THAT, was a day to remember. Starting off with the official opening ceremony for KKBC with tons of special guests, ribbon cutting, speeches, confetti, cheering, awards and general fanfare throughout.
Shangpa Rinpoche was positively beaming as he welcomed so much warmth and cheer to his new center. We had picture perfect weather and then moments after we came inside it was pouring like I’ve never seen before, a very auspicious sign indeed. Then inside for the opening chanting ceremony with high leaders of all three Yana schools; Teravanda, Mahayana and Vajrayana, a rare treat. Then again music, dancing and more speeches, general joyous celebration and lots more cheering. In the afternoon Karmapa gave a question and answer session that was so incredibly powerful, I will try and share some of it with you all tomorrow if I can correctly paraphrase. Then the evening’s main event, the Gala gratitude dinner with 1000 in attendance. There was dancing from Tibetan, Singaporean, Sri Lankan and Nepali groups, Bhutanese singers and drummers, a super wild fire-eating show, and an auction that raised over 500,000 dollars in support of the new center! And to top it off, at the very end, Karmapa requested we all take a group photo which turned out to be one of the most most hilarious and enjoyable photos I’ve ever taken. And again, cheering like crazy. That was a day to remember.
Karma Kagyud Singapore Karma Kagyud Buddhist Centre Singapore Karmapa Visits Singapore Shangpa Rinpoche
