While some of us were celebrating the start of the long weekend on Thursday (1 June) evening, some Buddhists in Singapore busied themselves with temple visits.
At the Thekchen Choling Temple in Jalan Besar, a crowd of pet owners turned up with their animals for some blessings.
Source: Thekchen Choling Singapore on Facebook
While some owners had the larger dogs on leashes, others came with strollers to ensure ultimate comfort for their fur babies.
If not for the monks, it would be hard to tell the scene apart from a pet convention.
On 1 June, Thekchen Choling Temple welcomed droves of pet owners and their beloved animals.
As it turns out, the temple was offering blessing services for pets of every shape and size during its Animal Blessing Night.
Despite the array of animals in a shared venue, the proceedings appeared to go on without a hitch.
Source: Thekchen Choling Singapore on Facebook
Monks were gently cradling the smaller and friendlier animals, with some pets dressed to the nines for a photo opportunity.
Source: Thekchen Choling Singapore on Facebook
Apart from dogs, felines also made an appearance — surprising since the skittish animals are usually wary of large crowds.
Source: Thekchen Choling Singapore on Facebook
One temple-goer even came with her pet cockatoo, which obediently perched on her hand while the monk gave his blessing.
Source: Thekchen Choling Singapore on Facebook
There were also a few recognisable dog breeds such as the adorable Corgi and majestic Chow Chow.
Last year, the Thekchen Choling Temple organised its first animal blessing night on 14 May.
It promoted the event on Facebook and said that the initiative was a way to celebrate Buddha’s Universal Love for all beings including animals.
Similar to the event last year, owners and their pets enjoyed other fringe activities apart from the blessings on Thursday evening.
From paw painting to pet food freebies, the event was definitely a treat for everyone who went down.
Those who missed the Animal Blessing Night on Vesak Day Eve were invited to come on Vesak Day itself on Friday (2 June).
While the temple hasn’t announced another session after that, we hope they’ll continue hosting the event in the coming years, seeing the consistently positive turnout.
You can follow the temple’s Facebook page to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of Thekchen Choling Singapore on Facebook.
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