A brief summary from Dr Chua Yang Liang

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Hi Everybody

Its been quite a number of years since the society last organized a post vesak meeting let alone an outing to Malaysia.

The event was held on Sunday Aug 5 with over 70 participants, comprising volunteers and their immediate families and friends, who came via the chartered bus. I was fortunate enough to ride along them on a two hour journey from Ang Mo Kio to Pontain, Malaysia.

The session for the day began with firstly, chanting of the five songs followed by a mass meditation that lasted about fifteen minutes. The meeting proper began promptly with the incoming chair (i.e. yours truly) sharing the key comments of the 2007 meeting.

The key issues addressed included:

Positive

• one heart “event” where everyone was busy sewing was the most memorable
• show case that we can come together with one heart if we set our mind to it. For that I’d like to congratulate Linda for being the brainchild behind this project and Winston for taking the initiative to buy needles for all to use
• impressed by the speed with which fruits was packed and distributed to the guests. Again, it demonstrates that when we stay focused on a project, we can do it collectively. Congratulations to everyone, I mean everyone,  for making it possible!

• meals were well provided, more than sufficient to consume
• night securities are very appreciative to the kitchen team for leaving snacks for them
• congratulations to kitchen segment for putting together a wonderful menu. Some suggest to have more non-spicy dishes in future
• this site is more peaceful, less disturbances either from traffic or pedestrian walking. Convenient to coffee shop. Congratulations to the organizing committee and Jeffrey for getting this site
• despite the shorten time, the site was up and running within the time frame, congratulations to the logistics team for pulling it together
• positive feedback also for Prayer group for being very helpful and cooperative. Congratulations to Prayer team.

Improvements

• facing difficulty getting some participants to register their names when they light their oil lamps. I appeal to everyone here to pass this message across that it is vital for anyone, that is everyone, to register your name after you light the lamps. This is the same practice that we observe too on Sundays. We are a non-profit organization and its crucial that we maintain a proper record. So please everyone, next time you light an oil lamp, doesn’t  matter whether you have to pay or not, just register your name. It doesn’t take long. Please cooperate.
• family members of prayer group who do not pay… non payment is only provided to all those helpers during the Vesak period. Not to their immediate family
• long waiting time for healing, some had to wait longer than the indicated time. I want to appeal to everyone again, that the timing is indicative. We do our best to make it a short wait for everyone but sometimes we need to allow for those who are sick and weak to be attended first. Nonetheless we will continue to improve this process. We are all here to pay respect to the Buddha and learn HIS way. Take this opportunity to train our patience and learn to channel your anger away.

The session concluded with feedback from Master who specifically mentioned the respective volunteers of different segments for their contribution and also asked for their expression of interest for the  continuation of their respective duties.

Sorry for the delay in posting post-Pontian, it took a while to recover from the excitement of discovering so much talent on one stage in one evening. You might have all looked snoozy on the morning bus trip, but you sure did perk up as the day went on!

If you’re catching up on this story for the first time, 100 members, helpers and friends (yes, 100!) took the trip to Pontian on August 5th. I don’t want to insinuate divine help here, but it did seem that we were blessed with a lot of luck. The buses pulled in to Ang Mo Kio at the right time, the causeway crossing was smooth as silk and the sun shined on us as we hiked from the main road in to the Pontian Shrine.

After paying respect with meditation and prayer, and a post Vesak wrap-up by the society chairman, Dr Chua, Master answered questions and offered wisdom. A report of what was said will be posted in the next few days, so please do check back here.

Then it was on to the serious business of a long lunch, and the caterers outdid themselves with some genuinely delicious vegetarian food. The really great thing about a day like this is that everyone is free from the usual jobs they do when we gather on occasions like Vesak, so there’s plenty of time to mingle and chat. It was my privilege to hear some great stories, learn more and make some new friends, and I think everyone in Pontian enjoyed the chance to relax and catch up.

But, of course you’re all work-a-holics, so when the call came for a cleaning bee, every person armed themselves with a cloth, mop or bucket and set to it with gusto. Yes, we have photos to prove it!

Speaking of photos, the journey is documented here, including the talent of the Moh Hong StarSearch, hosted by the divine songbird, Ms Daphne. There’s a big version of the group shot, but all the others are formatted for computer screens. If you want a bigger version of anything just let me know and I’d be happy to mail it to you.

All up I’d have to say it was a lot of fun and a really worthwhile day out. There can’t possibly be a nicer bunch of people to take a roadtrip with than MHBS members.

So, thanks for a wonderful day everyone.

Check back in a few days for more, or better yet, subscribe to our news by RSS or email using this direct link or the form on the right of this page.

If you’re a fan of art and photography, or you’ve just got a little time on your hands and you’re in the Toa Payoh area, you might like to pop by HDB Hub to spend some time at the free exhibition Harmony of Minds: Celebrating Inter-faith In Singapore. The exhibition is open 11am to 9pm until 14 August. After that it will be moving to another location.

The pictures on display are accompanied by wisdom from the the 10 faiths practiced here. If you like what you see, you can pick up the 103 picture book for $50 at any major bookstore around town, with proceeds going to the President’s Challenge, which supports over 50 charities.

The Global Dharma Conference of Great Compassion will be taking place in 4 sessions on 15th and 16th September.

This educational conference invites participants to learn and share about the importance of practicing Compassion, an important area of Buddhist practice. The goal of the conference is to raise the awareness of practicing Great Compassion within the family, and thus for the society we live in.

The event will be held in Singapore and is supported by The International Buddhist Academy of Nepal. There are a number of honorable speakers from all over the world, and the themes for the four sessions are:

• The Bodhisattva Path
• Handling Difficulties and Gaining Happiness
• Right Practice
• Creating a Better World

Cost ranges from $95 (one session) to $338 (all sessions) with a number of added benefits and bookings can be made on their website or by phoning 6534 7767.

Global Dharma provides free training to volunteers in Buddhist organisations worldwide and develops Buddhist educational material for children.