So in case you haven't heard (which is unlikely if you're living in Malaysia), Wesak Day is coming up on the 28th of this month.. It's a day in which Buddhists celebrate the birth, enlightenment and passing of Buddha.
On Wesak day, devout Buddhists assemble in various temples before dawn for the ceremonial hoisting of the Buddhist Flag and the singing of hymns in praise of the holy Triple Gems: The Buddha, The Dhamma (His teachings), and The Sangha (His disciples). Devotees bring simple offerings of flowers and candles to lay at the feet of their great teacher. The symbolic offering of flowers is to remind us that just as the beautiful flowers would wither away after a short while, life is subject to decay and destruction in similar manner as the flowers. The symbolic offering of candles is to remind us that just as a candle gives light to chase away darkness and in the process melts away (“sacrifice itself”), we should be mindful in “chasing” away our ignorance and care for the well being of others. Devotees are enjoined to make a special effort to refrain from killing of any kind. They are encouraged to partake of vegetarian food for the day.
Now, usually after a celebration of this sort, there would be a vast array of rubbish left behind, scattered everywhere.
As a solution to this problem, there is Sampah Masyarakat, a nonprofit organisation that brings people together to clean up the mess that is left behind, hence the well-chosen name. Sampah Masyarakat has done this before on more occasions than one, and this time it's at Brickfields' Buddhist Maha Vihara temple.
In a nutshell, it's like this:--
Start Time: Friday, 28 May 2010 at 20:00
End Time: Saturday, 29 May 2010 at 00:00
Location: Buddhist Maha Vihara, Brickfields
Click (here) for the Facebook event page.
:)
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