Buddhist Culture & Art Festival 2007

Last Thurday, I paid a visit to the Buddhist Culture & Art Festival 2007 at Mines International Convention Centre. I had a truly good time there, with many informative materials about Buddhism as well as photo galleries ( related to Buddhism, of course).

I really like the way they decorate and design the exhibitions - very carefully planned and creatively displayed. One can see how thoughtful and how much effort these people paid to make the every single display. Once I stepped into the hall, I was greeted by the sweet, alluring smell of flowers, their fragrance embracing the entire hall. There were flowers EVERYWHERE! My fav!!! * heehee * And I got the opportunity to gaze at the sacred relics - Wow is the only feeling to describe them. There were also booths selling things relating to the Buddhism theme as well as free distribution of Dharma books. I was intrigued by this section where they offer the publics the chance to do some "writing mediatation" - where one can rewrite a copy of verses of a prayer while observing mindful thinking. Me Mum said this is a form of meditation to reflect upon your self and by copying the verses is one of the way to observe good karma. Will try it sometime...

Here are some of the photos I managed to take when I was not distracted by the displays... * :P *

There are Buddha images almost every where - each thoughtfully and creatively decorated. I couldnt manage to take pics of one particular display, where they place images of Buddha and his disciples in the theme similar to the Christmas decorations where the depict the story of the birth of Jesus - very innovative ...

The Wishing Lanterns! You can write your wish and stick it onto the lantern and will them to come true! * :) * It is about 2-3 stories high and it rotates slowly, shining beautiful lights.

I like how they place floating flowers in a big clay pot in one of the exhibition display booths - so pretty! And in this booth, they also have a baby Bodhi tree in a pot, where they put an image of Buddha meditating under the sacred tree - creating the scene how Buddha used to meditate under the cool shelter of the Bodhi tree in his path to seek enligtenment. Superb!

There are clay art works by Burmese (or was it Nepalese?) monks. They displayed quite a many of them and upon closer examination, each work are skillfully made and impressively intricate.

Okay - you all must be wondering why of all ppl, PQ would go for such an exhibition * :P * Well, my mum was one of the volunteers to help out at the festival. She came home gushing about how beautiful was the 3000++ stalks of lotus being flown just for this event and how she and the other volunteers had to sort, trim and prepare the flowers to be sold to the public who wish to offer the flower to the Buddha. She knows how much I like flowers ma... * heehee * and she were telling me how she was surrounded by hundreds of lotus that were to be sorted. Out of curiosity, I went to look at it myself - i tak percaya mar - and was astounded that it were true...

LOOK!!! LOTUS EVERYWHERE!!! * heehee * I was privileged to be able to go in and see this scene as this area was restricted to volunteers only * heehee * I had always admired lotus flowers ans it is certainly rare to be able to be surrounded by this many!!! Love it! White and Pink everywhere, with wafts of sweet fragrance enveloping me - heavenly!

Pretty Lotus flowers used as decoration and also sold to the public to generate donations. I like the white ones!

And like the pink ones too * :P *

More pics of the lotus flowers - these were the ones bought by the public to be offered to the Buddhas and were placed surrounding the Buddhas.

Of course, such an engrossing trip hungers the piggie's tummy * :P * To satiate the pangs, just head up to the upper floor where they housed many booths from various Buddhist organizations all over Malaysia selling vegetarian food, partly to raise some fund for their organizations. I had this fantastic vegetarian nasi lemak - sedap!!!

They gave 2 servings of vege, sambal and one serving of sambal 'vegetarian' lamb pieces. The Ah Poh who sold this dish was talking her own sweet time to pile on the servings onto the plate - ensuring each serving were equally proportioned! * :) * It took her about 3 minutes to serve one plate! * pengsan * So cute la, that Ah Poh... But this was one good plate of vegetarian nasi lemak - must be cooked by some "professional" homemakers...

I really enjoyed myself at this festival. At first, I went with sceptism, thinking it would be boring, but it certainly "enlightened" me * :) * With so much to see and explore, to read and experienced, it definitely worth the time spent and the long journey all the way to Seri Kembangan (or is it Balakong?). Must go again shall there be another such event!