Candle Light Offering: Candle offerings are used to illuminate the “Light of Peace”, prayers (mantras) to “lighten one’s load”. It symbolize the respects and celebrates the “wisdom” we gain through his practice (ie. enlighten)
Chanting Ceremony: Sutras are used during the religious service, it is also a form of meditation and way to cultivate wisdom or respects.
Main Altar: Displays sutra, ceremony instruments and offering of respect (eg. Candle, fruits, flowers, incense & etc).
Blessing Bell: Buddhist blessing bell used to ring for peace and harmony, it resonates Dharma to all beings
Friday, 1 February 2008
What’s the Festival About?
Since Buddha’s Birth Day Festival started in 2004 at Supreme Court Garden, its popularity has almost doubled every year. In the three years since his first began, the festival had grown from an original audience of 5,000 to almost 30,000 in 2006.The festival was developed in response to the organizer’s interest in promoting peace and harmony, and promotes inter-religious interaction. It was also an opportunity to provide community access to Buddhist activities by “bringing the temple to the people”.
Origin of Buddha’s Birthday
This Festival celebrates the birth of the Buddha who was born on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month (May) in 600 BC. He was originally known as Sidhhartha, a crown prince of a kingdom located in Northern India.
One of the Main activities of the festival is bathing the Buddha ritual. Legends records that when Prince Siddhartha was born, there were extraordinary and auspicious signs heralding his birth.
They describe the sky as being clear with brilliant sunshine, flowers blooming and birds singing. Dragon appears in the sky spurting two streams of purified water (one cool and one warm), that gently cascaded down to bathe Him.
At His birth, seven lotus flowers sprung up beneath His feet as he walked. Pointing one hand to the sky and ground, said “ In the heaven above and earth below, I vow to liberate all who suffer in these three realms”. Since that time Buddhist all over the world celebrate His birthday by using fragrant water to bathe the image of Buddha.
This ritual highlights a universal massage that “it’s easy to wash away physical dirt, but it’s much more difficult to cleanse one’s inner impurity of greed, anger and ignorance”. It is in hoping that through this action to remind ourselves, purifying our mindset and revealing the righteous mind, to co-insight with the Buddha’s teaching.
One of the Main activities of the festival is bathing the Buddha ritual. Legends records that when Prince Siddhartha was born, there were extraordinary and auspicious signs heralding his birth.
They describe the sky as being clear with brilliant sunshine, flowers blooming and birds singing. Dragon appears in the sky spurting two streams of purified water (one cool and one warm), that gently cascaded down to bathe Him.
At His birth, seven lotus flowers sprung up beneath His feet as he walked. Pointing one hand to the sky and ground, said “ In the heaven above and earth below, I vow to liberate all who suffer in these three realms”. Since that time Buddhist all over the world celebrate His birthday by using fragrant water to bathe the image of Buddha.This ritual highlights a universal massage that “it’s easy to wash away physical dirt, but it’s much more difficult to cleanse one’s inner impurity of greed, anger and ignorance”. It is in hoping that through this action to remind ourselves, purifying our mindset and revealing the righteous mind, to co-insight with the Buddha’s teaching.
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