Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo

Civilization is not to kill human beings, not to destroy things, not to make war. Civilization is to hold mutual affection and respect for one another. – Venerable Nichidatsu Fuji

Grafton Peace Pagoda 30th Anniversary Ceremony
Saturday, October 7, 2023, 11:00am

On Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, October 2, 1993 the Grafton Peace Pagoda was dedicated to promote peace, non-violence and healing. Let us gather to celebrate 30 years of community in prayer for all creation.

• Buddhist Ceremony
• Interfaith Prayer
• Story from Poland about the current situation in the Ukrainian War
• Traditional Japanese drumming and Shishimai Dance
• Mohican Nation traditional Round Dance

Please join us for potluck community meal following the ceremony. You are welcome to bring food.

It may be cold so bring warm clothes and a blanket.
Please arrive before 11:00 to park and walk to ceremony site.
For more information please call the Peace Pagoda between 8am and 4:30pm at (518) 658-9301
Nippozan Myohoji-Grafton Peace Pagoda, 87 Crandall Rd Petersburg, NY 12138

78th Commemoration Ceremony Remembering those lost to nuclear war          

Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo

Hiroshima Nagasaki Day
Saturday, August 5, 2023 

6:30pm walk from Grafton Town Square to Peace Pagoda (4.3 Miles)

8:00pm Program of Peace in front of the Peace Pagoda

• Lantern Ceremony
• Interfaith Prayer
• Musical Offerings                     

80,000 people killed instantly within one hour of nuclear bombings in Japan.  Many thousands more lost in the days and years to come.

NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS EVER AGAIN, ANYWHERE, FOR ANY REASON

Continued prayers for peace in Ukraine and all areas of conflict in the world.

The choice today is nonviolence or nonexistence.  The alternative to disarmament may well be a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation- Martin Luther King, Jr

Let each of our steps bring us closer to peace

Walk for a nuclear free future August 2-5, 2023

Wednesday, August 2 Lake George- Healing walk for Land and Water/Remembering French and Indian War  Battle of 1757 at Fort William Henry

• Thursday, August 3 Saratoga Springs to West Milton Kesselring Training Facility
• Friday, August 4 Knolls Atomic Laboratory in Niskayuna
• Saturday, August 5 Grafton Town Square to Peace Pagoda 6:30-8:00pm
• Sunday, August 6 Peace Vigil in Pittsfield MA, 8AM in remembrance of Nagasaki bombing

Before Peace Walk contact Grafton Peace Pagoda, Nipponzan Myohoji (Japanese Buddhist order). For more information call 518-658-9301 8:00am-5:00pm.  During Peace Walk contact Rose (201) 956-5702

Grafton Peace Pagoda Flower Festival
Celebrating the Birth of the Buddha
Sunday May 21, 2023 at 11:00am

Especially During this troubled time in Ukraine, we gather to celebrate the birth of Buddha and all living things. The Buddha was born in a flower garden in spring 2550 years ago. We hope your heart will be open to the fragrance of peace, just as flowers open to the light and warmth of the sun.

Traditional Buddhist Ceremony

Everyone will be invited to pour sweet tea over the head of baby Buddha, symbolizing blessings offered to all life on earth.

Interfaith Prayer
Dance
Music

The ceremony will be held outside. Please dress for the weather and remember that Grafton is often cooler than nearby places. Benches will be available, but feel free to bring chairs and/or blankets for comfortable spacing given continued Coronavirus concerns. You are welcome to bring fruit or a healthy sweet desert to share with Pagoda friends after the ceremony.

Nipponzan Myohoji, Grafton Peace Pagoda 87 Crandall Rd, Petersburgh, NY 12138

For information call (518)658-9301 Between 8am and 5pm

29th Anniversary Ceremony – Grafton Peace Pagoda 

Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo 

Saturday October 8, 2022, 11:00am 

“Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man” – Mahatma Gandhi

153th Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Birth 

Buddhist Ceremony 

Prayers to End War in Ukraine 

Interfaith Prayers for Peace 

Honored Guest Speaker-Morning Star, Tribal and Community Liaison for  International Indian Treaty Council from the Ajumawi Band  of Pit River Tribe in California 

Music 

We encourage testing within two days of ceremony due to continued pandemic concerns. If you are  concerned about personal risk please consider bringing your own seating and follow current guidelines for  social distancing.  

Please join us for potluck community meal following the ceremony. Please bring your favorite foods. It may be cold so please bring warm clothes and a blanket. Please arrive before 11:00 to allow time to park and walk  to ceremony site. 

For more information please call the Peace Pagoda between 8am and 4:30pm at (518) 658-9301 Nippozan Myohoji-Grafton Peace Pagoda, 87 Crandall Rd Petersburg, NY 12138 

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Day
76th Commemoration Ceremony
Grafton Peace Pagoda
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Forever Renounce War. Create a Nuclear-Free World.

Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo

There are around 30,000 nuclear warheads worldwide, 95% of which are held by the US
and Russia. Nuclear weapons pose the single biggest threat to the Earth’s environment,
scientists have warned.

“The only guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons is their
total elimination-but our world continues to live in the shadow of nuclear catastrophe. We
must urgently reverse course and return to a common path to nuclear
disarmament.” – António Guterres, UN Secretary General

6:30pm walk from Grafton Town Square to Peace Pagoda (4.3 miles)

8:00pm Program of Peace

Speakers, Musical Offerings, Ceremonial Lighting of Lanterns

Rain or shine. Please wear weather-appropriate clothes and bring a flashlight, and insect repellant for comfort. Please wear a mask and bring a blanket, cushion or chair to choose a socially distant spot.

_____________________________________________________

Capital District Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Walk

August 4-6, 2021

Everyone is welcome. We will walk approximately 9 miles daily. You are welcome to join the walk for a minute, an hour, a day, every day. Please contact the Peace Pagoda to participate.

Weds Aug 4: Saratoga to West Milton, then Vigil in Schenectady at 5:00pm

Thurs Aug 5: Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, Niskayuna Peace Vigil 7:00am and then walk to Troy

Friday Aug 6: Pittsfield MA, Peace Vigil 8:00am and walk around town

For Information about the Ceremony or the Peace Walk please call the Grafton Peace Pagoda Phone 518-658-9301 between 8am & 5pm

87 Crandall Rd Petersburg, NY 12138

Due to the continued Coronavirus concerns, please wear a mask and bring

Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo

Grafton Peace Pagoda Flower Festival
Sunday, May 23, 2021
11AM-1PM
In front of the peace pagoda
Celebrating the birth of Buddha and all living things

Especially in this troubled time, come to celebrate the birth of Buddha, the new life of spring and hope with flowers and prayer for world peace. This turning point, a most difficult time, is also an awakening time.

This year the ceremony will be limited to:

Drumming and prayer from 11-1PM
Visitors will be pouring sweet tea on Buddha’s head for blessing of all life

Due to the continued coronavirus concerns, please wear a mask and bring a blanket, cushion or chair to choose a socially distant spot.

Nipponzan Myohoji, Grafton Peace Pagoda
87 Crandall Rd. Petersburgh, NY 12138
For information call (518) 658-9301 between 9 AM and 5 PM

Na-Mu-Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo

October 2020 27th Anniversary Grafton Peace Pagoda
25th Anniversary of the Main Temple
151st Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday

“Mahatma left his hands from spinning wheel and said Namaste. He saw us penetratively beyond his glass with his eyes moistening. Mahatma “Stranger whom I could not speak a single word;” Simple twenty minutes meeting ; I was happy; I was sad. I only shed my tears. Whether this encounter was promised in my previous life or is he my true messenger?”

–An excerpt from “The Wardha Diary” – Nichidatsu Fujii’s first encounter with
Mahatma Gandhi on 4th October, 1933.

The 27th Year Anniversary of Grafton Peace Pagoda in Petersburg NY celebrates the meeting with Mahatma Gandhi “Father of Nation” and Most Venerable Nichidatsu Fujii Gurujii Precceptor of Niopponzan Myojoji in Wardha. It is a strange time in our lives as we live through Covid-19 with social distance and minimal contact to celebrate this Anniversary. The gathering of Community that hold us together from many places, interfaith / spiritual practices, and livelihood give reason for Peace and Justice. We share our prayers and intentions to further strengthen our human connection to fight racism, inequality, and shed light to history falsely written and accepted as truth. With volunteer support and Love, Grafton Peace Pagoda continue to be a place for Prayer, Meditation and Non-Violence as we strive for a Nuclear Free Future drumming and chanting Na-Mu-Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo through Peace Walks connecting local communities to be the change.

Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 situation, the Grafton Peace Pagoda was not able to offer a public commemoration remembering these events this year. We did have a wonderful ceremony of remembrance that we would love to share with you. Here are the selected photos and video link from this Sunday’s Anniversary celebration:

We also offer you a selection of photos from this event, which you can view by clicking here.

Nipponzan Myohoji
Grafton Peace Pagoda
87 Crandall Road
Petersburgh, NY 12138
Telephone: 518-658-9301

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Day
75th Commemoration Ceremony

Na-Mu-Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo

On August 6^th 2020 we remember the 75^th Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, while August 9^th was the day Nagasaki was also bombed.  Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19, the Grafton Peace Pagoda was not able to offer a public commemoration remembering these tragic events this year.  This is the first time in Peace Pagoda’s history that we have had a closed ceremony.  But we did have a wonderful ceremony of remembrance that we would love to share with you.  You can watch the video recording of the ceremony here: