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A time of peace, reflection and joy

SINGAPORE — For as long as she can remember, undergraduate Crystal Nanayakara, 24, would get up early on Vesak Day, head into her home’s prayer room for a prayer, and then help out in the kitchen, where her mother and helper would be preparing vegetarian dishes such as wambatu moju (eggplant pickle) and kaju maluwa (cashew nut curry).

SINGAPORE — For as long as she can remember, undergraduate Crystal Nanayakara, 24, would get up early on Vesak Day, head into her home’s prayer room for a prayer, and then help out in the kitchen, where her mother and helper would be preparing vegetarian dishes such as wambatu moju (eggplant pickle) and kaju maluwa (cashew nut curry).

When the food is ready, the family would don white clothing — symbolising love and purity on this special day, she said — before leaving for the Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple at St Michael’s Road.

Nanayakara, a Singaporean Sinhalese, is one of several hundreds of thousands of Buddhists here (about a third of Singaporeans aged 15 or over) who will be celebrating the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha on Vesak Day tomorrow (May 21).

Venerable Seck Kwang Phing, president of Singapore Buddhist Federation, said Vesak Day is also considered a time of joy, peace and reflection.

“This day is significant to Buddhists because it reminds them to reflect on themselves, how they can practise Buddhism in their daily life and how they can help others,” he said.

That sentiment is true for Siva Shanker, who was born in Malacca but works here as a regional marketing manager. “Vesak Day is a day for me to reflect on how I am living my life. I am also reminded of the teaching of the Buddha,” said Shanker, who practises Theravada Buddhism.

The 37-year-old, who has a mix of Chinese and Indian parentage, said he usually goes back to his hometown to celebrate the day with his friends and family. Festivities typically start the night before, where he would attend the midnight worship (Puja) sessions at his temple. Puja involves devotees singing the “Jayamangala Gatha” (or Verses for Auspicious Victory), for blessings and prosperity. This is followed by the ringing of the great bell in the main shine hall at midnight to usher in Vesak Day.

The next day, a procession will take place from the temple where groups of devotees would walk along the streets to spread blessings, together with colourful floats made of flowers and Buddhist relics. Monks would also be around tying five coloured strings around people’s wrists, he said.

For Nanayakara, who also practises Theravada Buddhism, it is a day to feel proud of her religion. Seeing everyone come together at the temple to give offerings to Buddha also makes her happy, she said.

At her temple, the rituals involve her family and her preparing symbolic offerings, such as flowers, lamps and joss sticks. They would carry these in their hands and walk around the temple’s Bodhi Tree three times, while saying verses and prayers to themselves.

“The symbolic offerings serve as a reminder to us of how there is no permanence in life — as flowers will wither, lamps and joss sticks will burn out,” she shared. Next is another round of prayers and offerings at the shrine hall, where a large statue of a resting Buddha sits.

They will then approach a monk and kneel as he chants a short prayer and ties a string around their wrist, which symbolises good luck and protection, she added.

Thereafter, it’s on to the temple’s main hall to help with the preparation of food and drinks. Before serving food to the monks, devotees would sit in front of the monks and pray. They only get to tuck in after the monks have finished their meal. Lunch is followed by sermons and teachings (known as Dharma) until late afternoon.

Nanayakara says participation in these activities makes her “feel blessed and happy”, because she considers it her duty, and she gets to do them together with her family.

Communications vice-president Hazel Yap said she and her husband, who travel often for work, make it a point not to travel on Vesak Day. Instead, the pair head to the Fu Shan An temple at Geylang Lorong 27A with their two children to attend a ritual ceremony, which runs from 9.30am to noon. There, they would participate in chanting, lighting of the candle and the ritual of the bathing of the Buddha.

“It’s especially important to instil the value and importance of Vesak Day in our children,” she said. “Just like how Christians celebrate Christmas in a big way, Vesak day should be the same ... to all Buddhists.”

There are mainly three forms of Buddhism practised in Singapore, said Venerable Seck — Theravada Buddhism, observed by the Thais and Sri Lankans, for example; Mahayana Buddhism, a more Chinese tradition; and Vajrayana, which is a part of Tibetan Buddhism.

For Mahayana Buddhism, which Venerable Seck practises, Vesak Day for devotees entails taking a bath to clean themselves before going to the temple to offer fruits and flowers to Buddha. They would then chant while performing the ceremonial bathing of an image of baby Prince Siddhartha to signify the cleaning and purification of one’s body and mind, he said. Sometimes, devotees may visit many temples in a day or spend the day on worthy causes, he noted.

Meanwhile, Theravada devotees would chant, meditate and make offerings of flowers and candles, as well as food (dana) to monks, while Tibetan Buddhists would chant and release living creatures, he added.

While different temples differ in the ways they celebrate Vesak Day, the three schools’ practises still tend to be pretty similar in Singapore, as all are influenced by each other’s traditions, said Venerable Seck. “Chanting and offerings constitute the major part of celebrations for all (schools),” he added. Some Theravada devotees also bathe an image of the Buddha, which he said is typically a Chinese practice.

There is no particular right or wrong thing to do on Vesak Day, noted Shanker. More importantly, Vesak Day is a day of remembrance, and for devotees to be inspired by Buddha’s journey, he added.

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