It must be about three in the morning. Vesak dawn has broken! There was sound of people working in the kitchen. My niece had said that she would be up to prepare food which she would bring to Dhamma Earth in Semenyih, a small town in Selangor, Malaysia. At about six, she was ready to drive to the Buddhist Hermitage. It was still dark when we started our journey and my two young grandnieces cuddled at the back seat with my niece's friend from Penang. When we were approaching the Hermitage, much to our amusement, the young girls became worried of tigers that would spring out into the lonely, dark, dirt road. A car which appeared behind us momentarily eased their imaginative minds. Vesak in Dhamma Earth was celebrated much in the same way like most Buddhist temples in Malaysia, I suppose. Early in the morning, devotees performed dana and offered food to the monks. There were the usual chantings, Dhamma talks, a food fair; it was free food for all here; and add ons like releasing the birds ceremony, a blood donation drive and even free accupressure and a making handicraft activity for the kids. Of course, there was the Bathing the Buddha ritual which I could understand if it were to symbolise purifying our body, speech, and mind; but I don't know if it could develop diligence, wisdom or things like that...
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