Spirituality in Singapore

It is easy to think of Singapore as an artificial place driven by commerce and economic growth, with little culture and no soul. Yet, there is spirituality in Singapore. To find one manifestation of it (in a non-religious form), you must wake up early and take a walk on a Saturday or Sunday morning in the Botanical Gardens.

Asian spirituality tends to blend physical and spiritual elements, in harmony with nature. You can see this in the meditations of Japanese and Chinese Zen Buddhists, the yoga exercises of Indians, the Chinese Tai Chi and the Chinese and Japanese martial arts. All these disciplines stress harmonious development of body and soul and a reverence for nature.

Those spiritual exercises were practiced in the beautiful setting of the Botanical Gardens this morning, in spite of almost suffocating heat and humidity.

A group of Tai Chi practitioners


A private Tai Chi lesson ...


A study in immobility. This group of men and women, arranged in a marching phalanx of three rows, remained completely immobile in this pose, with their eyes closed, for perhaps as long as ten minutes.


Then, they moved their arms and hands in slow motion, describing curves in the air in front of them, Tai Chi style, with their bodies still frozen in the initial position.


Slowly they moved a foot up to start their march ...


and then, following the rythm of music from a portable CD player carried by a man at the back of the group, they advanced balancing their heads and arms from right to left.


Two members of the same group remained behind, preferring to continue their practice of immobility, completely frozen and glued to the ground.


Men practiced a version of Tai Chi with swords ...


and women too.


A woman, dressed in a loose light blue silk outfit, was leading a group of men and women arrayed behind her in calesthenics involving only arm movements. Complete serenity and harmony with her environment emanated from her slow movements.


Two women (mother or grandmother and daughter or grand-daughter?) simply enjoyed spending a few moments in this haven of beauty and calm in the middle of busy Singapore, simply sitting on a bench ...


A woman walked her dog, under the protection of a colorful umbrella ...


A toddler rushed to the edge of a fountain's basin and her mother quickly caught up with him and crouched next to him, laying a protective hand on his back to make sure that he would not fall.


A woman, after a jog perhaps, or before, stood in a meditative pose, absorbed in the contemplation of a beautifully landscaped fountain ...


A wonderful way to start the day.