Taoist Day Dinner at Taoist Mission (道祖誕道教協會圓融晚宴)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Other

Ack to Mr Victor Yue of Taoism Singapore eGroup

Hi folks,
Thanks to the invitation from Master Lee Zhi Wang of Taoist Mission, a few of us representing Taoism-Singapore Yahoogroups were present to join in the commemoration of Taoist Day this evening at Jurong East field next to Blk.130. The guest of honour was the Minister of Finance and Education, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his wife. Leaders of various religious groups in Singapore were also present.

Led by the Taoist Priests of Taoist Mission in an elaborate ritual, Mr. and Mrs. Tharman Shanmugaratnam led the members present in paying respect to Lao Zi, the founder of Taoism. This was followed by prayers for universal peace by respective leaders of all the religious groups present. It was an evening demonstrating the religious harmony amongst people of different faith in Singapore.





As is in most Chinese gathering, the atmosphere was informal and guests could reach out to each other and chat. Many looked and nodded with approval as they saw Mr. Tharman taking the lull in between events to chat up with various leaders of the religious faith and the community.

Also present in this year's gathering were some 14 members of Taoism Mission from Semarang (and nearby - Tega?), Java, Indonesia. They participated in the rituals held over the week. And in this evening, they even gave a performance especially dedicated to the Indonesian Ambassador who was also invited to the occasion.





Credit to the organising committee of this year's event, many programmes were also included. Apart from the rituals and the talk by a Taiwanese Academic, on this dinner night, there was also a sketch to share with the audience how one should be patient and be respectful to one's elders. It was a story of an elderly mother who kept asking the daughter if the bird calling was a crow. The daughter, who was looking after her own little daughter got annoyed and irritated with the numerous same questions. As one with elderly parents or grandparents might have encountered, such questions could come repeatedly. Should one answer with patience and understanding? In this sketch, the daughter got irritated and scolded the poor mother. Ah, and in a booming voice (must be that of Master Lee), Tai Shang Lao Jun called upon this daughter to ask if she has been filial to her mother.

While many look upon the crow as a bird that brings bad luck, tonight, we learnt that the crow is one bird that would stay to look after its parents until they passed away. And so, even a bad bird has its virtues.



In this year's celebrations, Taoist Mission (TM in short) is also going all out to raise funds to buy a piece of land to build a centre of its own. For S$10, one could contribute towards a brick. For S$100, one could contribute towards a tile. And for S$500, one could contribute towards one sq ft of land. So, if you are keen to contribute, you can reach TM through info@taoism.org.sg. They also have a S$100 package with which one contributes towards the poor and the building fund and even towards the poor at Semarang, Indonesia.

In addressing the audience, Master Lee announced with pride that despite their hardwork, the Taoist Mission has achieved much in creating the awareness about Taoism in the past 13 years. Judging by the turnout tonight, Taoist Mission deserves a pat on its back for the hard work they have put in. More still needs to be done but from now on, perhaps, the momentum would have already been created and might be smoother than the earlier days.

To Taoist Mission, great work and jia you!

Victor
Singapore

PS: Thanks for a wonderful dinner and again, a night of greate discussions amongst us at our table with the occasional appearance of Ardian. Members in this evening's dinner were: Margaret Chan, Su Yin, Tim, Gloria, Raymond, Jave, Simon Lee, and Doris.