Marriage Ceremony in Kechara!
Last Saturday on the 10/03/2012, I conducted a wedding ceremony for the son of my long time student Dato Eric Tan. Dato Eric and I have known each other for a very long time nearly ten years. It was during my years spent in Malaysia that I met Dato Eric who is from Singapore but doing business here in Malaysia when I met him…. He is one of my loyal students, that stuck by and had great faith in me even when times were tough. He has helped my Dharma work tremendously in the past. He is very kind. When Dato Eric’s son, Colin Tan, proposed to Ms Sharon Tong (now Mrs Colin Tan) I was requested to conduct the wedding. I happily accepted as I am quite close to Colin also.
Many Kecharians helped to prepare for the wedding. Kechara Care team prepared the set up and organized the entire event, and Kechara Blooms decorated the place with beautiful flower arrangements. The Gompa was decorated to greet the wedded couple and their close family. It was a beautiful ceremony… Kecharians do have excellent taste! The private wedding ceremony was attended by Colin’s family members Dato Eric Tan, Datin Janice Lu, Edwin Tan, Vinnie Tan and Edern Tan; as well as Sharon’s family members Mr Tong Hoe Soon, Ms Dai, Ms Tong Yee Ling and Steven Tan. So nice to see the Tan family. Edwin and Colin are lovely boys. And their sister Vinnie was a little girl when I met her. Now she is a grown up intelligent lady already.
To bless the newly wedded couple, I composed a Buddhist manual for the wedding ceremony in relation to Arya Tara. During the ceremony, we invoked Arya Tara to bless the couple with prosperity, longevity, safety, and lasting marriage. The manual that I composed will be used for all future wedding ceremonies conducted by either myself or Kechara Pastors. I want all couples wedded in Kechara to be truly blessed with long lasting relationship, and most importantly for the couple to travel in a spiritual journey together. To be respectful and kind to eachother. To be true to eachother. Spirituality can only grow from integrity, loyalty, honesty, kindness and it can start with our spouse or partner. So I ask Arya Tara to bless them and all future couples.
During the ceremony, the couple makes these wedding vows to eachother. After taking the vows, they slip the ring on the finger as a symbol of the vows taken to eachother and in front of the Buddha:
1. Support each other in all difficulties.
2. Improve on their weak points for each other.
3. Will be faithful towards each other.
4. Share what they have with each other.
5. Respect each others’ beliefs.
6. Defend each other.
During the ceremony, I gave a short Dharma talk for the family in relations to marriage and the ‘secrets’ to a good marriage.
I wish them well, and a lasting relationship with much blessings. Below are some photos of the wedding ceremony… I was happy to see the family who are long time friends. I wish them luck and peace. Also spirtual growth.
Tsem Rinpoche
Colin Tan’s Wedding
 |
 |
|
Dato Eric Tan, the groom’s father.
|
Colin and his wife, Sharon.
|
 |
 |
|
Datin Janice Lu is happy for her son to be wedded in the temple.
|
Although Colin looks like a normal young groom, but inside is a very spiritual person.
|
 |
 |
|
I haven’t seen my friend Datin Janice Lu in a long while. Colin’s mother Datin Janice is my good friend.
|
Greeting Colin’s wife for the first time.
|
 |
 |
|
I’ve known Colin since he was a young child. Back then I told him to keep bring along his Tsongkhapa statue with him when he gets married, on that day he told me that he remembers and that he will.
|
Starting the ceremony.
|
 |
 |
|
Colin and Sharon.
|
Colin repeating his vows to Sharon… after he finishes, she does the same.
|
 |
 |
|
Blessing the couple on their special day.
|
Exchanging vows and rings.
|
 |
 |
|
Listening attentively to my advice to them.
|
How auspicious! Offering light to the Buddha
|
 |
 |
|
Performing the blessing ceremony.
|
Bryan helps to pass Sharon a gift from me…
|
 |
 |
|
I gave Colin’s wife a beautiful Shakyamuni pendant.
|
… May they be blessed..
|
 |
 |
|
Colin Tan, Sharon Tan and I
|
(left to right) Dato’ Eric Tan, Datin Janice Lu, Mr and Mrs Colin Tan, Tong Hoe Soon, Ms Dai. Mr Tong Hoe Soon and Ms Dai are Sharon’s parents. |
 |
 |
|
Wonderful friends that I’ve known for years…Dato’ Eric Tan and wife Datin Janice Lu
|
Together with Henry Ooi (far left) and Datuk May Phng (far right).
|
 |
 |
|
Giving Colin a few more advice.
|
Dato Eric Tan and family… (left to right) Edwin, Dato’ Eric Tan, Edern, Me, Datin Janice Lu, Colin and Vinnie.
|
 |
 |
|
Datin Janice gave me some honey capsules that is apparently very good for my health… I’ve told her that I will take 2 a day!
|
I’ve known Vinnie since she was a little girl… now she’s in college studying to be an events manager.
|
 |
 |
|
Another family photo… clearer one this time, without Edern blocking his daddy’s face hehe
|
Dato Eric Tan and I..he is my very good and long time friend…
|
I can see happy faces in this happy occasion. May Arya Tara blessed these couples and may they live in Dharma.
It was a simple, informal ceremony but simply beautiful; from the set up of the lovely flowers as offerings to the Three Jewels by Kechara Blooms to the actual blessing ceremony. It was a small yet very intimate affair. Later, all guests were invited to a cocktail reception at KC Lounge with sumptious food catered by Kechara Oasis. Yes,everything was done inhouse! Congratulations to Colin and his beautiful wife!
Congratulations to the beautiful couple and wishing you much happiness, joy, peace and love together for the rest of your lives, always and always! Thank you for choosing Kechara as the sacred place of your marriage – it was such a beautiful ceremony and I was very honoured to have been able to be there to witness it.
Much love xxx
This wedding ceremony simple and profound. In between the ceremony, Rinpoche gave a very short and sweet Dharma for the new couple and also for all of us. A beautiful relationship should be respect, care and tolerance each other. It is so lucky can invite high lama like Tsem Rinpoche conducted the whole wedding ceremony.
I hope Colin and Sharon will get a wonderful relationship in their life, help each other in spiritual journey too
Congratulations Colin and Sharon! May you be always blessed by the Three Jewels and have wedded bliss.
Congratulations to the newly wed !
May you be happy, support and cherish each other always.
This wedding blessing event by Rinpoche paves the way for such future events.
Kechara House (KH) has been registered to register marriages and two of its pastors, pastor Ngeow and pastor Chia have been approved by the government ministry to conduct wedding ceremonies. Pastor Ngeow presides over in English and pastor Chia in Mandarin.
For couples who only wish to register themselves, KH do provide the services too. For more details, call: 603 78033908 or visit http://www.kechara.com/kh
Congratulations to the beautiful blessed couple and their families!
This should be everyone’s dream wedding – simple yet meaningful. Rinpoche not only blessed the newly wedded couple, he gave them advise on how to nurture a happy relationship that applies to all of us.
Congratulations to Colin and Sharon, may your family be blessed by the three jewels always.
Congratulations! May the both of you be filled with happiness, love, understanding, peace and healthy always! May you spiritual paths grow together as well!
Congratulations to the newly wed and their family.
It’s a great idea and wonderful to have a blessing ceremony in Kechara House.
Rinpoche personally composed a Buddhist manual for the wedding ceremony and will be used for all future wedding blessing ceremony.
More and more couples and family members are looking for spiritual blessing at this modern day.
May the Colin, Sharon and the family members have a wonderful relationship and a fruitful spiritual journey.
Congratulations Colin & Sharon. Both of you are the first couple to be married in our New Gompa. The setting was beautiful and the ceremony very elegantly composed and conducted by Rinpoche.
I wish you both happiness and a great life together.
Happy to see Colin and Sharon blessed by Rinpoche, may Mother Tara blessed both newly wedded and all couples.
Congratulations Colin & Sharon! May you both always be blessed with joy, peace & love and walk the spiritual journey together! Rejoice!
Congratulations to Colin and Sharon! It is a blessing from Rinpoche and Arya Tara for the newly wed couples.
Congratulaions to Colin & Sharon!
May both of you always be blessed by the 3 Jewels and happy always
Dear Rinpoche, thanking for gracing the occasion and the wonderful ceremony for Colin. I believe he will hold the vows he made in front of his guru and Lord Tsong Kapa. Thank you for your blessings.
Lastly, thank you for always keeping us in mind,we are lucky to have met you, my dearest guru. May you live a really long life. Buddha bless.
Congratulations to Colin & Sharon!
Rejoice! May you all be blessed by the Three Jewels and have a wonderful life.
It was a beautiful ceremony. Very blissful and the advice Rinpoche gave to the newly wed couple applies to all of us. To be harmonious and be tolerate with each other. Always remember why we wanted to get married in the first place.
Congratulations to Colin and Sharon and also to the parents. May they have a wonderful life together as a couple.
May there be more wedding ceremonies being held in Kechara as it is really a blessing. Kechara Pastors are also certified to perform wedding ceremonies.
Dato Eric Tan, a longtime friend cum faithful student of Rinpoche, whose son was holding the wedding ceremony in Kechara House, requesting Rinpoche to conduct the ceremony and give blessing to the newlyweds. The ceremony was followed by a short Dharma talk on the “Secrets” of a longlasting marriage given by Rinpoche. During the ceremony, Arya Tara was invoked to bestow blessings for a longlasting marriage on the blissfull couple, and most importantly, for the coupleto be ableto travel in a spiritual journey together. The ceremony ended with a cocktail reception at Kechara Care lounge. Many heartiest wishes and congratulations to the happy couple and their families.
Congratulations Colin and Sharon. May both of you have a wonderful relationship and support each other in your spiritual journey. May you both be blessed by Mother Tara.
Very Sweet, wonderful.
We all have such a warped sense of what it means to be in a marriage. And the media and the world at large does not help. I am in gratitude to Rinpoche who paints the real picture of how marriage can be as well and what is expected of us. If we aren’t going to be better for each other, improve the marriage wont be anything made in heaven more like purgatory or hell. And being married is not the end or ultimate objective in our lives. A higher motivation to be alive would be to bring benefit and happiness to others.
What a blessed couple and family! Congratulations and may you have a happy marriage and harmonious partnership on your spiritual journey together!
Sean in Shanghai
[...] 克切拉讲法师职责包括了主持佛法课程（《菩提道次第广论》佛学班）、星期天祈福会、结婚仪式、儿童洗礼、屋子洒净、度亡法会、提供辅导、皈依戒、戒律及回答网上提问。 每周日，讲法师都会负责主持星期天祈福会 [...]