Vesak Day is a day that is important to all Buddhist. Because its the day where the Buddha was born, gain Enlightenment and enter Nirvana.
For me, Vesak Day is a day for me to reflect on my being.
On the eve of Vesak Day, i will, together with family & friends, proceed to KMS temple situated in Bishan to do our regulate 3 steps 1 bow ceremony. I do not consider myself a devoted Buddhist though or in fact, am not an official Buddhist because i never go through any ceremony to become one.
But i love the teaching of the Buddha and had benefited it when applying it in my daily life. (FYI, i was introduced to Buddhism through the Religion Knowledge (RK) classes during my secondary school time.)
I'm not sure on the purpose or reasons for the rest who did this ceremony. For me, this ceremony have a few significant meanings. They are: Patience, Mindfulness, Perseverance, Discipline & Compassion.
Patience because we have to wait for few hours before we can start the ceremony of 3 steps 1 bow and of cause, to have the Patience to finish the ceremony gracefully.
It is during these period that you can see the behavior of each and every devotee. Some will just quit due to the long queuing and long awaiting time. Some will become impatience, hence starts to be harsh in their speech and behavior. So this is where Mindfulness & Compassion comes in place whereby we should watch our thoughts, speech and actions, and have a loving compassion attitude towards all.
Ironically, some devotees did not practice Mindfulness & Compassion which Buddha Himself have taught always. For what i see, many just come for the sake of coming, or follow blindly on this yearly ceremony. It is sadden to see people smoking before the ceremony starts, forgetting that there are many 2nd hand smokers around and that the place is already very hot and humid. You can also see rubbishes lying around in the premises...
When the ceremony actually starts, we must possess Discipline and Perseverance to continuing do the 3 steps 1 bow till we complete the whole area of KMS (which is about 15km) despite the tiredness, sweat and knee pain. This serve as a reminder to us that no matter what obstacles faced in life, we will eventually overcome it with the correct mindset, perseverance, discipline and determination.
I use this yearly ceremony to remind myself of the teaching of the Buddha. Not so much of a devotee mindset though. But of cause, HE will be someone whom i respect for the rest of my life.
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