On Monday 29 July, the Year 11 VCAL students went on a spiritual excursion to visit Hindu and Buddhist temples.
We started at the Sri Vakrathunda Vinayagar Hindu temple in The Basin where we were warmly greeted by our hosts and given a guided tour and introduction to the Hindu faith. Inside the temple were a number of statues of Hindu gods and goddesses, including the elephant god Ganesha, the patron of arts and sciences and deva of wisdom.
It was interesting for me to learn that for many Hindus, religion is a matter of practice rather than of belief — it's more what you do, than what you believe. In the temple there were two musicians, one playing a drum and the other, the nadaswaram — a double-reed wind instrument from South India.
We were then offered a blessing along with a piece of fruit by the priest. Before leaving the temple precincts we were invited to the cafeteria and offered a vada (a fried savoury dumpling in the shape of a donut).
After lunch at The Basin we headed to Mount Evelyn where we visited the Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery and Meditation Centre. While there, we did some meditation sitting on cushions, guided by Venerable Bhante in a spacious hall that had three large Buddha statues. After meditation, we were shown into a chapel where we paid respects to precious relics of the Buddha. We were then invited to snacks and drinks before it was time to head back to the College.
It turned out to be a very lighthearted and eventful day of learning about Hindu and Buddhist religious practices.
A warm thank you to both organisations for welcoming us into their places of worship and giving us such a memorable introduction to their religions and beliefs.
