Shrine Reopens

The Shrine reopens this Sunday after a 2 week break. A full list of opening dates for the remainder of the year is here

Post-Vesak Pontian Trip

A trip to the Moh Hong Shrine in Pontian, Malaysia has been organised for Vesak helpers on Saturday July 7th. There’s no cost to members (and helpers) and a bus has been chartered as transportation for the day. Immediate families of helpers and members are welcome to come along by paying only for the bus fare (details to be available soon). In Malaysia there’ll be a members meeting early in the day, but it won’t be all work, work, work. After lunch there’ll be plenty of time for shopping and relaxing in town.

Group reps have been contacting everyone, but if you haven’t been notified and you’d like to come along then please let Yang Kuan know. All members are welcome.

Looking for a few brave volunteer wordsmiths

Young, elder or in-between. If you can write an SMS or a shopping list then you can write… don’t be shy. We have a bunch of quick, fun writing assignments (only a few paragraphs each, promise) but we’ll never get them done without your help. Not only that, but with our special patented Moh Hong Edit-O-Matic your words will sparkle somemore. Please… don’t make us come around to your house and drag you away from your favourite soap opera to harrass you. Get those fingers tapping and volunteer as a Moh Hong wordsmith now.

Someone (no names mentioned, **squint**) mentioned to me after our Vesak celebrations that a short post on the meaning of “One Heart” would be forthcoming. But nothing has arrived, so instead I’d like to share something visual with you…

My stunning “One Heart” bag is now turning the heads of Aunties in my local supermarket in its new incarnation as my favourite BYOB recycled shopping bag. But when they arrived on site we discovered that the stitching of the handles wasn’t strong enough to handle the weight they needed. So, with apologies to everyone I didn’t capture needle-in-hand (and who knew that Winston could sew?), I’d like to show you how the problem was solved…

It kind of makes my trips to the market extra-special to know that my bag has been hand-sewn with love by someone. I’ll never know who it was (One Heart!), so just to let you all know, it’s still going strong!

Good evening once again Member of Parliament Mr Zainuddin and distinguished representatives from the Bishan - Toa Payoh North CCC, Bishan CCC and Thomson CCC, friends and families of our fellow members. Welcome to the 2551st Vesak Celebration.

Our society has always been and will continue to support our community. We would like to take this opportunity tonight to present three cheques to our distinguished guests as our modest contribution in support of their community activities and bursaries to Mr Cheong Chee Onn of Bishan East CCC, Mr Roy Cheng of Bishan - Toa Payoh North CCC and Ms Doris Chan from Thomson CCC.

As many of you are aware, our Spiritual Master has dedicated her life to karmic healing. We believe that some illnesses are karmic in nature, and Master uses her meditative abilities to lighten the load. For those of you who were here last evening for the healing session, we welcome you back this evening.

Tonight, our Master reminds us and exemplifies through her meditation that while nothing is permanent in this life, enlightenment is a path for all who seek with One Heart.

The gates on both sides will once again be opened at 8.30pm after our Master has begun her meditation. We welcome everyone to enter and pay homage to the Buddha and to our Master - Buddha Yasathara. It is our small gesture to remind everyone that the gates to enlightenment is open to all who seek.

Before I end this speech, I would like to share with you some of the historical items that are still being used in tonight’s celebration. The 9 steel structures and the Buddha’s stage portrait have been with us for the past 30 years. It takes strong dedication and effort to maintain them in good condition. In this year’s celebration, despite the various teams’ hectic schedules and the weakening body strength with age, it is through strong spirit and mental determination that we all pull together. Therefore I would like to call upon the young and able bodied, to come forward and take on the challenge.

Finally, please bear with us should be any shortcomings, as we attempt to improve further. Don’t forget to use our website www.mohhong.org to drop your invaluable feedback and suggestions to us.

With this I leave you to rejoice but with mindfulness and compassion.

Good evening, friends and families of our Buddhist community memebers, our special guest Member of Parliament Mr Zainuddin and distinguished representatives from the Bishan - Toa Payoh North CCC, Bishan CCC and Thomnson CCC.

On behalf of the Moh Hong Buddhist Shrine Executive Committee, I extend my warmest welcome and would like to take the next few minutes to share with you some events that occurred over the last couple of days.

Our theme for Vesak this year is “One Heart”, taken from our Master’s advice at the end of last year’s celebration, reminding us to treat our family and friends with the same heart as we would with our fellow Buddhist community and with the same heart we practise the Buddha’s teachings.

Buddhism in Singapore is getting more prominent today than it was in the sixties when our society first started. Numerous Buddhist theme events have mushroomed over the island today. We are no longer alone in this celebratory week. This year, prior to the start of the three days of Buddhist chants, our society introduced a free yoga talk and demonstration conducted by the Nikam Guruji Yoga Kutir on the benefits of yoga for physical well being. We also organised a discussion forum for our members to review and discuss the philosophical issues on two Buddhist themed films. Coincidentally, this came eight days after the close of Singapore’s first Buddhist Film Festival, which was between 17 to 20th May.

Our annual three days of Thosand Buddhas event with prayers for peace and harmony will come to a close this evening with the distribution of fruits to our members and friends who have placed their orders with us. The vegetarian gala that you are partaking is just another modest way of sharing this blessing with you.

We hope the prayers and celebration will not end here but continue in your heart in the months to come. I am happy to also announce that another way to stay connected with each other and our society 24/7 is through the web at www.mohhong.org. There is a small card on every table that has our website address, feel free to take one home with your tonight and help spread the dharma.

Before I call on the Chair of the Organising Committee, I would like to share with everyone a text from our founding philosophy as inscribed on the seventh pillar: “The Buddha is within us, look no further”. As you embark on this blessed meal tonight, spare some moments to reflect on this thought.