Clad in white simple garments
All our feet were leading to the summit.
To worship Lord Buddha at His Temple
How serene! I thought to myself.
To worship Him, the greatest of all
Flowers, oil, joss sticks we take.
Peace and harmony is the keynote here
Where on our knees we worship Thee.
Yet, I murmured softly again
Is this enough to worship Lord Buddha?
The Sacred One who renounced His legacy
His family, his friends, all royal comforts
To find a lasting solution for this life
This never-ending ‘sansara’ as it is called.
True enough, He should be worshipped
But is this the best way? I soliloquized.
The changing world has changed our lives
Making us long for more refined ways
‘Better living’ as we may call it
Doesn’t it fuel our ‘crave’ within?
‘Craving’ is the source for all our sins
Isn’t that what Lord Buddha has preached?
To follow his steps in ‘Prathipaththi Pooja’,
To abide by ‘Dhamma’, that is the best.
At least the ‘five precepts’ we should follow
It’s the best way to revere Lord Buddha.
Lalitha Somathilaka