For the past few days, Kelantanese devotees have been harvesting sugarcane and processing them laboriously – because they wanted to offer fresh sugarcane juice at Nalanda’s “Family Fun Fair”.

Today and tomorrow, we anticipate literally bus-loads of supporters descending upon Nalanda Centre to take part in Sunday’s ‘Family Fun Fair’ – the one and only fund-raising event organized by Nalanda this year.  This afternoon, the first wave of Kelantanese devotees arrived to help out with preparations, to be followed by many more coming in buses and cars.  But why travel 450km one way just to take part in a ‘Fun Fair’?

It is because, for so many people, the ‘Family Fun Fair’ means more than just a fund-raising occasion.  What draws people back to it year after year are the great stories behind the event.

We are truly touched and grateful for their efforts to support the continuity of Buddhist education.

Many of our Kelantanese friends for example, are here to support us out of gratitude and appreciation.  For the past few years, Nalanda Dhamma School and Institute have been conducting camps and Buddhist courses in the state.  Having benefited from those programmes, they are now here to support Nalanda in return.

What drives them back is a sense of gratitude and the understanding that supporting the continuation of Dhamma education is extremely important for the future of Malaysian Buddhism.

Over at Nalanda Johor Bahru Branch, members there were busy preparing ‘kim-chi’ for the Fun Fair.

Thus, to all of you who are coming to support this event, we gratefully say “Welcome back!” and “Thank You!”.  For those who haven’t quite decided to participate – dither no more.  What we do today in support of Buddhist education is what we will bestow upon our children and grandchildren – they and many more will reap the fruits of our investments.

Come one and all to support this and many events like this, so that Buddhist education may continue to illuminate the lives of our children, and beyond.

This, too, was a labour of love. We are sure that gratitude absolutely tastes sweet.