Celebrating 130 years of faith at the Buddhist Maha Vihara

Free Malaysia Today

Set up by Malaya's Singhalese Buddhists in 1894, this historic temple in Brickfields draws thousands of devotees every Wesak Day.   Story by: Dinesh Kumar Maganathan Shot by: Afizi Ismail, Fauzi Yunus & Moganraj Villavan Presented by: Theevya Ragu Edited by: Muhammad Akif Irfan  Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/05/22/historic-buddhist-temple-marks-wesak-day-in-grand-tradition/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTLifestyle #WesakDay #BuddhistMahaVihara #Buddhism #Wesak2024

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:13 The Buddhist Mahavihara Temple in Brickfields has been a spiritual home for the community for over 130 years.

00:21 [Music]

00:28 From its humble beginnings to its grand present-day structures,

00:32 the temple reflects the enduring faith and dedication of generations of devotees.

00:37 [Music]

00:49 We were actually first established in 1894 when there was about 130 Sri Lankan or Sinhalese Buddhists

00:59 who were actually already in Malaya at that time and some of them were in the government service

01:05 in the British administration. Apparently they found this place to be an ideal location

01:11 for them to start a temple.

01:16 Previously known as the Brickfields Buddhist Temple, this has been a sanctuary for the

01:21 practice of Dhamma in the Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist tradition for over a century.

01:26 [Music]

01:32 On every Vesak Day celebration, the temple draws nearly 15,000 devotees for prayers,

01:38 Dhamma talks and cultural events.

01:41 I think that is the biggest festival in Buddhist Mahavihara and also that is the biggest festival

01:48 for the Buddhists in Malaysia as well. Always the full day is so busy, we have sometimes no space.

01:56 The highlight is the four-hour-long candlelight procession,

02:01 attracting close to 25,000 devotees and visitors every year.

02:06 We actually started Vesak here in the late 50s when our Dhamma under

02:10 Nayakathira the monk, as I mentioned, we took it to a different level. That's when we had started

02:16 having the processions, the float building and we have carried on that tradition up to today.

02:22 With its century-old presence in Brickfields,

02:27 Jaya Wardena says the Buddhist Mahavihara is a cornerstone of the community.

02:32 [Music]

02:45 There's a lot of people who live in this neighbourhood who just come in the evening

02:49 or in the afternoons, spend personal time, you know, still sitting. Some will sit under the

02:54 tree, some will sit on a bench, you know, just they all want just peace and calm and quiet.

03:01 And our focus has always been the monks and so that is a key factor that draws a lot of people

03:08 to come to Buddhist Mahavihara. With a full day of cultural and religious activities,

03:13 the Vesak Day celebration is an enriching and memorable experience for both devotees and

03:19 visitors. My Vesak Day wishes would be that we would have a very peaceful and successful Vesak

03:26 here at the Buddhist Mahavihara. We invite all devotees, irrespective of faith, to join us on

03:34 this celebration and just absorb the beauty of what Vesak is and what Buddhism can offer you.

03:56 Divya Ragu and Dinesh Kumar Maganadan, FMT Lifestyle.

04:00 [Music]

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