During the Spring Festival of the Yi Si Year (the Year of the Snake), Than Hsiang Temple in Penang launched a series of New Year celebration activities, spreading blessings and the wisdom of Dharma to the public and welcoming everyone to this auspicious new year.

On New Year's Eve, the purification ceremony of the New Year Auspicious Lanterns proceeded smoothly. Each brilliant lantern symbolized the Buddha's light, purifying the hearts of the people and dispelling the troubles and karmic obstacles of the past year. Subsequently, everyone participated in the New Year's Eve Buddhist chanting session with great joy and sincere wishes. Amidst earnest confessions, they reflected on their past mistakes and bid farewell to the old year. With a gentle and peaceful state of mind, everyone welcomed the new year, praying for everything to go smoothly.

On New Year's Eve, our founder, Most Venerable Wei Wu, explained the Chinese time system and the traditional Indian six-hour time-keeping method during his dharma talk. He expounded on the profound meaning of "Auspicious Moments Throughout All Six Periods." Many temples recite the Great Repentance Sutra of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas on New Year's Eve. The repentance text in the sutra helped people to reflect on their mistakes and sincerely repent from the bottom of their hearts.

Then, Most Ven. Wei Wu disclosed that the first day of the first lunar month coincides with the birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva. The Sanskrit name of Maitreya Bodhisattva is "Maitreya Bodhisattva," and he will achieve Buddhahood in the Saha World after Shakyamuni Buddha, widely spreading Dharma to all sentient beings. Regarding Maitreya Bodhisattva, there is a story about ‘monk with a sack’. During the Liang dynasty of the five dynasties, Maitreya manifested as the ‘monk with a sack’ in the Zhejiang Province, his name was Qi ci. Once, at Tian Tong monastery to receive lunch offering at the dining hall. He sat on the middle seat reserved for the abbot and refused to move.

The head monk asked him to get down, but he ignored it. When the abbot arrived, the abbot apologized to the ‘monk with a sack’ and invited him to take the abbot’s seat. From that day, the monk continued to take his lunch at the abbot’s seat. Until today in the dining hall of many Chinese monasteries, a statue of Maitreya Boddhisattva (in the form of the monk with a sack) is placed in the middle of the hall. At last Maitreya Bodhisattva left a gatha: "Maitreya, the real Maitreya, has hundreds of billions of incarnations, showing himself to people at all times, but people at that time do not realize it.

After the dharma talk, everyone did the morning chanting together. Before the end of the activity, the sangha offered blessings and distributed auspicious items to everyone. Thus, the New Year's Eve activities officially came to a successful conclusion.

In conclusion, the New Year's Eve activities at Than Hsiang Temple in Penang during the Year of the Snake—including the purification ceremony, the Buddhist chanting session, and the Dharma talk—helped everyone purify their minds, reflect on the past, and understand the truths of Buddhist doctrine. From exploring the "Auspicious Moments Throughout All Six Periods" to reciting the repentance text and then listening to the story of Maitreya Bodhisattva, each of them was closely connected, conveying the public's yearning for a better life and their respect for Buddhism. These activities injected peace and hope into the new year, inspiring everyone to embark on a new journey of blessings and wisdom with compassion and wisdom.

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More photos:

2025 Chinese New Year Lamp Lighting Ceremony
https://thanhsiang.org/CH/node/6362

2025 Chinese New Year Eve Buddha Name Recitation
https://thanhsiang.org/CH/node/6363

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