Albert and Novi's wedding

I'm always behind on this blog. Last weekend was exciting. We went to the wedding of Albert Teoh and Novi! I'm sure that quite a few people reading this blog know Albert! Sha and I started the day by gutting some fish that Yu Meng had brought around (apparently his landlord had gone fishing and caught heaps of fish). Sha then cooked an amazing fish dish. On the way to the bus stop we stopped by the largest mushroom that I've ever seen!

We arrived early into the city, had some coffee and then ambled through China Town to the Bodhikusuma Buddhist and Meditation Centre where the wedding was being held.

It was great to meet up with Albert's parents again! I've just discovered that "Theravada (pronounced — more or less — "terra-VAH-dah"), the "Doctrine of the Elders," is the school of Buddhism that draws its scriptural inspiration from the Tipitaka, or Pali canon, which scholars generally agree contains the earliest surviving record of the Buddha's teachings." We all sat on cushions on the floor and were provided with a book of the text (like a service book in a Church). The text was in Pali: "a dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan that was probably spoken in central India during the Buddha's time." Dick and I gave up trying to achieve inner peace whilst sitting on the cushions and started to study the language. The help guide to the language was interesting: "`bh' are pronounced with `h' sound immediately following, as in blockhead, pighead, fathead, loghead, etc."

We had been told by Albert beforehand not to wear short skirts in case we upset the monks. They came in at the start of the ceremony and sat on a raised platform on the side of the hall. Then the various family members arrived. Novi's family is from Indonesia and so it was a very multi-cultural wedding!

It's going to be hard to describe the ceremony. The lady in charge read the wedding ceremony and chanted from the book. Albert, Novi and their parents lit candles and provided gifts to the monks etc. We all got splashed with water from the monks. The vows were interesting. Albert said something similar to "Towards my wife I undertake to love and respect her, be kind and considerate, be faithful and present gifts to please her." Afterwards Novi vowed something like "she'll look after their earnings and make sure that there are no arguments between the two families"!

Oh dear ... I hope that if Albert reads this blog he'll actually be able to say exactly how the ceremony was carried out. I recall that he and Novi got wrapped up in a blanket. The monks chanted producing an amazing sound. Rings were exchanged. Actually, it seemed an interesting mix of a Western-style wedding (white dress, rings, the words of the Australian legal wedding ceremony ...) with the East (incense, chanting, monks ...)

After the ceremony finished we all went downstairs where the room had been set up for a huge banquet. It was great. We chatted with the various people on our table, congratulated Novi and Albert, listened to the speeches and a few songs, watched a powerpoint presentation(! - typical computer guy) that Albert and Novi had prepared about themselves (!) and then ... it was over. A great wedding!!

On the way home, Sha discovered a Japanese gaming place where, in theory, you could win lots of cuddly, cartoon characters. Even with a careful scientific study of the machines, I didn't succeed in getting her one.

I'd better stop now. Sha's cooking fish with chilli. Actually I think that it's more like chilli with a little fish. Today we're having a rest. Tomorrow Sha's coming along to the Beecroft concert to hear me attempt the Carnival of the Animals on piano and cello!