The 1.30pm show started with emcees: Roy and Jia Le introducing BWM’s annual Joyous Rhapsody, organized by our Arts and Culture Department. Roy hosted both shows in English while Jia Le hosted in Chinese for Show 1 and Zhi Yi did so for Show 2. The 2 shows received a total viewership of 602+. Rejoice to the 104 performers and 44 volunteers.

The theme of this year’s Joyous Rhapsody is “The Navigator of Our Infinite Lives”. On the 16th of June 2024, we embarked on a journey to show gratitude towards Buddha’s supreme teachings and rejoice upon one another’s learnings and offerings in the concert performances.

In Show 2, we had the honour of Minister for Health and Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, Minister Ong Ye Kung to grace the occasion. He joined in for the finale too… read on to find out more!

For first performance, we had the Auspicious Buddhist Hymns Choir 吉祥佛曲组，all decked out in their glittery golden dresses with flowers in their hands as part of their beautiful vocal and aesthetic offerings. Rejoice for offering the best splendour to the Triple Gems. The ladies performed 2 songs, The Beauty of Bliss and Wisdom 福智美 and Ode to Joy 欢乐颂. We definitely felt and saw the beauty of Insightful Praises during their performances.

The next performers; Auspicious Joyous Choir Section 吉祥欢唱组. Geared in smart black formal wear and colourful neckties, this choir gracefully presented the Insightful Praises that depicts our yearning for the Triple Gems. This group also had a costume change for the 4.30pm show! Their second outfit had matching yellow glitzy show ribbons and neck ties. 

Holding up their hands in part of their choreography for Hold My Hand Tight 拉紧我的手, we could feel our mind and body being blessed by the Triple Gems and lineage masters. The next song they performed was the popular and well-received song  跟上文殊行 where the audience, new or familiar with the song, all clapped to the melody.

After a marvellous performance from the Auspicious Joyous Choir Section, we had our Auspicious Xin Pin Chinese Orchestra 吉祥心品华乐团 performing a joint-piece with the Auspicious Joyous Choir Section 吉祥欢唱组, a first in Joyous Rhapsody history.

The songs were Praise of the Lotus Metaphor (2) 莲花喻赞 2 and The Orchid’s Fragrance Drifts 兰若飘香. The live orchestra accompaniment blended seamlessly with the choir group. Creatinh a beautiful musical collaboration. The second song featured a soloist with the orchestra. The soloist's voice was so effortlessly powerful and endearing. A heartwarming tune that you could feel The Orchid’s Fragrance Drifts 兰若飘香 (solo collab) into the Hall of Jewels!! What a magnificent end to their performance and a beautiful virtual setting for the next group of performers.

The next group of performers also had 2 sets of outfits for the 2 shows. 赞颂一班 wore black and white suits with colourful scarves for the 1.30pm show and sequin ties to showcase their energy at the 4.30pm show!!!! 🤩Just like their outfits, they sounded clean yet bright. They performed 3 Insightful Praises with beautiful harmony; Such a Wonderful Life of Leisure and Opportunity 暇满人身多美好，The Zither and The Sword 琴剑，Illuminating the Ocean of our Hearts 照彻心海. Just like the lyrics in the Insightful Praises, with folded palms, we pledge to follow the path to our Teachers. Our faith towards our excellent Teachers, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas is something wondrous. For the power it generates allows us to overcome countless predicaments, as if there is inexhaustible strength.

Up next, we had HeyDay CO, our BWM youth Chinese Orchestra. They performed 2 Insightful Praises: Ode to Liberation 放生颂 and Longing 思念. Ode to Liberation 放生颂 featured 3 Guzhengs that captured the playfulness and liveliness of sentient beings that cherish lives and yearns to be free. Longing 思念 we heard 2 Erhu and piano accompaniment that encapsulates the longing we have for our Gurus through the beautiful melodies.

After HeyDay CO, we had The Odds joining them for Insightful Praise The Bright Full Moon 一轮明月. The performance had an oriental yet vivid sound from the different instruments that weaved 一轮明月 together. We are so fortunate to be able to hear such heavenly tunes and guidance from our Gurus.

After the collaboration performance, we heard 3 more songs from The Odds. A musical medley:

三世诸佛为一父+相思湖畔组曲, No Better Than This and 相心. All very youthful performances by our BWM Youths. Their talented drummer is only 16 years old!! 相心 is a devotional compositional piece written by one of our Lamrim students who wanted to write about their progress and gratitude to our Gurus. It is a modern and fun performance through and through. The Odds also invited our Director of the English Dharma Propagation Department – Miss Jiang Yuling to share the stage with them to perform this song. 

The final performing group was none other than the YAZERS 乐者 who performed 4 Insightful Praises. All so dear to our Teacher’s and BWM students’ hearts.

In this moment (English version) for our English speaking audience to be in awe of our Teacher’s care and wise words for us. 

You are by my side; an English and Chinese Insightful Praise described our Guru’s love for us, like how a mother would love her child. As it was also Father’s Day on 16 June 2024 (Sunday), YAZERS 乐者 replaced “妈妈” in the lyrics with “爸爸” to dedicate the song to all fathers in the audience. It was also dedicated to our VIP, Minister Ong Ye Kung who graced the 4.30pm concert! 

The next song Awakening 醒觉 is an energetic remake of the Insightful Praise. The Prayer 祈祷 is the theme song of this year’s Joyous Rhapsody. We ended the show with an encore of The Prayer 祈祷 where we got everyone in the audience to sing along!

During the encore, we invited Minister Ong to sing The Prayer 祈祷 with us. BWM’s Chinese Dharma Propagation Department, Director – Miss Yen Qianyong, presented the bouquet to Minister Ong. Just like our fathers who dedicated their lives to our well-being, Minister Ong has also cared for the welfare of our Sembawang community! Thus, on this special day, BW Monastery presented Minister Ong with this token of our appreciation.

Minister Ong shared the honour with the pioneer generation of leaders and all fathers. He extended his heartfelt gratitude to all fathers present. He also mentioned that BW Monastery has made very meaningful contributions to the local community too.

We are thankful to all who attended the concert as well as to all the volunteers and performers who made the concert possible. Most importantly, we would like to thank our lineage masters, the Triple Gems, for bestowing us with the perfect teachings of the Buddha. 

2024年6月16日是期待已久的吉祥悦，今年的主题是【生命的领航者】。大家带着满满的欢喜心，愉悦的观赏着舞台上阳光灿烂、活力四射的演出。

一点半的节目主持人是我们的两位年轻有为的主持人， 陈子豪(Roy) 和 王家乐 ；开始先介绍吉祥悦是由吉祥宝聚寺的文化艺术处所呈献的! 子豪是我们两场的英文司仪而家乐是一点半的中文司仪。第二场的中文司仪由黄芝仪来主持。两场一共接引了六百多位观众，我们也非常随喜我们的104位表演者和44位义工。

今年2024年6月16日的吉祥悦，我们跟着【生命的领航者】主题一起搭乘一个感恩佛陀的圆满清净教法和随喜善友们陪伴的艳丽演出。

四点半的演出我们邀请到了特别嘉宾 - 王乙康部长（现任新加坡国会三巴旺集选区议员、新加坡卫生部长）。

第一组表演者是吉祥佛曲组，穿上靓丽、闪亮的连衣裙，手上捧着一束花，她们又供花又供养美丽的裙子和嗓子！太欢喜太优美了！吉祥佛曲组唱了两首赞颂：《福智美》和《欢乐颂》。观众们也欢喜的和她们一起颂。

第二组吉祥欢唱组在第一场穿上了帅气的黑白西装和多彩的丝巾，这一组赞了《拉紧我的手》和《跟上文殊行》。这两首都显示出我们佛弟子对师长向往的心，向往生生世世拉紧他们的手和跟上文殊行。在第二场的演出吉祥欢唱组加上了一件黑色的正式外套，让观众们刮目相看！吉祥欢唱组也跟着赞颂的乐曲配了一些舞蹈来带动两首赞颂。大家彷佛都感受到师长紧拉着我的手，一起拍手跟上文殊行的激动！

接下来加入吉祥心品华乐团与吉祥欢唱组一起演奏。这是吉祥悦有史以来的第一个共创。好吉祥、好悦耳动听的合作。

他们带给我们的赞颂是《莲花喻赞二》和 《兰若飘香》。莲花喻赞二让听众们被乐器和合唱团的无缝整合赞叹不绝！第二首《兰若飘香》有张凤玉师姐做独唱者，而乐团的伴奏无缝融合了独唱者优美的音声。在场的观众仿佛都闻到了兰若的飘香！两首歌为现场留下了美好的氛围！

到了第五个项目时我们的赞颂一班也让我们看到了服装秀，一点半的演出他们穿了多姿多彩的围巾和领带，在四点半的那场他们戴了闪闪发亮的金色围巾，就为了把最好的供养给三宝和观众。就如他们多姿多彩的配搭，他们非常有活力的唱出三首赞颂：《暇满人生多美好》，《琴剑》，《照彻心海》。随着这三首赞颂，观众和赞颂一班一同合掌🙏 唱出了佛弟子对师长的忆念和感恩的心：瑕满人生多美好！感恩师长赐给我们的琴剑来斩断我们的烦恼，祈求师长照彻我们的心海和永久的摄护！

吉祥悦的最后三个表演有吉祥寺年轻有为的乐团、流行组合和合唱团。第一组是HeyDay 华乐团用古筝带给我们 《放生颂》和《思念》。由古筝演奏的放生颂内函带出很珍惜生命的众生和小鱼儿的精神。思念这首赞颂透由二胡和钢琴奏出了优美的旋律，也带出了我们对师长思念的情怀。

HeyDay 华乐团的演奏了两首曲子后，The Odds美妙的音声加入了他们，一起带着观众唱《一轮明月》。即复古又现代的音乐声把一轮明月赞颂映入观众的心间。可以听到如此的天籁之音，都是因为我们师长的恩赐，给予我们的引导与加持！

HeyDay 华乐团 和 The Odds 的共创演出后，The Odds 再次唱了三个表演：《三世诸佛为一父》+《相思湖畔组曲》, No Better Than This 和 《相心》。多才多艺的The Odds有一位16岁的鼓手！他们也表演一首广论同学写的词曲《相心》，这位同学就想把佛弟子对于师长的心给唱出来才写这首歌。The Odds 也邀请了英文弘法部的处长-- 江钰玲处长，和他们一起用英文把这首歌一同唱。

吉祥悦的压轴是大家都熟悉的乐者！乐者唱了四首赞颂：《在这个时候》（英文版），You are by my side，醒觉和祈祷。《在这个时候》（英文版）让在坐的英文同学也感受到真如老师透过赞颂想要带给我们的安慰和鼓励。而 ”You Are By My Side” 有英文和中文的歌词还有活泼的旋律唱出师长的爱护如母亲对于孩子一般。而2024年6月16日刚好是是父亲节，乐者巧妙地把歌词里的“妈妈”都换成“爸爸”，也把这首歌献给观众里的父亲们和我们四点半场的嘉宾：王乙康部长！祝贺所有父亲们父情节快乐！

接下来是真如老师写的即柔和又缓慢的《醒觉》 - 让我们从痛苦的习气中醒觉。乐者保留了醒觉这首赞颂的感觉但用了不一样的方式来唱，把我们都唤醒了！精力充沛的乐者让快版的醒觉跳跃着进入我们的耳目，加快了心跳之余也被深深的感动！最后一首祈祷，也是今年吉祥悦的主题曲，让全场的演唱者和观众融在一起，在祈祷声中圆满了今年的演出。

在四点半的安可 (encore) ，王乙康部长也在台上和我们一起唱赞颂，过后还为演唱者加油和说鼓励的话，并祝所有的父亲父亲节快乐。中文部的处长-- 袁迁泳代表吉祥寺献花给王乙康部长，也祝他父亲节快乐。王乙康部长说他很很感恩吉祥宝聚寺在三巴旺区的贡献和创造和睦的社区给这里的居民。吉祥寺也很感谢有王乙康部长的关注和支持，让我们能继续在三巴旺区造福人群，为社区作小小的贡献。

最后，我们也要感恩所有护持吉祥悦台前幕后的义工们和演出者让演出圆满。更要感谢我们的传承祖师们、三宝、师长把清净圆满的教法赐给我们。