Malaysian Buddhists celebrate Wesak Day

By EDMUND NGO, BEH YUEN HUI and QISHIN TARIQ, The Star, May 24, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Visitors came as early as 7am to the Buddhist Maha Vihara here to commemorate Wesak Day on Friday.

<< Devotees at the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Kuala Lumpur performing prayers on Wesak Day.

Devotees presented flowers, lit candles, sought blessings and made offerings to the monks to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.

Ng Chun Hoe, a 54-year-old volunteer of the Friends of the Vihara, said the spirit of giving was very important to him as he was happy seeing people smile and hungry folk fed.

The manager of an insurance company recounted seeing a boy picking up unlit firecrackers during Chinese New Year some 30 years ago.

"The child's family was very poor, he had no toys and barely enough food to eat, so he ended up playing with a dangerous item," said Ng, adding the episode led him to help the needy ever since.

Tents selling offerings, candles, flowers, balloons, lotus buds, food and beverages as well as booths recruiting volunteers were set up inside and along the road leading to the temple in Brickfields here.

<< The thanka, a giant canvas painting of Sakyamuni Buddha, is unfurled at the Enlightened Heart Buddhist Centre in Tambun.

Over in IPOH, hundreds of devotees unfurled a thanka - a giant canvas painting of Sakyamuni Buddha - at the Enlightened Heart Buddhist Centre in Tambun.

It is a traditional practice to unfurl the thangka in the temple compound to draw power from the sun.

Devotees also ran under the 60m by 12m canvas to receive blessings from Buddha.

Meanwhile, in PETALING JAYA, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang called an end to race politics and ease escalating racial polarisation.

"My wish on Wesak Day is for all leaders, starting with the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak), to walk the talk of their Wesak Day messages.

"I urge Najib to show leadership by example in his call to the people to set aside their differences at all levels of society," he said in a statement here Friday.

He challenged Najib to demonstrate his political will and ease escalation of racial polarisation and for Barisan Nasional component parties to open their membership to other races to make them Malaysian-based and not raced-based.

Lim also wished all Buddhists in Malaysia a happy and enlightening Wesak Day and non-Buddhists a happy holiday.

"The best way to celebrate Wesak Day is to truly and sincerely strive to follow his teachings, reiterate the determination to lead noble lives, develop the mind, practice loving kindness and bring peace and harmony to humanity," he said.

Read More @ Source



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scholars discuss relevance of Buddha in modern world

Image
New Delhi, Nov 27 ( IANS ) More than 900 Buddhist scholars , leaders and practitioners from 46 countries Sunday began deliberating the relevance of Gautama Buddha 's teachings, 2,600 years after his enlightenment, at a four-day Global Buddhist Congregation here. The venue at Hotel Ashok sported a riot of saffron, burgundy and ceremonial colours as monks and senior lamas from 46 countries like Nepal, Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Germany flooded the premises. In a televised message, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama , who will attend the convention Nov 30, to deliver the valedictory address, said: 'There have been many opportunities for Buddhists to come together and to discuss issues of common concerns.' 'The congregation has provided a much-needed and crucial opportunity. Now, and in the future, we need to encourage and foster an exchange of knowledge and experience among our different traditions and improve communication a
Keep reading

Buddhist temple in Westminster destroyed in early-morning fire

Image
Enduring bitter cold Monday morning, a Westminster firefighter battles a blaze at the Lao Buddhist Temple. The building was a total loss. (Steve Nehf, The Denver Post) WESTMINSTER — Brutal cold mixed with cold reality for members of the burned-out Lao Buddhist Temple of Colorado on Monday as they mourned the potential loss of artifacts saved by generations of worshippers. "It's not good, it's not good at all," said an exhausted Tom Pong as dusk fell over the remnants of the temple. "There is lots of history, over 100 years of it, and it could be lost forever." Pieces charred or melted by the fire — which started just before 6 a.m. — included several Buddha figures. Worries about asbestos prevented Pong and other members of the temple from going inside to assess the damage. The temple is part of an older building that the congregation bought in the early 1980s and then expanded on a 6-acre parcel at 10685 Dover St. The older section has asbestos,
Keep reading

Danish Buddhist leader, Lama Ole, to visit in Snohomish

Image
SNOHOMISH -- An unconventional guest is coming to Snohomish County next week. Ole Nydahl, a 70-year-old Danish leader of Diamond Way Buddhism, is visiting followers here in the Pacific Northwest. Nydahl's school of thought can be described as an adaptation of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western culture, said Daria Novoselova, who will be hosting Nydahl's meeting with students in her Snohomish home. Nydahl, who is known as Lama Ole, is expected to arrive Monday. He is scheduled to give a talk at the University of Washington later that day. Novoselova, 29, felt drawn to Diamond Way Buddhism as soon as she met Nydahl. She remembers that very first lecture. She was 16 and living in Yekaterinburg, Russia, when her older brother brought her along to the lama's talk. "I immediately felt at home," she said. "I had all these ideas about the world, and, suddenly, everything came together." At the end of that lecture, she accepted a blessing
Keep reading