GEORGE TOWN – It will be the second consecutive year that Wesak Day celebrations will be carried out virtually in view of the pandemic.
Wesak Day, which falls on May 26 here, would be celebrated online with prayers, meditations and other activities.
The celebration to mark Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death, is usually marked with public events – from processions, prayers to charitable events.
Penang Buddhist Association assistant secretary Peter Khoo told the state’s newsletter Bulletin Mutiara that nothing much can be done by the temples, especially under the current movement control order.
“We will be having a short prayer service in our shrine’s hall, which will only be attended by the key committee members in accordance with the strict standing operating procedures. The association will not be open to the public. We need to follow the rules and regulations to ensure everyone is safe.”
The Dharma Sunday School will share a series of online activities from 10am to 11.30am on Wesak Day.
The Butterworth Lay Buddhist Society chairman Law Wei Pin said an online viewing of the Buddha bathing ceremony will take place, similar to how it was conducted last year.
Despite the subdued affair, the Buddhist Tzu-Chi Merits Society Malaysia in Penang has been helping to donate food and other household amenities to the underprivileged.
It has also provided food to the Royal Malaysian Army’s medical corp, which is finalising the construction of a mobile field hospital that will have intensive care units. – The Vibes, May 22, 2021
