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2025 Than Hsiang Reunion Luncheon

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On 12 January 2025 (Sunday), Than Hsiang Temple hosted the ‘2025 Than Hsiang Reunion Luncheon’ on the 5th floor Multi-Purpose Hall. Over 600 people attended the luncheon, including devootees, volunteers and members of Sunagi Ara Wan Ching Yuen, Handicrafts Group, Than Hsiang Penang Mitra Welfare Centre, Sungai Petani Than Hsiang Wan Ching Yuen, Than Hsiang Chan Yuan , Than Hsiang Youth, Than Hsiang Sunday Dharma School, Kalyano Mitra Home, Than Hsiang Choir Group, Than Hsiang Kindergarten and Than Hsiang Taiji Group.
The luncheon started promptly at 10:00am with an invitation to Venerable Wei Wu, the founder of Than Hsiang Temple, to give a dhamma talk to the public. Venerable Wei Wu shared the story of Zen Master Sengai Gibon.
In Zen Master Sengai Gibon 's monastery, there was a playful monk who couldn't stand the loneliness of the monastery and used to sneak away over the high wall in the backyard in the evening. He set up a high stool, and climbed over the wall to play. Zen Master Sengai Gibon did not alert anyone when he found out.
One day, the monk went out to play over the wall again. Zen Master Sengai Gibon moved the stool to one side and sat under the wall waiting for the monk to return.
Late at night, the monk returned, not knowing that the stool under the wall had been removed. When he rolled down from the wall, he felt the stool under his feet became very soft.
He came down to see, and found that he was actually stepping on the shoulders of the Zen master! Scared out of his wits, he knelt on the ground fearfully.
Sengai Gibon Zen Master pulled him up and comforted him, saying, ‘It's late at night and the dew is heavy, be careful of catching a cold, go back to your room and rest! The monk was so shocked that he could not speak.
After the monk returned to his room, his heart was restless, worrying that the Zen master would punish him. However, as the days went by, Zen Master did not mention the incident again.
The monk was deeply ashamed, and from then on, he devoted himself to cultivation and eventually became a famous monk.
Venerable Wei Wu expressed his gratitude to the public for their contribution of time and money to the activities of the various groups at Than Hsiang Temple in the past year 2024, which made it a very meaningful year for the temple. In November 2024, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the International Buddhist University (IBC) organised a two-day International Young Buddhist Scholars Seminar at Than Hsiang Temple, with more than 20 young Buddhist scholars from different countries participating in the seminar. The first day of which was conducted in English and the second day in Chinese.
At the luncheon, Venerable Wei Wu announced that Than Hsiang Temple will celebrate the 40th Anniversary during the first half of 2025 and the 85th Anniversary of Phor Tay School during the second half of the year. He appealed to everyone to continue to support the Temple.
Venerable Wei Wu then presented the ‘Staff Service Award’ to the staff members who have served at the organisation for more than 5 years in recognition of their contributions and efforts. A total of 32 staff members were honoured this year.
Next came the exciting Performances. The Than Hsiang Choir group was the first to perform two New Year's songs - ‘All the Best’ and ‘Congratulations on the New Year’. Then, the Than Hsiang Youth Group won applause with their energetic performance. Than Hsiang Sunday dharma School then presented ‘The Song of Buddha's History’, which conveyed the life of Buddha and his revelations through the song, leaving the audience deeply touched and inspired.
While the programme was in progress, the Than Hsiang Canteen team prepared beautiful lunch boxes for the audience, which were distributed by the volunteers to the guests, who enjoyed the luncheon while watching the performances on stage. The next performances included a wonderful demonstration by the Sandalwood Taijiquan group, followed by Than Hsiang Chan Yuan, Than Hsiang Kindergarten and Than Hsiang Sungai Petani Wan Ching Yuen.
The finale Performance is ‘a li shan gu niang’ presented by members of Than Hsiang Wan ching Yuen. Accompanied by the cheerful singing, the audience stood up and put their hands on the shoulders of the previous one, forming a long line like a snake swaying and dancing to the melody, as if welcoming the Year of the Snake. The whole scene was very lively and filled with a festive atmosphere.
During the event, the emcee also gave a preview of the activities to be held during the New Year period, including the ‘New Year's Eve Buddha Name Recitation’, ‘Chinese New Year One Day Retreat’, ‘Chinese New Year House Blessing’, ‘Strike the gong and make a vow’, and ‘Chinese New Year Lamp-Lighting’, etc.

The 2025 Than Hsiang Reunion Luncheon concluded at around 12:00 noon in a joyful and cheerful note.

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More photos: https://thanhsiang.org/CH/node/6357
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