Covid-19 crowd control measures at popular temples for Vesak Day after surge in cases
The Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple in Waterloo Street will be closed on Vesak Day.PHOTO: ST FILE
Two popular temples have made adjustments to their plans for Vesak Day on May 26, following a surge in Covid-19 cases in the community over the past week.
Buddhists traditionally visit temples on the day - which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha - for rituals such as chanting or taking part in retreats.
Visitor bookings from May 25 at the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Bright Hill Road have been suspended until further notice because of "recent Covid-19 developments", a spokesman for the temple said in response to queries from The Straits Times on Tuesday (May 4).
Vesak Day in Singapore is a holy day celebrated by Buddhists. It represents the birth, the Nirvana (enlightenment) and the Parinirvana (death) of Gautama Buddha and is the most significant day of the Buddhist calendar. Vesak Day usually falls in May, on the 15th day of the fourth month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
On Vesak Day, temples are decorated with flags and flowers. Devoted Buddhists and many observers of the faith congregate at their temple before dawn, saffron-clad monks chant the sutras, the Buddhist flag is raised and the people sing hymns to celebrate the Buddha, the Dharma (his teachings) and the Sangha (his disciples).
Worshippers bring offerings of flowers, candles and incense to lay at the feet of the statues. These offerings demonstrate that the believers accept that life, like the offerings, is subject to decay and destruction.
read more
Buddha's Birthday
A statue of the child Gautama Buddha as depicted in his apocryphal story of birth
Buddha's Birthday (Fó Dàn Rì 佛诞日 {Simplified} 佛誕日 {Traditional} is a holiday traditionally celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism to commemorate the birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddha and founder of Buddhism. According to the Theravada Tripitaka scriptures (from Pali, meaning "three baskets"), Gautama was born in Lumbini in modern-day Nepal, around the year 563 BCE, and raised in Kapilavastu.
The exact date of Buddha's Birthday is based on the Asian lunisolar calendars and is primarily celebrated in Baisakh month of the Buddhist calendar and the Bikram Sambat Hindu calendar, and hence it is also called Vesak. In Nepal, which is considered the birth-country of Buddha, it is celebrated on the full moon day of the Vaisakha month of the Buddhist calendar.
In China, Hong Kong and Korea, it is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. In Nepal and neighboring South Asian and Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), Buddha's birthday Vesak Day (韦塞节) is celebrated on the 15th day of 4th lunar month.
read more
