Wesak Day

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Movie of the Day:

Jane Austen Book Club

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Last Saturday is the Wesak Day.

No idea whats that?

I'm such a nice person, I've googled it for you. 

Vesak is an annual holiday observed traditionally by practicing Buddhists in South Asian & South East Asian countries likeNepal, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, Pakistan and India. ^[1] Sometimes informally called "Buddha's birthday," it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing (Parinirvana) ofGautama Buddha.

Source: Wikipedia

I remember, during my year 4 of high school, we need to do this assignment/report about us helping out or doing some community work. So I've seek help from Uncle John and he offer me a volunteer job in the Tibetan lama monastery that he runs/own. That is my first volunteer job and also my first Wesak Day celebration. Of course, I'm there just intend to do the job, take some pictures showing I'm doing the community work, and home to write the report. 

However, little did I know, I'm kind of 'attached' to the Wesak Day celebration. I went to the monastery every Wesak day, not for the volunteer job but to read the chanting and shower the buddha and also get some blessing. I'm not those hard-core ones thou. I just find the blessing thing really played well in mentally-confidence-boasting and showering the buddha I take it as a respect to the religion. 

However, this year, there's a slight difference. Wesak eve, we (whole family) went to this Thai Buddhism Monastery. There're so many people, so packed, and everyone there seems to be so happy. We did the lighting ritual and the new luck/better luck ritual. And then there's humongous fire works. It's all another different way of celebrating the Wesak Day. Of course, we also did go to the Tibetan Lama monastery the next day morning.

And, from all these prayer and blessing and ritual, I realize, regardless what background you're from, regardless what skin colour you have, regardless your professionalism, regardless your LV bag, regardless your age, regardless your nationality and regardless of any difference, everyone seems to put down their armor and befriend with people in the monastery, treat people with respect and help out others. In normal day life, everyone will put on their sharp armor and be very suspicious of things happened around them as crime rate increased by day. But in this very holly day, none of this suspicious arise and the rate of any imaginable crime or theft or cheating or scam decrease or would it ever happened in the monastery. In fact, people donate to the monastery with open heart, they cook for the monastery and also do all kind of voluntary work in order to get the mercy from the buddha on this day for what one had done throughout the year.  

A very meaningful day, don't you think so?

No picture were taken because I'm wholly there for prayer and ritual and blessing, not to do a journal about it. Just that it strike me this morning and I thought of writing about it.

Okay, got to run for class. 

Have a great day.

Love,

Nichole