On 7 January 2025 (the eighth day of the twelfth month of the Chinese lunar calendar),
which is the 'Buddha's Enlightenment Day', Than Hsiang Temple held a Noon Offering at
10:45am on the 6th floor Da xiong Dian (Mahamudra Hall)and invited Venerable Wei Wu, the founder of Than Hsiang Temple,to give a dhamma talk to the public on the origins of Lapa Festival.

Venerable Wei Wu explained that before he became a monk, Sakyamuni Buddha was a
prince named Siddhartha, who abandoned his position as a prince of honour and wealth
and chose to become a monk.

He learnt meditation from his teacher and also practised austerities for six years.The extreme austerities made him skinny, but he did not achieve enlightenment.

One day he came to his senses and realised that 'enjoyment' and 'austerity' were both
extreme practices and neither was correct!So he gave up practising austerities.
He came down from the ascetic forest and walked to the Nirvana River to bathe.
When he came ashore, he fainted because of his weakness.

Seeing this, a shepherdess nearby boiled milk into porridge and gave it to him to eat.After eating it, he regained his strength and went to Bodhgaya to continue his practice.

Finally, on the eighth day of the twelfth month, he was under the Bodhi tree at night,
watching the stars, and realised the Law of Karma and attained enlightenment.
In Chinese Buddhism, the day of Sakyamuni Buddha's attainment of enlightenment is set on the eighth day of the twelfth month, and therefore the day of the Buddha's attainment of enlightenment is also known as the 'Lapa Festival'.

To celebrate the Buddha's attainment of enlightenment, Buddhist monasteries make congee with fragrant grains and fruits on the eighth day of the twelfth month,following the example of the 'shepherdesses offering milk and rice' before the attainment of enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama, which is known as the 'Lapa Congee', and make the 'Lapa Congee' with the general public to celebrate the attainment of enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama.

Than Hsiang Canteen was in full swing the day before the festival, purchasing fresh ingredients, liaising with volunteers and arranging for manpower, and so on.

Early in the morning of 7th January 2025, before dawn, Than Hsiang Chef was busy leading the volunteers to cook Lapa congee.

At noon, after participating in the Noon Offering at the 6th floor Mahamudra Hall,devotees moved to the cafeteria to enjoy the delicious Lapa congee, and not forgetting to take it back to share with their families and friends.

The temple prepared more than 2,000 portions of Lapa congee to share with the public,and with the co-operation of the volunteer Bodhisattvas, the freshly baked, hot congee was delivered to schools, charitable organisations, factories, and people from all walks of life, including,S.J.K.(C) Kong Min Center, SJKC Kong Min Cawangan Satu, SJKC Chong Cheng,SJKC Min Sin,SJKC Chung Shan,SJKC Phor Tay, SMJK Phor Tay, Phor Tay Private High School,Phor Tay Kindergarten, YBAM Buddhist Digest,
Lam Wah Ee Hospital, and factories such as Benchmark, ASE Electronics (M) Plant 2, and Pentamaster.

Spread the Buddha's teachings to guide more people to study Buddhism.
Continue diligently in the path studying the Buddha's teachings and listening to the Dharma.
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