JENJAROM: After a lapse of two years, Wesak Day celebrations were held at various temples across the country this year.

The Selangor state government, together with the Malaysian Buddhist Consultative Council and Buddhist group Fo Guang Shan joined hands to celebrate Wesak Day at Dong Zen Temple in Jenjarom.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari launched the celebration while Venerable Jue Cheng, Chief Abbess of Dong Zen Temple, led the performance of Buddhist rituals.

A total of 114 leaders of Buddhist groups and religious organizations, including foreigners, were present.

More than 4,000 visitors of different races and religions were also at the temple to celebrate the birth of Buddha.

In his speech, Amirudin said the Buddhist teachings of tolerance, love and serving others should also be learned by non-Buddhists.

Living in a multiracial and multireligious country, Malaysians should be more accommodating and considerate for others, and not to make life difficult for others.

It should be a consensus for all ethnic groups in the country, he added.

It was a scene of perfect racial and religious harmony at the temple, said Ven Jue Cheng, who is also the Chief Abbess of Fo Guang Shan for Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Ven Jue Cheng said this was a very unique Wesak Day celebration for Dong Zen Temple.

“The presence of Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, members of parliament and state assemblymen at the celebration reflects the open-mindedness of the state government in joining hands to organize the celebration.

“The state government not only organizes the celebration, but top government officials and the Menteri Besar are also present at the temple to show their respect for Wesak Day.

“I am happy to see Malaysians of all races celebrate the occasion together, especially after the lockdown,” she said.

The temple, which can accommodate up to 50,000 worshipers at any time, still required members of the public to adhere to the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) with sanitizers, self-test kits and face masks available for use at the temple.

Datuk Teng Chang Khim, the organizing chairman of the state-level Wesak Day celebration, said the Selangor state government was the only state government in Malaysia to have organized any event for Wesak Day.

This year, the state government has worked with Dong Zen Temple for a two-day Wesak Day celebration packed with a long list of activities, in addition to Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas celebrations.

“We do not only support a multiracial society but we walk the talk for other state governments to emulate,” said Teng.

The state government has organized Wesak celebrations for ten years, where Muslim government officials were able to overcome psychological barrier of entering the places of worship of non-Muslims, he said.

“This is the first time a state-level Wesak Day celebration has been held at a temple, and most of the officials involve in organizing the event are Muslims,” Teng explained.

To him, such an event helps boost racial harmony especially in breaking the psychological barrier of non-Muslims.

A Pakistani couple attending the Wesak Day celebration at Dong Zen Temple for the first time was stunned by the magnitude of the celebration.

Dr. Ijlal Hussain, director of the Silk Road Center in Pakistan, and his wife Dr. Fasih-un-Nisa, the Center’s president, said they were impressed.

“This is our first time witnessing a large scale Wesak Day celebration. The celebrations held in Pakistan are much smaller in size,” he said.

“This is totally new for us and we enjoy it very much,” said Dr. Fasih-un-Nisa.

The couple looked forward to having such grand celebrations of Wesak in Pakistan in future.