Vesak Day Observance Ceremony at Manjusri

Manjusri Secondary held its annual Vesak observance ceremony at the school hall on 22 May. The school hosted a group of twenty seniors from 4S Active Aging Centre (Eunos Crescent) on the occasion. The seniors enjoyed an arts and craft workshop session with student volunteers before joining the audience at the hall for the ceremony.

^{Teachers and venerable monks greeting seniors from 4S Active Aging Centre}

St Patrick’s School student leaders also visited that day to learn about customs and practices related to Vesak to promote inter-faith understanding. They too joined the assembly to witness the proceedings. This curated learning experience arose from an initiative on how different schools can collaborate to benefit one another.

^{Visiting student leaders of St Patrick’s School with their Manjusri buddies at Buddhist Reflection Hall}

The ceremony began with a rendition of the 三宝歌 (Triple Gem Song) led by the members of the Buddhist Interact Club. Venerable Bhikkhu Mokkhadipa of the Singapore Buddhist Federation (SBF) in his address then gave an insightful sharing on the significance of Vesak Day. The programme continued with the offering of lights to Buddha to symbolize the light of wisdom dispelling the darkness of ignorance. This offering of lights is known in Chinese as 供灯.

^{Buddhist Interact Club members singing the Buddhist Hymn}	^{Monks led by Venerable Seck Kwang Phing chanting blessings}

^{Offering of Lights by staff, parents and students}

Following this, venerable monks in attendance led by Venerable Seck Kwang Phing, President of the Singapore Buddhist Federation, chanted prayers offering blessings to the assembled audience. On behalf of the school community, school leaders subsequently made Dana offerings to the Sangha. The final segment of the heartfelt ceremony witnessed the bathing of the statue of baby Prince Siddhartha by staff and students.


^{Bathing of Prince Siddhartha by school community}