There are three things I look forward to every Festival. The first is bathing a Buddha, the second is the vegetarian food court and the third is the opening ceremony. This year I enjoyed all three of these things.
I started off at the food court. It was set up near the Brisbane Wheel. I just looked around to begin with. There are always so many things to try and I want to make sure I don't miss out, especially if there is something new there. I ended up visiting three stalls. I started with a fried bun, which was pretty plain, and a tea egg. The tea egg is a boiled egg that is steeped in a dark liquid after having the shell lightly cracked. What you end up with is a marbled appearance under the shell, and the taste of whatever the egg was soaked in (usually some type of tea). After that I had some vegetarian noodles which were very nice. Then I tried a winter melon drink with aiyu jelly. The guy was right: it was sweet. It had had a funky yet pleasant taste. Having eaten I walked to Suncorp, er, make that Courier Mail Piazza.
On the way there I passed several displays. One of them is the Lumbini Garden which is set up with several large banners telling the story of Buddha from his birth to enlightenment and eventually his death. The story is familiar to me but I really like the artwork that is set up in the garden with the banners. A little further along was a small area set up for young children to play. It had a number of wooden cut-outs set up with holes where children could look through to get their picture taken. On each of the cut-outs was written these words: "Take Good Actions. Say Good Words. Think Good Thoughts." So simple in principle and easy to remember but so hard to do sometimes. It is something we should all keep in mind.
Just after this was the area where you could actually bathe a Buddha. A number of small Buddha statues are set up in a line on a table. They should Buddha standing with one finger pointing to the sky. The statues are inside a pool of clear fragrant water. People kneel on a cushion then fill ladle & pour water over the left shoulder three times. On the first wash one says "May I eliminate all evil thoughts". On the second wash one says "May I cultivate good deeds" and on the third was "May I help save all living beings".
Moving on from here was one of my favourite displays. Maitreya Buddha (or Buddha of the future, or Laughing Buddha, or The Loving One). He is the Buddha many are familiar with - the fat jolly Buddha with the round belly :) He was the inspiration for my first tattoo so I always like to go by this display on my way to the Piazza.
The Piazza was beautifully set up as usual. In front of a backdrop osf several curtains (each a different solid colour) were three statues of Buddha seated on a lotus. In front of the statues are long tables filled with offerings to the Buddha. Typically there a piles of fruit and flowers. And there were places people could offer candles (or light). Light has a few meanings. Light (Buddha's teachings) dispels the darkness of ignorance. Light represents the awakened or enlightened mind that sees reality as it is (which is NOT how you and I see it... scary).
I won't go into details about the acts for the opening ceremony. If you want to know more I am happy to reply to private messages.
The first act was a lion dance (or rather a pride of lions) by students of the Southern Shaolin school and a display of some of the kung-fu forms.
Next was a Taiwanese acting troupe performing a comic and energetic play about a matchmaker.
After them was the Queensland World Dance Academy performing an elegant umbrella dance in gorgeous green costumes.
Katei performed next. Unfortunately there was a malfunction with his looping pedal. Just as people thought he was going to finish there, he played another song. He was as captivating and energetic as usual.
The Southern Shaolin students returned with weapons and a rock soundtrack. They were fantastic, especially the girls with swords, the drunken master swordsman and the guy with two ball-and-chain weapons.
Then the acting troupe performed another play. This was about the Infernal Generals and was in stark contrast to the first play. It was far more somber and dramatic and the costumes, some featuring very long horns, were amazing.
The ceremony ended with M.H.D. Diabolo Art Taiwan. These guys do amazing tricks with a diabolo "toy" (two sticks connected with a string and a spool). About the only thing they did not do was fire tricks and blind-folded tricks. They were outstanding.
How much do you think you would have to pay to see all this? Probably heaps, right, but tonight it was free. That's right. Nothing. Not even a donation. How can you beat that for a night out? How glad am I that I was not watching TV =)
By this time it was 820 and the Light Offering ceremony was about to start. It was getting late and I had to go so I did not stay around for this. Hopefully I can make time next year. I went back to the food court and scored a bag of spring rolls for $2 and picked up some crumbed king mushrooms and mulberry juice for the walk back to the car.
Next year I plan to take a whole day or half day off so I can go home and bring the rest of the family. And you, dear reader, if you can come along. After all, the more the merrier.
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