Many devotees turned up in the morning to bathe the small statue of Lord Buddha as is customary every year. I believe this act symbolizes the giving up of one’s bad qualities such as greed, hatred and ignorance.
In the evening, some of the nuns went to watch the float procession. I asked Head Nun whether I could also go and after some hesitation, she agreed provided I behaved myself. Wow, it was so exciting! This was the first time I had been out of the temple officially, so to speak, and my first time too in a car!
A devotee had agreed to drive us there and the four of us packed into her small car with me in front with a nun who had agreed to take charge of me. We stopped somewhere along the route where the floats would pass and waited anxiously for the procession to start. My guardian warned me to stay put in the car and opened the car window so that I could stick my head out.
We didn’t have long to wait and soon we saw dozens of school children and members of Buddhist associations marching along with the floats following behind. I had never seen such beautifully decorated floats before! All those lights, all those flowers! Each float carried a big statue of Lord Buddha seated among colourful flowers. There were even floats with monks sprinkling holy water on the spectators.
It was an exciting night despite the rain. The light drizzle didn’t deter the large crowd that came out to pay homage to Lord Buddha and to follow the procession on foot. I wished I could have walked along as well but then, as my guardian said, I might get lost or even trampled on by the large crowd.
We didn't follow the procession all the way as it would be too long and were back in the temple by 9.00 p.m. I went straight to bed, after thanking Head Nun for allowing me to go on this “outing”. She gave me an amused look and said, “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Here’s something for you to think about before going to bed. Buddha once said:
“Master your words.Master your thoughts.
Never allow your body to do harm.
Follow these three roads with purity
And you will find yourself upon the one way,
The way of wisdom.”
I hope you will mull on these words before you fall asleep.”
It was quite a mouthful to mull on and I could hardly keep my eyes open while I struggled to recall the first line. Sorry, Head Nun….perhaps tomorrow …. zzzzzzz
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