On Friday 27th April 2012, Friday Buddhist Class of Than Hsiang Jing Yuan held the second Buddhist Hymns Competition with an aim to promote interests towards Buddhist hymns among the children. In addition to that, it is hoped that the children will be exposed to more Buddhist hymns and establish a positive outlook on life by learning the ethical and moral values conveyed in the songs.

From May 31st to June 3rd , Than Hsiang Temple organized a three-day Amitabha Recitation Retreat at the Multipurpose Hall. 112 people participated in the retreat and more than 80% were women. Nearly 50% came from other states and sister Low Shaik Yeng came from Sabah. The youngest was 18-year-old Lim Pei Ting who came from Bukit Mertajam. Eighty-year-old Kok Geok Lan from Penang was the oldest among the participants.

From May 26th to 30th (8 p.m. to 10 p.m.), Venerable Hui Ming delivered a series of Dharma talk with “Bodhi Heart, Bodhisattva Act” as its main theme at the Phor Tay High School Hall. As a whole, the five-night Dharma talks attracted more than 3,000 people.

This series of Dharma talks was aimed at creating a living environment where everyone can learn to become Bodhisattvas. Venerable Hui Ming had each of the five great Bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism i.e. Ksitigarbha, Manjusri, Avalokitesvara, Maitreya and Samantabhadra as the theme for each night respectively.

(From The Star North Metro on 23 May 2012)

A press conference for Venerable Hui Ming’s Dharma Talks in Penang was held at Than Hsiang Temple in the morning of 21st May 2012. The talks with the theme “Bodhi Heart, Bodhisattva Act” will be held at the Phor Tay High School Hall in Penang, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. every night from 26th May to 30th May. This grand event is hosted by the four Phor Tay Schools i.e. Phor Tay High School,Phor Tay Kindergarten,Phor Tay Primary School and Phor Tay Private High School.

On 21st May Venerable Hui Ming from Taiwan, accompanied by Venerable Wei Wu and Venerable Zhen Chan arrived at Than Hsiang Temple around 9:30 a.m. Monastic members and the laity from the temple held a welcoming ceremony at the Main Shrine on the 6th floor to receive Venerable Hui Ming. Followers from Sabah joined the Venerable later on. After lunch they proceeded to the Multipurpose Hall at the 5th floor to have an appreciating viewing of the master piece by Luo Tuo, the world renowned Chinese ink painting artist before departing for Taiping.

On May 4th, Sungai Petani Jing Yuan organized a Bathing Buddha Statue Ceremony for the Friday Dharma Class at the Main Shrine.The ceremony led by Venerable Zhen Ru started off at 2 p.m. 6 Ai Xin Ma Ma and 40 students from Friday Dharma Class attended the event.

About 120 people from Than Hsiang Temple including members from the Youth Section and the Sunday Dharma School and devotees participated in the Wesak Day Float Procession organised by the Penang Wesak Celebration Committee on 5th May 2012.

Than Hsiang Temple held a series of activities from April 28 to May 5 to celebrate Buddha Day. 10,000 people had visited the temple during the eight-day Buddha Day (Wesak) celebration.

Venerable Wei Wu alias Shao Kai, abbot of Than Hsiang Temple whose secular name is Neoh Kah Thong of Fujian (Hokkien) ancestry, was born in Penang, Malaysia in 1949. He was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1992 by Venerable Siew Ching, abbot of Buddha Light Vihara, Penang Hill.