Tracing WAY’s roots : 2D1N Malacca trip

It was a trip where we bond beyond members of WAY.

After a day successful trip to Desaru last year, we decided to take one step further to organize a 2-Day, 1 Night trip.  Still somewhat influenced by the TV series “Little Nyona” shown last year, we decided to select Malacca for our fellowship journey.

En-route to Malacca, we stopped by the Pee Ker Guan Yin Si Temple in Bekok, Johor, to pay our respects to Venerable Chern Yi .  After a short stay there, we adjourned to Malacca for Nyona lunch before going for the usual guided tour of Malacca, including heading to popular Jonker Street area for shopping.

What happened the next day proves to be the highlight of the trip.  It is definitely indelible on most of our minds.  The first stop of the day was a visit to Seck Kia Eenh Vihara.  Started in 1920, it is one of the oldest temples in Malacca.  Upon entering the main gate, one would notice a traditional Chinese style building that serves as its main shrine and also a 80+ years Bodhi tree.  It is interesting to learn that some Buddhist Venerables from Sri Lanka settled their roots in this temple and since then, this temple has adopted the Sinhalese Buddhist tradition while maintaining its Chinese roots. 

What surprised us was we were told that the late chief abbot Venerable Ananda Mangala Mahanayaka Thera had stayed in Wat Ananda Metyarama years ago.  An even more interesting discovery was that Venerable Ananda, who passed away in Jan 1986, was thought to be the Venerable that initiated the first youth circle in Singapore in 1966 – the Ananda Metyarama Buddhist Youth Circle (AMBYC), former name of Wat Ananda Youth. 

Fate bridge this connection and we are thankful to the current spiritual advisor Ven. Alubomulle Ratanasiri and the committee members of Seck Kia Eenh Vihara for their hospitality.  One of the brothers, Bro Kenny, specially prepared delicious Nyona food for us and many of them took time to meet us during our visit.  Though it was a short stay, everyone seemed to have lots to say and share with each other.   It was interesting to observe that we had to bide farewell a few times, from the dining hall, to the office area and to the main gate.  Even as we were at the main gate, Dhamma brothers and sisters from both sides were still chatting and exchanging contacts.  If not due to time constraint, we could have easily stayed on for more than 2.5 hours.

It’s definitely not the first trip to Malacca for most of the members.  But this will always be the memorable one for many of us, especially during our visit to Seck Kia Eenh Vihara where we are joined with deep ties with our Dhamma Brothers and Sisters.  The bonding definitely went beyond WAY members to include Brothers and Sisters from Seck Kia Eenh Vihara.  The strong kammic links established by our predecessors will definitely be passed down from generations to generations.

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