These photos were taken in downtown Seoul during the huge 2004 Lantern Parade. This parade is part of the annual Lotus Lantern Festival celebration for Buddha's Birthday on 5.26 (always 4.8 by the lunar calendar). The parade (which closes major streets) was held on Sunday 5.23 to minimize the impact on Seoul's busy weekday traffic. It lasted for over 3 hours on the streets between Dongdaemun Stadium and Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul. There were many lanterns and Buddhist groups from all over the world.

The quote in lights shown above was written by a Buddhist monk named *Daehaeng Kun*. This large lighted quote was displayed on one of the lanterns in the parade. (see image below).