Three Steps, One Bow
By Richard Seah
18 May 2008
Three Steps One Bow is a Buddhist ritual performed on Vesak Day - which marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha - at the Bright Hill Temple in Singapore.
Devotees walk three steps forward and take a deep bow with the forehead touching the ground. They rise, take another three steps forward and another bow... and repeat the process, chanting as they make their way around the vast temple grounds.
Thousands take part. A friend of mine who did had to queue up for two hours to wait her turn. She then took another one and a half hours to complete this little pilgrimage, which, for her, signified suffering, endurance and humility.
My first visit to Bright Hill Temple was in the early 1980s. I have forgotten which year exactly, but I remember well the chant, punctuated by the shrill of a high-pitched bell, as I approached the temple. I remember being utterly fascinated at my first glimpse of this ritual...
I have two memorable pictures from that first visit.
One is of this lady in the main picture, which I title 'One bow'.
She did not fall prostrate to the ground, but merely bowed to about 90 degrees. The few others who, like her, did not bow all the way down were old. She wasn't. Somehow, I had a feeling she was unwell. Even without looking at the photograph, I can still see the perspiration on her face.
The regularity of the ritual made it relatively easy to photograph. I took three steps forward with her to take a shot, and then another three steps to take yet another. I followed her for nine steps altogether. Happily, this shot captured a bright glow in the background that enhanced the image. This remains one of my favourite photographs.
My other memorable photograph of Three Steps One Bow in the early 1980s was of the shaven head of a monk, with his hands open in prayer.
Back then, the ritual seemed a more colourful affair. Devotees were divided into groups of about a hundred each and they walked three abreast, like a long marching platoon. Each group would be led by one monk with three or more other monks immediately behind him, all dressed in saffron robes. Behind them would be another small group of devotees dressed in black robes, followed by a larger group in regular, civilian clothing.
I don't see this anymore. What I see now are mostly people in pants and T-shirts, with the occasional few in black robes. I suspect this is because the ritual has been brought forward to start from late night on the eve of Vesak, so that the groups at the tail end would not be subject to the heat of the late morning sun. And so, by the time I reached the temple in the morning, I managed only to catch the last few groups that were not led by monks.
In fact, of late I had not been too lucky with Vesak Day photography. After my first visit in the early 1980s, I kept wanting to go back but never did so until 2003.
That year was significant for me, for it marked my return to photography after a break of about 10 years. And I thought what better occasion to mark my return than Vesak. Even though I am not Buddhist (I grew up Catholic), the ritual during Vesak had always fascinated me.
I was eager to make my comeback. I even bought a new zoom lens for the occasion. My earlier one had become unusable after 10 years of neglect - the rubber / plastic lens casing had melted!
It was not meant to be. The event was cancelled due to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). I had to wait another year...
In 2004, the ritual was almost ended by the time I reached the temple, even though I wasn't all that late. I had to wait yet another year.
In 2005 I made sure I went early, reaching the temple before sunrise. I felt my pictures of were not as outstanding as those from the early 1980s, but a few were still pretty good, including one of a devotee reflected on the wet floor, and another showing the feet of a monk.
In 2006, I captured an update of One Bow - the same pose, but a younger girl with straight hair that covered most of her face as she bowed, leaving barely enough gaps among the strands to reveal parts of her mouth and eyes.
It could have made a great image - if not for the camera shake. Thankfully, I do have another good image from that year, of a young girl with bright pink painted fingernails.
In 2007, my camera malfunctioned after half a roll of film :-( Oh well. I believe one of the teachings of Buddhism is about letting go...
But, surprise, surprise! When I took another look at the 2007 images, I realised I did have a good one, of a father and son praying together.
It is now May 19, Vesak Day 2008, just past midnight.
I am having a severe back ache as I write this. Shall I make my way to the Bright Hill Temple in the morning again? Or should I let go?
UPDATE: I decided to go down to the Temple again, my backache notwithstanding.
I had not originally meant to add to this series, but could not resist just this one, which shows the distraction of modern technology.
I title it: Three Texts, No Bow!
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In May 1977, two American Buddhist monks, Heng Sure and Heng Cha'u, performed the Three Steps One Bow over more than 800 miles, from Pasadena in Los Angeles to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talmage, north of San Francisco.
The journey took them two years and nine months to complete. Along the way, they endured beer bottles and eggs thrown at them, they also experienced generosity and compassion from having meals offered by strangers to them everyday.
3 responses
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William Chu said (16 Oct 2008):
This is an excellent essay....beautifully depicting a fascinating local culture.
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simone teixeira said (25 Oct 2008):
°º° love it - got my vote!
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wonderful
