Feature Friday: Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

Feature Friday highlights businesses, people, fashion, and basically anything under the sun!

Buddhism is a religion having its roots from India that is based from the philosophy, beliefs, and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha.  Buddha, meaning "the awakened one" lived before Christ and taught his insights on ending suffering through eliminating craving for sensuality and acquisition of identity thus attaining the highest happiness (nirvana).

  

Older than Christianity, Buddhism never developed a missionary movement but Buddha's teachings spread all over Asia.  His followers developed its own religious structure in each country from where they came from.  Among these Asian countries are India, Cambodia, Taiwan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and China.  Among these countries, China has the largest Buddhist population reaching over 102,000,000 in the year 2012.  (buddhanet.net)      

As a country of mostly Chinese inhabitants, Singapore also practices Buddhism.  When the sacred relic of the tooth of Buddha was turned over to local Venerable Shi Fa Zhao in August 2002, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum was built to house it.  The temple is based on the architectural design and style of the Tang Dynasty and Buddhist Mandala.  The 4-storey building stands predominantly along 288 S. Bridge Road, Chinatown, Singapore which was consecrated on May 2008 by the most Venerable Shi Kwang Sheng. 

A Great Statue Outside the Temple

The ground floor of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum consists of the Hundred Dragons Hall and the Universal Wisdom Hall.  The Hundred Dragons Hall is also called as the Maitreya Hall that houses one hundred statues of Buddha which were individually and intricately handcrafted by various master sculptors.

 Buddha Maitreya - The Buddha of Happiness

Devotees of the Buddha Maitreya will enjoy longevity and happiness.  

Happiness Surrounds Me Forever! :)

Buddha Amitabha - The Buddha of Infinite Light

On the other hand, the second hall is the Universal Wisdom Hall also known as the Avalokiteśvara Hall.  It houses the "Lord who looks down" alongside with his zodiac protectors.

Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara - The Buddha of Compassion

Zodiac Protector

Zodiac Protector

Devotees of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara will enjoy liberation from suffering and strife.

The fourth floor of the temple is the Sacred Light Hall or the Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic Chamber.  It is where the gold tooth relic in a stupa is being confined.  Buddha's tooth is the only remains of his body after his cremation in 483 BC.  Only the noble Sangha (a community of ordained Buddhist monks) have access to the chamber and visitors are only allowed in the public viewing area.  Picture-taking is strictly prohibited in this consecrated higher ground.

Details

Gate Handle

Bell

Joss Sticks Vessel

Prayer Requests and Wishes

My Wish Had Already Been Granted :)

With a Temple Monk

LIKE here for more information and updates of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.

                                                                       Photo Credits to:

                                                                     Mark Rimmon Sila

                                                                   June Ann Olandesca

                                                                    Harley Phanuel Que

    

                                                                         Related Posts:

                                                                             SG Parks

                                                                     Singapore by Feet

                                                                     Uniquely Singapore

                                                                       My SG Top Picks

              Treating the Tastebuds at Jalan Makanan

              Braving a Historical Journey at Fort Siloso

             Cute Little Somethings Along Haji Lane

".....you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.  You have made heaven and earth." - Isaiah 37:16

"They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands." - Isaiah 37:19

".....all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." - Isaiah 37:20

Tweet

#childhoodmemory

Just sharing something I mastered doing when I was a kid - blowing plastic balloon!  

LIKE below if you did too!

Tweet

Feature Friday: Sugar Rush

Feature Friday highlights businesses, people, fashion, and basically anything under the sun!

with alvite, analyn, and christ.  red-orange blouse.  candy ring.  mustache ring.  arm candy.  candy necklace.  candy bag.  shiny metallic shorts.  ipanema sandals.  candy nails.  make-up by marvel.  photos by aidalyn alcopra.  other photos by jerome artworks.  FFF

all accessories are available at Fascino

Tweet

Candy Crush Saga

With my free iPhone from my sissy April, I had come across with this free app from Facebook - the Candy Crush Saga!  For over two weeks of battling in this game, I breathe Candy Crush day and night.  Even at the moment when I close my eyes, I see candies all over me.  It's just so fun being addicted with this game!  It challenges me in doing the right moves and tests my patience in gaining more lives.  So to whom shall ever read this post, I'm begging you.  Please do give me lives to be sweet, delicious, tasty and have more sugar rush!

Candy Crush Saga is Developed by King.com

    

Tweet

Feature Friday: Small Talk Café

Feature Friday highlights businesses, people, fashion, and basically anything under the sun!

Nestled along 51 Doña Aurora St., Legazpi City, Albay is a pretty stylish home restaurant, the Small Talk Café.  Named after a column of UP Diliman's gazette, Small Talk aims to provide a venue for intimate tetè-a-teté among friends.  So the interior of a family's ancestral house is not changed but just enhanced with an exhibit of pre-war memorabilia.  Additionally, the place is not commercialized which caters an ambiance of cozy and private atmosphere.

A Homey Entrance

Blast from the Past

Small Talk Café is owned and managed by Chef Bernadette Peralta Factora.  Open to the public since 1999, the resto serves a fusion of Italian and Bicolano cuisine.  With the Bicolano's famous pinangat or laing (gabi leaves cooked in coconut milk) and spicy Bicol express (sautéed pork and bagoong alamang in coconut milk), pizza and pasta has been given a different blend and unique twist.  Their menu includes:

Bicol Express Pasta

 Pizza Bicolana

Nonetheless, original Filipino dishes are also served such as

Crispy Pata

Crispy Squidlets

Grilled Pork Spareribs

And nothing beats the original Bicol's pride!

Bicol Express

I am privileged enough to had come and visited this gem of Albay.  Much more, I also got the chance to have some small talk with the owner's mom, Mrs. Bernadita Peralta.  She shared to me some advices on how to serve good food and deliver quality service to keep customers coming back.  

With Tita Bernadita

Much more, treating customers like family makes Small Talk Café a big talk from the mouths of people who had visited the place.  Getting stronger for over 13 years, Small Talk is still looking forward to celebrate food, love, and life with every Filipino family!

Tita Bernadita Dining with Friends After Hearing Friday Mass

Celebrating My Actual 30th Birthday with My JCI Family

Take a look at  Small Talk Café's complete menu here.

Related Posts:

Better @ 30:  An After-Party Post!

Albay's Best Eats
Albay's Places to Stay
Albay Rising

The Perfect Cone
A Flair for Old Churches
She's Dating the Gangster in ALBAY

CamSur Sidetrip

  

Tweet

Masquerade Ball

A night of glamour

A night of enchantment

A night of splendor

The MUHS Junior-Senior Prom

With the theme Strangers in the Night, Misamis Union High School held its annual Promenade last February 23, 2013 at Casa Esperanza.  The event was held to expose their students to social gatherings and teach them how to behave appropriately in such events.  From the word itself promenade, the students walked with grace and finesse showcasing themselves in their most impressive get-up.  

Albeit the impression that the prom was just about the extravagant ball gowns and fancy masquerade masks, it was actually an event of customs and traditions.  One of these is the turn-over of the key of responsibility.  The key of responsibility symbolizes the authority of the seniors to take charge over the whole student population of MUHS.  This means that seniors must act as role models for the younger ones.  They must conduct themselves well in public, show proper behavior, and obey school rules and regulations.  In this way, the younger students would imitate them thus creating harmonious relationships within the campus.   

Senior Class President Darylle Jade Cabataña and Junior Class President Chanel Rose Baluyos

Another tradition is the exchange of candles and roses.  The juniors gave the seniors roses as tokens for their journey to a new chapter in their lives.  As the seniors leave the campus for their upcoming college adventure, they were given remembrances to bring along with them wherever they will go.  Meanwhile, the seniors gave the juniors candles as light to their path.  This served as the juniors' guide on how to become good leaders next in line. 

Additionally, there was also the reading of the class history and class will by the seniors.  The class history told their story from preschool to senior high.  It was about their triumphs and defeats throughout their schooling years in MUHS.  On the other hand, the class will stated what the seniors would want the juniors to inherit from them.  It could be a certain thing, a hobby, or an attitude.  The point was to show that despite their differences, the two classes relate to each other somehow.   

Class History Read by Gussie Yvonne Dolloso & Al-Shariff Lim
Class Will Read by Hannah Joy Lim

Nevertheless, the prom could not be a prom without the much awaited Cotillion de Honor.  The ball dance provided a platform for the youngsters to practice social grace.  It also taught them conversational skills, proper coordination, and how to conduct formal interaction with the opposite sex.  

Another highlight of the event was the singing of the JS song which symbolizes friendship.  The song was their real-life theme song just like in movies, some kind of a national anthem for their kin, or an alma mater song for their class.  It was something to hum in the future to bring back sweet teenage memories.    

And of course, the bestest must be awarded accordingly.  With the scrutinizing eyes of our judges, the deserving ones garnered the major awards.

Ms. Marie Celle Mosqueda, Mr. Nell Benjie Manlegro, and Ms. Merry Pearl Rupinta

Junior Prince - Ferdinand Chiong

Junior Princess - Sophia Lauren Lim

Senior Prince - Raphael Loreto

Senior Princess - Darylle Jade Cabataña

Prom King - Michael Uy

Prom Queen - Darylle Jade Cabataña

Then prom won't be complete without the dance for all wherein I got the chance to dance with my anak Lowell, my bb EJ, and my son Vincel.

The Proud Ma'amy, Ma'ama, and Ma'amsky

Click here for more photos!

Related Posts:

Gaga Over Masquerade Masks!

Prom Quick Tips (for Girls Only)

My Prom Song

I Heart MUHS

Tweet