The Buddhist flags flies publicly over Fraser's Hills
for the first time in its 150 years history.
This May 3, however, was a special holiday. Across the town square, beyond the quaint clock tower, Mr Gooi and his family saw a sight which they have not seen for many years. By the peripheral of the Fraser's Hill golf course, the Pekan Bungalow was decked with Buddhist flags.
As curiosity got the better of them, the Goois decided to check out the place. To their profound happiness, they discovered that an event - Wesak - which they have not celebrated for over 10 years, have come up to the hills.
"I never imagined that someone would organize a Wesak celebrations up here. We usually have to go down to Kuala Kubu Bahru to perform our prayers, and that too in a Chinese (Taoist) temple," Mr Gooi said. As his family members took their turns to bathe the baby Buddha, perform the obligatory offering rites and participate in the talks and chanting sessions, Mr Gooi whispered a grateful observation: "Today, is a great Blessing."
The idea for a Wesak celebration - the commemoration of the Buddha's Birth, Enlightenment and the Great Demise - at Fraser's Hill was mooted by the executive committee of the Upakara Kalyana Mitta Buddhist Association (UKMBA). Led by its President and founder, Bro. Loka Ng Sai Kai, the team decided to pick Fraser's Hill as the festival site as the location did not have any Buddhist temple.
"We were toying with the idea of a 'roving Wesak', meaning that we would be celebrating the event at different locations each year," explained Bro. Loka. While the idea was engaging, the task of implementing the idea was quite daunting. Since the chosen location is deemed not to have any existing Buddhist establishment, therefore it would be necessary to bring all the prayer materials and other objects from elsewhere.
"That's the challenge," quipped Loka. "And that is why the UKMBA have initiated the 'Mobile Temple' concept, where different expertise in the group is held responsible to deliver a full fledge 'temple' come Wesak day," he clarified further.
Indeed, for the small hill community (numbering in the fifties), the transformation of the Pekan Bungalow could not have been more inspiring. Known for its steep British colonial tradition, the bungalow became a temporary temple with the aid of creative decorations and strategic placements of Buddhist artifacts. "Our first and foremost task was to ensure public visibility," said Bro. Ong Beng Chung, who was responsible for the Wesak Eve and Wesak Day preparation.
"To obtain maximum visibility, we strung up 1,000 plastic Buddhist flags around the bungalow compound," he explained. That's on the outside. Inside the house, Beng Chung was given the task to decorate the interiors to transform the dining area into a full fledge temple, complete with a shrine, Buddha images, flowers, incense etc.
"My previous experiences gained by helping out at the Subang Jaya Buddhist Association during Wesak was a good thing," he explained. Beng Chung further added that "although we knew we could not get any of the things necessary for the preparation of the shrine hall in Fraser's Hill, we had a handy check list to bring them up from Kuala Lumpur."
And what a check list it was: 100 stalks of flowers, 20 boxes of Japanese incense, 100 waxed candles, 200 pieces of 'holy' strings, a full sized Buddhist flag, a foot high Buddha image, tens of incense holders, bowls and vases, tongs, gongs, bells and wooden fish.
That was not all. Next on the list was menu planning. Feeding 50 people over 2 days, and an estimated 30 other guests for both the Wesak Eve and Wesak Day proper had also to be carefully considered.
That role fell to Sis. Leow Hoay Hoay. Hoay Hoay, who works as an officer with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is stationed on the hills. That, and her knowledge of the local community, helped a great deal in settling the issue of food and accommodation. "This year's Wesak sat right smack in the middle of a 5-day holiday break, and it is during such long breaks that the hills are flooded with tourists," she observed.
Sure enough, getting last minute confirmation for accommodation was a nightmare, and it was also not easy to arrange for food catering - and that too for vegetarian dishes. Nevertheless, with the help of her family members and relatives, F&B matters were well taken care off.
The main attraction of the 'temple' was the make-shift shrine hall. The largest room in the bungalow was the dining area, which came with a fireplace. The challenge was to locate a space big enough to place the Buddha image as well as a table for devotees to make their offerings, and yet have enough open area for the congregation to gather. "The fireplace was a challenge," quipped Beng Chung. "That was never in the plan. Fortunately we brought along enough orange cloth which covered it up just nicely. In fact, we thought it made a fabulous background," he adds.
The best thing that ever happened out of the unexpected, Beng Chung figured, was how they found the pedestal above the fireplace a perfect use for the Buddha image to rest upon. "We planned to have the image resting on the table, but the pedestal was just great. It was not too high, and not too low - otherwise the flowers on the table would have blocked it," he enthused.
When the day arrived for Wesak Eve, many of the proposed events went on according to plan. Kids and their parents had their turn to offer flowers at the shrine, bathe the baby Buddha and did chanting together with the adults. The highlight of the evening was the traditional "puja", the making of offerings to the Triple Gem, and two Dharma talks, one in English and another in Chinese. After the two hour rituals, those who were interested were invited to meditate till midnight.
The Wesak Day programme progressed much like what was done on the eve, except that more members of the public came to join in the festivities. Not many members of the UKMBA who were there knew of the significance of the 'Roving Wesak' concept being held for the first time in Fraser's Hill, until someone like Mr. Gooi expressed how inspired they felt.
In the words of UKMBA's Honorary Secretary Sis. Loh Sau Cheong, she said: "We really didn't plan for anything grand. We just wanted to make sure that whatever we did, it was done meaningfully."
So touched were some of the participants that they felt that an activity like this 'Roving Wesak, Mobile Temple' concept should be retained and promoted. Sis. Ah Lan, a participant, was visibly moved when she said, "Such a beautiful communion in the Dhamma."
Do we foresee a repeat of the 'Roving Wesak' in Fraser's Hill or elsewhere next year? As Bro. Loka puts it, "we must light up the Dharma lamp where there is none." For now, the Dharma Dew programme at Fraser's have so refreshed everyone up that many cannot wait for the coming Wesak in 2005.
