Steamboat Reunion Lunch for Chinese New Year ( 21 January 2023)

Reported by Ven. Saksith Sounthone

The Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is a significant celebration for the Chinese communities worldwide. It is also one of the most important holiday sessions of the year. Therefore, people who work far away from their hometowns will take this opportunity to return home and spend time with their families.
In conjunction with the occasion, IBC organized a special steamboat reunion lunch on 21st January 2023 at 11:15a.m. in the big dining room. All IBC residents including Sangha members, Professors, Lecturers, Staff and Students participated in this meaningful gathering. The objective for this event is to foster better relationship among the members in order to create a conducive and harmonious atmosphere for all to stay.
The organizing team worked harmoniously and helped each other in many aspects to ensure the event could achieve the objective. Preparation work such as venue setting, decorations, food purchasing etc. were done beforehand. On the day, besides Thai food prepared by our cooks, Sis. Yali and Sis. Usha with their team members also cooked dumplings and “Pajon” -Chakma traditional dish respectively. The team members were very supportive and they worked happily. We also had a variety of food such as vegetables, noodles, rice cake, sweets, mandarins, drinks and other goodies. All members enjoyed the food very much.
The celebration started with a simple Tibetan chanting by Ven. Khenpo Rangdrol followed by his good wishes for all. After that, Prof. Kapila delivered a short speech by emphasizing the importance of the function in creating a better and more conducive environment for all IBC members to stay. He added that in fact all human beings wish for happiness in their lives. Both speakers also wished all participants “Happy Chinese New Year” and to be happy and healthy throughout the year at the end of their speeches. We started our reunion lunch after chanting led by Ven. Saksith in the Theravada tradition. Following lunch, we had a lucky draw for all members and 12 gifts were presented to the lucky winners. Another happy moments was shared by Dr. Fa Qing when he gave red packets to all members and wishes us “Happy Chinese New Year”.
The event ended at 12:30p.m. with the transference of merits to all sentient beings. It is indeed a happy event and memorable gathering for all IBC family members. Last but not least, we wished to thank all respected members for joining this auspicious reunion lunch event. I also would like to express my gratitude to the organizing team and students for making this meaningful gathering a great success.