Temple treats devotees to vegetarian buffet at annual Maha Sanghikadana
KUCHING: The Kuching Poh Ka Buddhist Temple welcomed hundreds of devotees and visitors at its annual ‘Maha Sanghikadana Free International Vegetarian Buffet Lunch’ yesterday.
It was its fifth consecutive year holding the ‘Maha Sanghikadana’, said to be among the key events for Buddhists of the Theravada and Mahayana traditions.
Present at the event were 23 Sangha members from Tibetan, Thai and Chinese branches of Buddhism.
This ‘ Maha Sanghikadana’ provides the public the opportunity to make offerings to the Sangha and do their part for the Buddhist community. It also brings in the chance for people to generate positive ‘ karma’ for themselves and also their loved ones.
The Maha Sanghikadana is performed to benefit the parents, both living and dead.
It is a practice that started when Buddha asked his disciple, The Venerable Maudgalyayana, to perform this meritorious deed on ‘ Ullambana Day’ in order to rescue his mother, who was suffering in the ‘ Hungry Ghost Realm’.
In the end, his mother was saved by his deed.
The merits one will be able to acquire from Maha Sanghikadana are vast and great.
If one could only donate to one monk, as long as the intention is to donate for the sake of the Sangha, the merits would still be immense.
The event yesterday featured an international vegetarian buffet for members of the public, showcasing mouth-watering dishes from 12 countries — Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Tibet, China, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, India, Myanmar and Italy — as well as delicacies unique to the monastery.
All the vegetarian dishes are prepared in such a way to counter the stigma that vegetarian food is bland and unappetising.
This effort was well- received as many came to enjoy the fare offered.