Vesak celebrated in Kuala Lumpur

A float in the form of a boat
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Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia has two main temples in Sentral
Kuala Lumpur and in the Sentul area. Out of them, the larger one is the
Buddhist Maha Vihara which is situated in Brickfields in Sentral Kuala
Lumpur, which is also known as KL Sentral.
Founded in 1894 by the Sinhalese community based in the surrounding
areas of Kuala Lumpur to provide a place of worship in the Sri Lankan
Theravada Buddhist tradition, the Buddhist Maha Vihara is the key
driving force in Buddhist activities in Malaysia.
The chief incumbent of the temple is Ven. Datuk Kirinde Dhammaratana
Maha Nayake Thera.
The temple is administered by a Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society in
which bhikkhus from Sri Lanka play a major role. The body takes the
initiative in organising all events related to Buddhism in Malaysia.
The Buddhist events related to the Chinese New Year which fell in the
month of February were colourfully organised by the Maha Vihara which
won the hearts of Chinese Buddhist community.
For Vesak, the Maha Vihara organised a colourful procession of all
the Buddhist Societies, with contributions from well over 20 and the
procession carried various phases of Lord Buddha's life in the form of
statues, decorated items and recitals, which was over two kilometres
long.

The procession wends its way along the streets of Kuala Lumpur |
"The whole world of Buddhist devotees should bow their heads to the
Maha Vihara of Malaysia for this grand occasion,” said Dr P A Denegama,
a trainee Infertility Specialist at the National University of Malaysia
who is in Kuala Lumpur on a six month training.
Pix: Dr. P.A. Denegama |