ritual. Instead of relying on performance effects, the program chose restraint in stage design, lighting, and staging structure so that nature, the architecture of Thien Tru pagoda, and the emotions of the attendees became the center of the experience.

For Dream Studio, the Birth Anniversary of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva 2017 continued to affirm the orientation of connecting art with spiritual life and cultural heritage. Through music and theatrical art, the program contributed to enriching contemporary Buddhist cultural life, while simultaneously spreading humane and goodness oriented values to the community.