5 years have passed since the youth group in Wat Ananda was renamed from the Ananda Metyarama Buddhist Youth Circle (AMBYC) to Wat Ananda Youth (WAY).  In the past 5 years, we organised a number of activities in line with our vision to propagate the Dhamma through spiritual friendship and practice-focused interest groups.  We organise a weekly service every Sunday morning in Wat Ananda where we invite different speakers to share the Dhamma and also for members to forge friendship during the service.  We also invited various Venerables to conduct meditation retreats and workshops.  While cultivating our own practice though attending talks and retreats, we also remember a key aspect of the Buddha's teachings of radiating loving kindness and compassion to the less fortunate.  As part of our community outreach programme, we organise quarterly community service to distribute rations and basic necessities to elderly from the low-income families.   Besides reaching out to the elderly, we also continue to show our support towards the young.  We took a more active role in supporting the activities of a group of young Buddhists called the Young Buddhist Chapter (YBC) who recently came under the guardianship of WAY. 

Kathina Day marks the end of the 3-month Vassa (Rains Retreat) by the Sangha.  During this period, the Venerables will have to stay in the monastery and practise.  At the end of the Vassa, devotees are encouraged to offer robes and basic requisites to the Sangha for merit-making.

~~ Loy loy krathong~~ Loy loy krathong~~ Loy krathong is here and everybody's full of cheers!! ~~

It's definitely full of cheers!!  Once again we organised the mid autumn celebrations and invited 40 elderly to join us.  Every year when we celebrate mid autumn, we will also sing this song "Loy krathong" as we "walk the lanterns".   If you miss it this year, join us next year! :-)