"Origami" for Qing Ming festival - Paper Lotus

The Qing Ming festival is arriving soon.  I was told by elderlies and shops selling joss sticks & prayer stuff that it spans a 21-day period such that it's 10 days before and 10 days after the actual day for Qing Ming, which falls on the 24th day of the 2nd month on the lunar calendar.

While moving around at the Aljunied area, I found this Taiwanese inspired prayer shop known as Fushan Sandalwood (Singapore) Pte Ltd at the following address:

12 Aljunied Road #01-01 KH Plaza
Singapore 389801
Tel : 6-746-7496

I was told that this retail is a joint venture between Yang Yong Ann (located at Loyang) and Taiwan Fushan Sandalwood Co., Ltd. 

I was pretty excited to see that the shop carried those beautiful looking sheets of paper that could be folded into complicated looking stuff such as lotuses, dragon boats, igots, etc for the purpose of offering to deities, Buddhas & the deceased. 

There was an assortment of colourful folding papers that were sold in the shop and they are indeed manufactured & imported from Taiwan.

I bought a packet of medium sized papers in a standard pack of 9 colours with incantations printed on them for offering to our loved ones who had passed on.  My idea was to try folding paper lotuses through watching videos on You-Tube.

折蓮花教學影片 (how to fold paper lotus)

The quality of the colourful paper is exceptionally good with great colour consistencies in the pack I bought. 

Unlike their counterparts that were imported from China & sold here in Singapore at some of the joss sticks shops, the colour didn't bleed onto my palms while folding lotuses.

This photograph features the lotuses folded using prayer papers which are bought from other joss sticks shop.

The gold foil peels off very easily and makes folding a very messy job.

Not recommended for folding of paper lotuses if versions of better quality are available.



My learning curve for folding paper lotuses

The learning process wasn't exactly a breeze.  In fact, I folded the paper such that the wordings failed to appear at the "tip" of both the petals & the leaves at the base.  Further, I folded such that my paper lotuses were slightly smaller & "cuter" looking than what it was supposed to be.

Nevertheless, the retail staff was kind enough to console me, and reminded me that it was the thought that counts.  In the near future, I would have to make a conscientous effort to ensure that the petal of the lotuses would shown on all the petals & leaves.

The series of photographs below illustrates how a blue paper lotus with green leaves was brought to "bloom".  Ideally, I would like to take a video of how the folding is done by myself.  Unfortunately, there's a lacking in logistics.  As such, I haven't had a chance to record my folding of paper lotuses live on video yet.  I would do so & upload in the near future.

First layer of petals

After bringing up the first layer of petals as shown in the above you-tube video clip, I would adjust the positioning of the paper lotus such that the 4 petals are centralised. 

We wouldn't want lopsided looking petals.  As such, it's important to adjust the petals consistently while "blooming" the lotus.

Second layer of petalsUsing the video attached as a reference, you would have noticed that the petals are flipped up in an alternate fashion.

For the first few paper lotuses that I made, I had to concentrate real hard to ensure that I didn't mess up the sequence in "opening" up the petals.

I went shhhhhhh... at Hubby Dearest when he interrpupted my concentration while I was busy with the "blooming".

Third layer of petals

Once again, I must reiterate that I had to constantly shape the lotus as if I were holding on to a cup but pressing the structure very gently such that I am narrowing the centre (or "mouth") of the lotus.

This is to ensure that the lotus flower wouldn't be lopsided in shape.

(A close-up photograph of an unfinished paper lotus)

(A paper lotus in full bloom - complete with blue petals & green leaves)

(The same paper lotus taken from another angle)

A Variation of colourful paper lotuses

If you are interested in viewing more of the paper lotuses that I have folded using the Taiwanese imported prayer papers, please scroll down for more photographs.

Red lotus with green leaves :





Folding of paper shoes for the deceased

While I was surfing through you tube videos, I found this interesting clip where experts use square-shaped prayer papers to make shoes for the deceased.  It's really very cute looking but please make sure that you got the right type of prayer papers (meant for offering to the deceased) and that they are square-shaped (not rectangular in shape).

For instructions on how to fold these paper shoes, please refer to the following You-Tube video:

This is the first pair of shoes that I made.  Meant for my maternal granny who passed away during the wee hours of the first day of Chinese New Year in 2010.

The other variation of the paper shoes that I folded for her as well are shown here:

Post-script :  These paper shoes & paper lotuses are used as offerings to our loved ones who had passed on.  During the Qing Ming festival which is an annual event, we would visit places where they are laid to rest.  After praying to our loved ones, we would bring these paper offerings to designated spots at each respective locations & burn them.

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Dislcaimer:  Please note that I do not own any of the video clips which are attached in this blogging entry.  Full credits would go to the respective video producers on You-Tube.  I am also not affliated to any of the retailers / organisations which are mentioned.  Thank you.

Enshrining Guan Yin "观音" in our home

In preparation for the "re-enshrining" of Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin / 观音) in our home, I was busy shopping for a new statue to replace our 15-year-old weather-beaten statue.

Shopping for a new statue for 观音 (Goddess of Mercy)

It was an arduous process for us as we went around shopping for the new statue.  We took almost 1 year to search for the new statue and ultimately found her at a wholesaler (based at Sims Avenue, near Geylang) for Buddhist products & prayer materials.

We visited all the shops selling such prayer statues at waterloo street and rochor centre.  However, both my hubby and myself felt that we weren't able to relate to the facial appearance of all the statues that were shown to us.  Our gutfeel told us that they weren't the right ones & that our affinity with the new Guan Yin statue had not been established yet.

Apart from prayers at the waterloo street Kwan Yin temple, we had also related our problems in securing the right replacement statue to our existing Guan Yin at home.  I had the idea that she heard our prayers.

About a week after, somebody recommended us this wholesaler who at that juncture, had plenty of porcelain buddhist statues available.  There was a huge variety & most were colourful in the sense that the Guan Yin statues were clothed in coloured garments.  I had the idea that since there's such a vast selection of statues there, we could take our time to select from that lot in their warehouse.

Unfortunately, by the time my hubby accompanied me to the warehouse during the weekends, I was shocked to learn that more than 90% of the statues had already been shipped out of Singapore.  That took place in a matter of just days!  We had no choice but to wait for the next batch of Guan Yin statues to arrive. 

We were very specific in our selection when we related our requirements to the wholesaler -

a) the statue must have a smiling disposition

b) the statue must be holding on to a vase & willow leaves

c) the statue must be 16" in height

d) the statue must be seated down

The wholesaler had given us their name card & advised us on the time frame in which the next shipment was expected to arrive in Singapore.  By the time I called in, I was pretty upset that the entire batch of Guan Yin statues in a gold garment & with a smiling disposition had been shipped out of Singapore when the retailers from Asia had already made their selection ahead of our phone call. *sob*

The wife of the wholesaler sensed our disappointment mixed with desperation in scouting around for the right Guan Yin statue for "re-enshrining" in our new home.  We were quite disheartened as our search for the new statue seemed to be futile and not within reach.  Once again, we left empty handed.

I supposed that she combed through her wares in the warehouse and she told me that we might like a statue that she had set aside for us.

Without further delay, we made our way down to the warehouse and we knew this was the right statue for our home when both hubby dearest & myself were laughing the minute we set eyes on her.

The new statue is made of white porcelain accented with gold and the base is sealed up with a thick, red, felt-like cloth.  We love the expression on her face as she has got very feminine features, smiling eyes that were elongated & kind-looking.

The statue is seated on a huge white lotus (outlined in gold) and holding on to both a gold vase & green willow leaves.  She's got pink cheeks, red lips and her body had been adorned with intricacies, including jewelery (eg necklace) & an elaborated buddhist headress.

Prayer Accessories
Since we bought the statue from the wholesaler, it was preferable that we purchase the other accessories from them as well.  The wholesaler would then be able to match all the accessories on the spot such that the accessories would complement the statue that we bought. 

Should we purchase accessories such as a pair of lamps and urn without the new statue, there is a very high possiblity that we might end up with the wrong sizing (for accessories).  eg lamps are too small/ too big; urn that's too small or too big etc etc.

The first thing we looked out for to go with the new statue was a wooden platform which was traditionally used to raise the height (of the statue when placed onto the altar).  The wholesaler recommended us a really thick-set, heavy, chunky piece of solid wooden base carved out in a round shape.  Walnut in colour.  It was extremely heavy!

We also bought a mini version of this wooden platform for a photograph of our 4-armed Chenrezig (One of the many forms of Guan Yin from Buddhism of Tibetan lineage) which we had been worshipping for the past few years.

The photograph shows a mini version of the solid wooden platform for our 4-armed Chenrezig which Khentrul Rinpoche from Sakya Tenpheling (Pasir Ris) had blessed for us before we enshrined it in our home.

These half crescent bamboo slabs were bought from Sin Chiew whose located a few doors away from the Kwan Yin temple at waterloo street.

Slabs made of bamboo are our favourite as they are relatively light and I love the appearance of these slabs.  Earthy in colour & appearance.  And a worthy reminder of the beauty of mother nature.

We bought a box of large-sized spiral incense (from Sin Chiew) for the purpose of burning the joss continuously without any breaks for a period of 3 days & 3 nights after the "re-enshrining".  This was a practice that was passed down by an elderly uncle who was well-versed in prayers.

As for the gold-tone urn for containing joss sticks & incense on our new altar, the wholesaler was kind enough to import a plain looking version just for us.  It is 6" in diameter at the mouth of the urn.

Other miscellanous accessories that we bought from the wholesaler at Sims Avenue included butter lamps on a crystal stand, a pair of crystal lamps in lotus motif and matching metal plates in similar theme; and porcelain "cups" in lotus motif.  These "cups" could pass off as bowls too.

I would usually use these pretty looking lotus motif bowls for containing flowers such as pom poms, jasmine, champaka or even a lotus flower head with its stalk trimmed off.

As the photographs were taken during the evenings with poor lighting, I had to reverse the cups during the photography so that the intricacies that are printed on the "cups" could be seen clearly.

They are such pretty cups that I was tempted to purchase more of it.  However, I was thankful that I didn't because they are somewhat underutilised except for special ocassions such as Chinese New Year & Vesak Day.

These pretty "cups" that are embossed in gold prints came in a variety of designs and in yellow too.  The yellow version is by far, my favourite design & is supposedly best suited as yellow had always been associated with Buddhism.

Another close-up photograph of the beautiful yellow cup in a lotus motif.

This is one of the 7 (seven) crystal candle holders that I bought from the wholesaler for the purpose of making butter lamp offerings in 7 colours.  This photograph doesn't do the item justice because the actual product is so sparkly looking almost akin to diamonds!

This prayer wheel which operates on either solar energy or a battery had also been acquired at the wholesaler's subsequently when they brought in the stocks.

It is very elegant and "tibetan" looking.  We left it turned on (with battery) at the altar 24 by 7.

It was a real steal for the price we paid at the wholesaler's showroom.  And we are keeping our fingers crossed that it would last us for a long time.







Our New (Rosewood) Altar Table 

We scout around and decided on a rosewood altar table that was found at SAMTAT Shanghai Arts & Crafts Centre.

This retailer had a reputation of being a veteran in the business of rosewood furnitures that are imported from Shanghai.  The price tags could be pretty alarming but in such economies of the modern times, the retailer had ongoing sales throughout the year.

Hence, if you fancy any item in their showroom, please feel free to request for their best price.
http://www.samtat.com.sg/
605 MacPherson Road,
#01-13 Citimac Industrial Complex,
Singapore 368239
Tel : (65) 6382 2374, (65) 6285 6186
Fax : (65) 6285 6203

Altar by day :

This is the true colour of our rosewood altar that was bought from SAMTAT.

It has very pretty looking mother-of-pearl embedded into the rosewood and
the pearly intricacies had a glossy effect.

Altar by night :

A photograph of how our altar looks like during the evenings.

(Photograph is taken on the eve of enshrining)

A close-up photograph of the sides of our altar, showing the mother-of-pearl inlaid on both sides.

As the location where we placed our altar catches the hot afternoon sun, the side of the altar had been showing signs of discoloration as you could see from the photograph.

We have however, decided to leave the altar as it is until further discoloration took place.  Then we could contact SAMTAT to do the necessary to restore it to its original condition.

For now, we are very happy with our purchase at SAMTAT.

Simulated skylight effects created by the pair of lotus motiffed crystal lamps in the dark.

Post-script : Our old Guan Yin statue had been handed over to Loyang Tua Pekong (Pasir Ris) and the new statue had been blessed at the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple at 178 Waterloo Street on a date that had been selected by myself through viewing the almanac.  It was a great challenge to interpret the almanac.  However, it was an eye-opening experience for me as a layman.  I didn't get the interpretation right at all times but it was a good kick-start for a newbie like myself.

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Disclaimer :  Please note that I am not affliated to any of the supplier/ retailer & temple mentioned in this blogging entry.  As such, kindly exercise self-discretion in the course of selecting & purchasing products.  Thank you.

Vesak Day At Sakya Tenphel Ling (Tuesday, 17th May 2011)

I have decided to start a topic on the recent Vesak Day dated Tuesday, 17th May 2011 at Sakya Tenphel Ling (The Singapore Buddha Sasana Society).

The photographs that I have taken at the temple on this eventful day are so rich in colour and beautiful. It'll be a great waste if they were not uploaded or shared with others.

I hope that you will enjoy the vibrancy of colours as many of us had during this festive ocassion at Sakya Tenphel Ling.

Although I had been visiting Sakya Tenphel Ling for several years on a regular basis, but this is the very first time I have visited the temple during Vesak Day.

It was already quite crowded by the time we reached the temple at about 11.45 AM.






And as we hung around after eating vegetarian beehoon, large groups of people came in for prayers and pujas. The counters for donations, sponsorship, devotion to deities simply got congested with huge crowds that formed long beelines.

The festive mood was indeed infectious and everybody on the temple grounds were smiling, including myself. Both my hubby & myself couldn't help but feel fascinated by how colourful everything was on the temple grounds. It made us feel like the 7 rainbow colours had been blended into the scene, which was imbued with such intensity that we could only say that everything was simply so so beautiful and exciting to us!

These beautiful & breathtaking array of colour palettes ranged from flower arrangements, fruits, candles, toma offerings (which will be featured in this thread) and other offerings which were made to the deities.





The cabbage flower looks really gorgeous with 2 of such bouquests flanking both sides of one of the altars:


And this is the very first time that I came across such huge versions of "huat-kueh". Perhaps the size of smaller honeydews or rock melons... No exaggeration!

They were really huge and caught my eye while I was praying at the makeshift altar.

I just found out from a brochure that this is known as the:

Shakyamuni Buddha Sand Madala : The celestial abode or mansion of Shakyamuni Buddha


Isn't it beautiful? Sand mandalas have also fascinated me because it's amazing how it could be produced with coloured sand with such precision... as if it's printed by a computer or a machine??



And I saw many devotees circumambulating the Shakyamuni Buddha Sand Mandala while I was busy clicking on my camera to take photographs of the sand mandala.

Photograph (attached below) of Venerable Khentrul Rinpoche and reincarnation of previous high lama Tashi Gyatso Rinpoche.

He is currently one of the resident teacher at Sakya Tenphel Ling and takes care of the Centre. He does daily rituals and provides blessings & consultations, conducts Teachings, and performs Changchog for the deceased and other religious activities.




Photographs showing Venerable Khentrul Rinpoche, blessing the devotees :


The jar with a spout & peacock feathers is known as a Bhumpa, or Ritual Vase or Tibetan Buddhist Healing Water Vase. I think it contains ceremonial water or nectar and is commonly used during blessing sessions:


Another snippet of a blessing session of an elderly devotee:

This another altar that has been temporarily set up for this special ocassion and I spotted many devotees queuing up to offer stalks of fresh flowers to the deity. The combination of colours make it look so rich & vibrant:


The flowers offered to the deity is then distributed out to devotees for the purpose of a bath. A sort of cleansing ritual through bathing with flowers which were blessed by the deity.

Volunteers helping with the packing of small bags of flowers mixed with perfumed water:


 

This is another altar that has been set up in the open for this special ocassion.

The Thangka (mural) and the statue in blue represents the Medicine Buddha and to statue on the Medicine Buddha's right is Tara; and to the left, The Jambala (Dzambhala).




There are also very colourly stupa-like decorations which were being placed in front of the deities as offerings. They reminded me of colourful jewels because they are so intricately made by the lamas.

I think they are known as toma offerings and the 8 auspicious symbols (http://www.buddhanet...ry/b8symbol.htm) in Buddhism are featured in the form of colourful intricacies which I would be uploading here in the next few clips for visual appreciation. They must be so difficult to make! And so so beautifully done!

These photos of toma offerings were taken before Vesak Day.

It so happened that I was at Sakya Tenphel Ling when one of the lama was putting the finishing touches to the toma offerings. Oops missed the major part of it when he was moulding out the intricacies.

I think this tall stupa-like dough is used as a "base" for mounting on the beautifully crafted decorations.


These are parts of it which had just been prepared & pending "installation" onto the "base" & isn't it beautiful?


A pair of golden fish (matsya):


The Treasure Vase (bumpa):

The mystic/ unity knot, also known as The Auspicious/ Endless Knot(shrivatsa):



The mystic knot is one of my most favourite symbols. It is a classy symbol which has been highly adapted in the fashion industry. It is said to promote a strong & positive affinity with people - but I would like to add that it also depends on the person's attitude in life too!

The Conch (shankha) :


The Lotus (padma) :



The Umbrella or parasol (chhatra):




Photos of the completed Toma offerings :

I didn't stay on to see what the lama went on to make but here's what he was doing, probabbly shaping out another design :






Hopefully I would have another chance to take photographs of the full suite of process in making the toma offerings in the near future.

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DISCLAIMER:

Permission has been sought from Sakya Tehphel Ling for photographs to be taken.

Kindly note that this thread is not catered for the purpose of promoting the temple or anything suggestive of religious inclinations. As such, any insinuating or insulting comments will not be entertained.

Additionally, I do apologise for any inadequacy in explanations pertaining to rituals & practices as shown in the photographs.

Thank you for your kind understanding.