Vesak Day - Singapore

Buddhists believe that performing good deeds on Vesak Day would multiply merit many times over. General rites and rituals practised on Vesak Day include chanting of mantras, releasing of caged birds and animals, having vegetarian meals served in temples, "bathing" a Buddha statue, a reference to the legend of the child Buddha being showered with the waters of ninth dragons soon after birth. These acts of generosity observed by the Buddhist temples is also known as Dana. The Buddhist youth also organise mass blood donations at hospitals. Most statues of the Lord Buddha are illuminated on Vesak Day. The celebrations concludes with a candlelight procession through the streets. The Buddhist community in Singapore is made up of various sectors, each of them offering variant ways of celebrating the occasion.

The Mahayana or "Greater Way" constitutes mainly Chinese Singaporeans and form the majority of Buddhists here. The Mahayana strain of Buddhism had come in 1884 through individual missionaries from China's southern province. The focus of Mahayana Buddhism is that Nirvana can be obtained not only through self-perseverance but also through the help of bodhisattvas or "enlightened ones". One such bodhisattva highly regarded in Singapore is Guanyin, the "Goddess of Mercy". Mahayana Buddhist temples in Singapore such as the Phor Kark See Temple practise the 'three-step, one-bow" ritual on Vesak Day. Devotees would take steps on both knees, bowing at every third step as they pray for world peace, personal blessings and repentance. The exhausting 2-hr procession actually begins 24 hrs beforehand when many would reserve a place in the procession with as little as a tissue packet.

Theravada or the "Greater Way" is practised mainly by the Sri Lankan and Burmese Buddhist community in Singapore. The focus of Theravada Buddhism is seeking one's own path to salvation. The Burmese Buddhist Temple at Geylang and the Sri Lankaramaya Temple at St Michael's Road practise a ritual of cooking a pot of rice in milk on Vesak Day, reminiscent of Buddha's last meal before his long fast toward enlightenment. Others such as the Bright Hill Temple see devotees streaming in to pay obeisance to sacred relics of Buddha.

The Tibetan Vajrayana forms the minority in Singapore but constitutes mainly English-educated Chinese Singaporeans. They worship at the Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Geylang.

Source from NLB@Singapore