sep/oct 2015 MCI (P) 078/02/2015 Thank You for Inspiring Us, Khen Rinpoche!

Transcription

1 sep/oct 2015 MCI (P) 078/02/ Thank You for Inspiring Us, Khen Rinpoche!

2 Amitabha Buddhist Centre is a centre for the study and practice of Mahayana, based on the tradition of Lama Tsong Khapa, in the lineage of Lama Thubten Yeshe and our Spiritual Director, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. OUR VISION Learn to Be Happy Courage to cherish all Wisdom to see the truth Faith in Buddha s peace Follow Our Four-fold Path Inspire Connect Learn Practise SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche RESIDENT TEACHER Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi PRESIDENT Starting with this issue, we bring you the developing story of a monumental event unfolding at Amitabha Buddhist Centre the upcoming arrival of our Thousand-Arm Chenresig statue. Tan Hup Cheng 2 3 SPIRITUALPROGRAMME COORDINATOR Ven. Tenzin Gyurme CENTRE MANAGER Koh Zi Yen Good news! ABC has reproduced Lama Zopa Rinpoche s oral transmission of the Golden Light Sutra on audio CD. The CD is now available on our Free Publications shelves at Level 1. Share the gift of this sublime sutra with your friends, family and anyone who can benefit. The CD is produced on MP3 format and can be played on computers or compatible multimedia stereos. It is almost a year since I travelled to the Australian outback to attend a monthlong retreat led by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In the first two weeks of that retreat held inside the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo, Rinpoche gave the oral transmission of the Golden Light Sutra, finishing on 10 th October Almost every day, sometimes over several sessions, even when showing the aspect of being fatigued or unwell, Rinpoche pressed on to complete the lung in Tibetan. His recitation was interspersed with commentary that impressed upon us the great import of the sutra. To further emphasise how important the sutra was, Rinpoche gave special permission for people who were not present in the audience, who were watching the live webcast of the teachings elsewhere, to receive the oral transmission as well. Sometimes, Rinpoche would share stories about the powerful effects of the sutra. On one occasion, Rinpoche said he was invited to a meal at a benefactor s house in Malaysia. As he was about to eat, Rinpoche suddenly developed a toothache. He thought of the Golden Light Sutra and almost immediately, the pain subsided! Prepare to Behold the Great Compassionate One Our Chenresig Statue Is Coming It has been a long 16-year wait since the idea of having a Chenresig statue on ABC s altar was planted by our precious guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. That wait is nearly over as we anticipate the arrival of our Thousand-Arm Chenresig statue in late September. The statue of Arya Avalokiteshvara, with eleven faces and a thousand arms, standing on a lotus and flanked by a towering aura, will be shipped to Singapore all the way from England where it has gradually been taking shape since its genesis under the skilful hands of the artists, Peter and Denise Griffin. The arrival of this magnificent statue at ABC is just the beginning of a major installation project. Accompanied by Peter Griffin, the statue will arrive in unassembled and unfinished sections. An estimated three months will be required to carefully complete its construction on-site. The next stage of work includes the meticulous detail of painting all the parts with the thousand arms and a thousand eyes and carefully assembling the entire display piece by piece on our main altar in the Level 2 gompa. When completed, this exquisite monument to bodhicitta will take centre stage on the large marble altar. A two-metre wide base will be built to hold the lotus seat. When placed atop the lotus, the standing figure of Chenresig will extend to a height of three metres (ten feet). Office staff Administration - Alicia Lee Operations - Denis Kwan retail - Serene Tan OFFICE HOURS Open daily except Mondays Tuesdays Saturdays: am 6 pm Sundays: 10 am 6 pm (Hours extended to 7.30 pm when evening sessions are scheduled) AMITABHA BUDDHIST CENTRE 44 Lorong 25A Geylang Singapore Tel: Fax: centre@fpmtabc.org Rinpoche recalled: Just by remembering the Golden Light Sutra, the pain went away. It was quite a thing. It proved to my mind that the Golden Light Sutra has power. Rinpoche gave the oral transmission based on the condensed 21-chapter text. There are more extensive versions than this. As it happens, this 21-chapter version is the only one that has been translated into English. Rinpoche s recitation, rapid at times, is not to be taken in common with ordinary music or speech. The purpose is to hear the sound of the holy Dharma, issuing forth from the perfectly qualified Mahayana teacher, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. At a lengthy 3 hours 48 minutes, the CD recording can be played continuously or in parts, whatever time permits. It is highly beneficial even if played softly in one s environment. This might be one way for the recitation to help those who are sick, or any house pets. As Rinpoche explains: This text is very precious; it brings peace and happiness and is very powerful to stop violence. It gives incredible protection to the country from violence, etc. By hearing this text, one s karma gets purified. Read more of The Immeasurable Benefits of the Golden Light Sutra in TASHI DELEK Mar/Apr 2015 at Lama Zopa Rinpoche s vision for our Chenresig statue is based on the Nyung Nay merit field, depicted in this thangka.

3 A draft showing the statue s position on the altar, surrounded by the Nyung Nay lineage lamas, that was presented to Lama Zopa Rinpoche in The variegated lotus itself will be 39 centimetres high, about 15 inches. All of us at ABC are immensely fortunate to be the beneficiaries of this incredible statue that fulfils the holy wishes of our guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and that has manifested out of the generosity of many sponsors and the centre itself. All those who served in the Executive Committee throughout 4 these years of waiting and journey that will soon deliver the 5 deliberating, have played a part in the long-drawn process of nudging along the statue s development. According to our president, Tan Hup Cheng, the task of creating this Chenresig statue surpassed the challenges faced in building our seven-storey property. Having undertaken many aspects of the groundwork and borne the setbacks in the course of turning Rinpoche s vision into reality, he is highly elated at the prospect of the statue s impending completion. We bring you Hup Cheng s perspective of the compassionate form of Chenresig to us. The completion of this statue for the centre is a very special, glowing, heartfelt experience of intense happiness, the manifestation of pure compassionate energy of the Buddha inseparable from our precious guru Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche residing at ABC, in our hearts, for eons to come, mind blowing. This is much, much, much more than a statue. It is a manifestation of the Buddha s pure compassion, for every single living being, and leading them to enlightenment, just like our guru. Tan Hup Cheng Tan Hup Cheng: The idea of having a Thousand-Arm Chenresig statue for ABC s main altar arose from the great compassionate wisdom of our precious guru Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. As early as 1999, after the centre s land was purchased, Rinpoche had advised that we should build a Thousand- Arm Chenresig statue for the altar. He had checked and found that the divine compassionate image of Chenresig would resonate very well with the hearts and minds of our mostly Singaporean and Asian students. In our guru s mind, this image was to be none other than the Chenresig of the Nyung Nay lineage. This powerful holy image will allow practitioners to purify eons of negative karma and collect skies of merit, and be led to enlightenment quickly, in the words of our guru. In addition, after the main statue is completed, above the main statue on the beam, three-dimensional images of the Nyung Nay lineage lamas floating on clouds will be constructed. This will be indeed a rare wish-fulfilling jewel for all who come to pray at ABC, especially while doing the Nyung Nay practice. The search for a prototype for the main statue started during Lama Zopa Rinpoche s visit to ABC in Rinpoche sent me to look at various Chenresig statues. We looked at existing statues in Kathmandu, Dharamsala, Singapore and China, but finally Rinpoche asked that we construct a replica of the Thousand-Arm Chenresig statue of the nunnery in Puli, near Taichung in Taiwan. We employed an IT engineering company to 3D-scan the Puli statue, with the idea of replicating it exactly and that could be scaled up to the size we want. However after the work was done, the test reproduction sample images did not come up to the quality expected. So we came to the conclusion that the statue had to be constructed by hand, from scratch. We had earlier approached Denise and Peter Griffin, an English couple who are very talented statue artists, who had constructed the beautiful Thousand-Arm Chenresig statue in Puli in 2008, but they were not available to take on the project due to other commitments then. It was only in November 2013, after an unsuccessful search for alternative artists, that we approached Denise and Peter again, and Buddha bless them, they were available to take on our project of constructing the Thousand-Arm Chenresig. Work started in January 2014, and a prototype was made. On consultation with Rinpoche, extensive modifications were made to the lotus, aura, body and facial features, which took more time and effort. The statue is made from a very durable synthetic resin material that will last a hundred years and beyond. It is painted in multi-colours. We will be using real gilded jewel ornaments and zirconia gemstones for the crown, earrings, necklaces, anklets, arm bracelets and waist belt. This image will smile benignly and look at us with eyes of compassion, bestowing great blessings. We are delighted that after this long and difficult journey to build the holy image of Chenresig, we are about to see the rainbow. The statue parts are due to be flown in by September and assembly will take place in October after the Medicine Buddha Healing Festival. Completion is planned for January May we all bask in the golden rays of the sun of Thousand-Arm Chenresig! OM MANI PADME HUM

4 The Benefits of Making Statues With the anticipated arrival and completion of our Thousand-Arm Chenresig statue, here is a teaching by Lama Zopa Rinpoche explaining why holy objects are important and why it is necessary to have them. Ha ving faith in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, we have the opportunity to accumulate inconceivable merit, to create the cause of enlightenment for oneself and for other sentient beings equalling the infinite sky, by making holy objects and by making offerings to these holy objects. has just started in the West there is not so much regard for holy objects. In countries where is established, especially Mahayana Buddhist countries such as Tibet and Nepal, much effort is put into creating many conditions for oneself and others to accumulate merit by actualising holy objects. In those countries, everybody, whether great yogis, sangha or lay practitioners, puts effort into this way of accumulating merit for the self and so many other sentient beings. Other sentient beings also accumulate merit by making offerings to or circumambulating these holy objects. This is why these countries have so many holy objects: so many monasteries, so many stupas, so many statues. For example, sightseeing in Tibet is only a cause to purify and to accumulate merit because wherever you go you see only holy objects: statues, scriptures, yogis caves. Gradually, as you understand lamrim and especially the practice of Jorchö more and more, the more you see the importance of holy objects, not only for your own happiness but for the many benefits they bring to so many other sentient beings. With these holy objects, they create the cause of success and happiness. Because these holy objects exist, sentient beings make offerings to them, pray to them. This helps them to create the cause of happiness, and this is how they experience happiness up to the highest happiness of enlightenment. Because the temporary and ultimate happiness of yourself and others depends on the existence of holy objects, there is a purpose in making them. 6 7 Success in life generally depends on how much merit a person has accumulated, as does success in particular practices such as the Six Yogas of Naropa in order to achieve the ultimate happiness of liberation and enlightenment, especially enlightenment. The whole of one s success depends on how much merit one has accumulated. The whole question concerns merit, how much merit one has accumulated. To actualise bodhicitta, emptiness, tantra, or even the fundamental realisations of the lam-rim path, you have to be very fortunate, which means you have to have accumulated a lot of merit in the past. So it is wise to attempt to create the cause for success as much as possible in our everyday life. Manjushri asked Buddha, One Gone Beyond, now you are the only object to whom sentient beings can make offering. After you pass into the sorrowless state, what will sentient beings do? How will they accumulate merit when they can t see Buddha any more? Please advise us. Buddha answered, My four followers, there is not one single difference between making offerings to me now and in the future, with devotion, making offerings to my reflections. The merit is equal and the result is equal. The four followers refers specifically to the fully ordained monks, the fully ordained nuns, the getsuls and the getsulmas, the disciples closest to Buddha, but generally it includes all of us sentient beings who do not have the karma to see the actual living Buddha. We have only the karma to see Buddha s reflections: the symbolic representations of Buddha, such as statues, paintings and so forth. Buddha is saying that even though we cannot see the actual Buddha, if we make offerings to these holy objects symbolic of Buddha, the merit is equal to that of actually seeing Buddha and making offerings. It is not that the merit of those who met Shakyamuni Buddha in ancient times and were able to make offerings to him is more than that of offering merely to a statue of Buddha. The result is exactly the same. This is very important to understand and very important to remember in our daily life. When we offer our food and drink, when we make offerings on the altar, whenever we do the practice of offering in our everyday life, we should feel great happiness. Then Buddha said, This is due to the blessings of Buddha. This is the reality but ordinary beings whose minds are undeveloped cannot see these benefits. This is due to the blessings of Buddha, means that making offerings to statues has the same result due to the power of the holy object. Further reasons as to how the benefits of making offerings to Buddha and the statues of Buddha are the same are mentioned in the Guhyasamaja root text. Then it says, A stupa is a palace where all the Buddhas are abiding. So this is the same with a monastery. The benefits exist as long as the monastery exists. And also the benefits you receive equal the number of atoms of the stupa or monastery. You do not necessarily have to build a monastery. Building even one shrine room a place where Buddha abides, where holy objects of Buddha abide has many benefits. It s important to understand these benefits of the holy objects, the various opportunities we have to create the cause of happiness by accumulating extensive merit with these holy objects. The text says, Those sentient beings who do not have the fortune actually to meet the Buddha need the holy objects of body, speech and mind as the field in which to accumulate merit. These holy objects are necessary. The existence of Buddha s teachings for a long time depends on the existence of the holy objects of Buddha. The teachings exist in the mind so how can they depend for their existence on the existence of these external holy objects? You have to think about this, you have to understand this. It is not easy to have the teachings in the mind. To have the scriptural understanding and the realisations of the teachings is not easy. For these, you need to have a lot of merit. The most powerful merit one can accumulate, and accumulate so easily, is in relation to holy objects of Buddha. By making statues of Buddha and making offerings to statues of Buddha, one accumulates infinite, inconceivable merit that immediately becomes a cause of enlightenment. Every merit accumulated by making statues and by making offerings to statues immediately becomes the cause of enlightenment. Without doubt, every single one becomes a cause of enlightenment. By accumulating such infinite merit in this way, one is able to develop the mind, one is able to understand the teachings, one is able not only to attempt the practices of listening to, reflecting and meditating on the teachings but to complete them. All this has to come from merit. So you can see how the existence of the teachings for a long time depends on the existence of the holy objects. The existence and flourishing of the teachings depend on the existence of the holy objects. has started in the West only recently. Because one sees the problems of life, there is much desire for mind-peace, and this longing leads to much interest in meditation. This is common among Westerners. But because From a teaching given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Dharamsala in May 1990 courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive

5 Thank You for Inspiring Us, Khen Rinpoche! In honour of Khen Rinpoche s 53rd birthday, 200 members, students and friends came together on 26 th July to celebrate the day with a long life puja. Special guests from the FPMT centres in Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Triang joined in the celebration. The resident teacher of Losang Drakpa Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Geshe Jampa Tsöndru, graciously accepted our invitation to serve as the ritual master. Khen Rinpoche, modest and unassuming as always, said at the start of the puja that one need not think that the long life puja was just for him. One could make the long life offering to one s individual gurus, 8 especially to His Holiness the Dalai 9 Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. While the birthday celebration was elevated by the devotional practice of Lama Chöpa, the familiar norms of a birthday party were not forgotten: there were gifts, songs, a birthday cake, and a generous lunch buffet. Many students contributed towards an ornate silver-plated Dharmachakra that was offered to Khen Rinpoche during the ceremony, along with a host of other traditional offerings. The students later blended their voices with the Mudita choir in a heartfelt rendition of Not Anymore, a song composed for Khen Rinpoche. time in Kopan. This was before coming to ABC to attend the Basic Program. My good friend Catherine Lau saw that I had lost quite a bit of weight during those four weeks in Kopan and kindly invited me to join her for dinner with the late Lama Lhundrup. Other than the hot momo soup I remembered little of that dinner. Khen Rinpoche was also at the dinner. He was then a young monk and a monk of few words who spoke when spoken to by Lama Lhundrup. Almost ten years have passed and I am still here learning and discovering. What has kept me here? I share with you some of those inspiring moments and episodes which kept me coming back to class for more. There were times when going through the lesson transcripts, which average between five to nine pages, I noticed that maybe three points were covered, whilst the rest might be different analogies or elaborations, just to bring the point across to help us understand better. Khen Rinpoche, you have infinite patience. In class when you have exhausted your elaborations and explanations, searching the blank faces looking up at you, you know we are still lost, blur, but the next lesson, you try again. That must be the reason the stretched from five to six years! My first retreat with Khen Rinpoche was the lam-rim retreat about four or five years ago where I assisted with the organisation. I learned more about my teacher when we had to work out the retreat details. I advocated for complete silence to be observed throughout the retreat. To my surprise Khen Rinpoche did not agree. He felt the retreatants would need to keep in contact with their families, businesses, girlfriends or boyfriends, and that they were not used to not talking throughout the day, less said for no talking throughout the whole retreat. He might have been concerned that we would end up with split personalities talking to ourselves! In Singapore we have Singtel, in Kopan Khen Rinpoche created KopanTel. We actually had talk time. So the retreatants were happy. This simple concession to the retreatants out of understanding and kindness was the means by which Khen Rinpoche skilfully reeled us in and I am happy to note that four years later in our last retreat, SILENCE was observed throughout the retreat. A few lessons ago Khen Rinpoche said that nowadays, teachers have to be politically correct when they teach or relate to their students. I recalled once during a walk with him, he was reminiscing that in the old days teachers scold their students, nowadays students scold their teachers! In such a demanding environment where sometimes we students fail to understand that the foundation of all good qualities is the kind and perfect pure guru, we create difficulties for our own learning. However, Khen Rinpoche, you continue to adopt a nurturing attitude and infinite patience towards all your students and those who came It has been 16 years since Khen Rinpoche arrived in Singapore as ABC s resident teacher. Many of us have benefited vastly from Khen Rinpoche s guidance, enriched by the experience of learning the Dharma from him and reassured by his kind and gentle ways. Executive Committee member Wee Geok Hua, who delivered the customary praise of the lama during the long life puja, aptly summed up our warm regard of Khen Rinpoche through her speech, which was flavoured with personal anecdotes and humour. Here is an edited transcript of Geok Hua s tribute to Khen Rinpoche: It was in 2005 on a cold night during my November course in Kopan that I first met Khen Rinpoche, then Geshe-la first time learning Tibetan, first time in Nepal, first

6 unassuming manner, Khen Rinpoche reached out to us, letting us know that he appreciated the effort we put in to learn and study the Dharma, sacrificing some of our mundane enjoyments. If during the national exams in our schools in Singapore the examiners or invigilators go around offering chocolates or candies to the students, Singapore will produce many more A students! Auspicious Blessings of Hayagriva to consult you. Such true patience can only be grounded in wisdom and compassion. We are indeed blessed to have your presence. I joined the in early 2006 and I will never forget the horror I felt when I realised my command of the English language was simply not good enough to cope with the demands of the module. Phrases such as: The object of eye consciousness is form, which is an impermanent phenomenon, whereas space is a permanent phenomenon. Uncompounded space is therefore not an object of the eye but is a mere absence of obstructive contact. All these were Greek to me then, but I courageously sat for the test. During the test, Khen Rinpoche would quietly walk down the aisle Khen Rinpoche, we know that your presence here with us has its causes in time past, but now, we the members, students and staff, need to continue to create the causes for us to be guided and nurtured by you in the future. The best offering is that of our practice, to transform the mind, and as you have taught: Sign of having learned the Dharma is that one becomes peaceful, serene and calm. Sign of having meditated is the lessening of afflictions. It is said: The mediocre teacher tells, The good teacher explains, The superior teacher demonstrates, The great teacher inspires. The Ceremony for Increasing Virtuous Signs of Auspiciousness was a new feature of our annual Most Secret Hayagriva Prayer Festival held from 7 th to 9 th August. The hour-long ritual served as the grand finale and was a special opportunity for all who were present to pray together with the Sangha for auspicious blessings on the very day that Singapore celebrated her Golden Jubilee. Khen Rinpoche, who presided over the three days of pujas, guided a full-house audience with instructions on how and what to visualise in the four main parts of the ritual. 10 and place on our desk a chocolate or environment, including 11 Mode of apprehension candy. I have always felt it was such Invoking the our possessions. Khen Rinpoche, thank you for all Object of negation a touching gesture. In his own quiet, the inspiration. merit field We invite from the place of Oddiyana in the western direction, all the root and lineage gurus, all the meditational deities and the dakas and dakinis into our presence and we do that with single-pointed faith and devotion. After we have invoked their presence, the text says that with single-pointed devotion we should request them to grant the blessings of their exalted body, exalted speech and exalted mind. Visualising the descent of blessings Due to your single-pointed heartfelt devotion and requests to the merit field, then from the exalted bodies of all the objects of refuge come a huge rainfall of deities, and a huge rainfall of vowels and consonants, and the mantra garlands and implements of the deity like the lotus and so forth. The blessings of the exalted body, exalted speech and exalted mind of the Most Secret Hayagriva and all the objects of refuge descends onto us and all sentient beings, like a huge rainfall. We visualise that this huge rainfall of blessings doesn t just descend onto us and other sentient beings, but they descend and bless the entire world, the Gathering back life and longevity Due to making singlepointed requests to the merit field, from their exalted bodies, light rays emanate to the ten directions to persuade the holy mind of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. As a result of that, the blessings of the exalted body, exalted speech and exalted mind of all the buddhas are gathered back in the form of the aspect of the deity, the mantra garlands and the implements of the deities, and these dissolve into you. Likewise, these infinite light rays emanate from the exalted bodies of the deities of the merit field and go out in the ten directions and they

7 gather back all the positive qualities of samsara and nirvana. Also, all these positive energies and qualities, together with the essence of the four elements, are hooked back in the form of the Seven Possessions of the Wheel Turning King, and the Eight Auspicious Signs. They descend onto you and others. The blessings also descend and absorb into the longevity nectar and longevity pills that we have set up. Imagine that the longevity nectar 12 agreed to visit again and to teach at the next opportunity. 13 and the longevity pills then become endowed with the potential and power for all the good things, to increase your positive qualities, increase your bodily strength and so forth. Imagine that due to the blessings absorbing into the longevity nectar and longevity pills, they become endowed with the power to pacify all our sicknesses, diseases and health problems, and they possess all the potential and power to grant you the attainment of longevity. Gathering fortune and good luck You can imagine that from the hearts of the deities in the merit field, including the wealth deities like Dzambhala, light rays emanate and gather back all the good luck, fortune and prosperity. We imagine that all these positive energies of good luck, fortune, and prosperity are gathered back in the form of light rays, and they descend onto you and all sentient beings. Also, all these positive energies absorb into the environment, including your own house and your possessions. Proclaiming auspiciousness We have the actual eight auspicious substances on the altar. There is a historical account of how Buddha Shakyamuni actually blessed these eight different substances. There were different people who on different occasions offered him these various substances. As a result of offering those substances to Buddha Shakyamuni they were freed from their problems, their own sufferings, and they were able to achieve their own wishes and goals. As the Sangha recite the words of the ritual text later on, imagine that you are also offering these eight auspicious substances. Due to the force of the merit that you will acquire from offering these eight auspicious substances, may all of your problems, all the undesirable things in life, may all those things be pacified, and may all the good things, all your desired goals and auspiciousness come into your life. Final dedication Over these three days, all of us have accumulated extensive merit. You may have participated in different ways by being here or you have contributed to the sponsorship and so forth, so let s dedicate the merit together. We dedicate this merit that for ourselves and all sentient beings, may our lives be transformed into the virtue of the Dharma, for the Dharma to be the path, and the path to be free of all obstacles. Let s pray together that may all of us here, including all the sponsors of this puja, including all the dedications requested of us for this puja, may everyone be free of all the problems and obstacles, and may everybody s wishes, whatever wishes everybody has, may everything be accomplished according to the Dharma. English translation provided by Ven. Tenzin Gyurme. Transcribed and edited by Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim for TASHI DELEK. On These Noteworthy Dates 6 th July was a busy Monday with a difference as we joined thousands around the world in celebrating His Holiness the Dalai Lama s 80 th birthday. Our festivities began with Animal Liberation in the morning, followed by a group recitation of the Golden Light Sutra all afternoon. We capped our all-day tribute to His Holiness with a Namgyälma puja in the evening with the earnest participation of 200 people. The extensive merits accumulated from these meaningful activities were dedicated for His Holiness, our most precious guide in the Dharma, to remain with us in long life and perfect health. On Sunday morning, 2 nd August, we welcomed His Eminence the 7 th Ling Rinpoche, Tenzin Lungtok Trinlay Chöphak, to ABC for the very first time. Rinpoche kindly made time for the brief visit in the midst of his busy schedule in Singapore. The previous 6 th Ling Rinpoche was the Senior Tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and widely regarded as a foremost scholar, lineage holder and guru to a generation of scholars and high lamas. During the hour-long visit, a mandala offering was held and there was time for Rinpoche to greet our members, distribute blessed pills and cords to everyone, and tour our premises. Rinpoche Preparing for Death and Helping the Dying A workshop with Venerable Sangye Khadro Sunday, 20 September 2015, 10 am 4.30 pm Each of us will have to go through the experience of dying one day. Before that happens, we will probably experience the deaths of loved ones and friends. This workshop will explore ways to prepare oneself for death, to be able to die with a peaceful and positive state of mind, and how to be of benefit to others when they are dying. Ven. Sangye Khadro was ABC s resident teacher for eleven years until the 1990s. She has been a fully ordained nun for 27 years and has taught all over the world. Ven. S.K., as ABC students used to call her, recently graduated from the FPMT Master s Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Pomaia, Italy, and completed the required one-year meditation retreat. She is the author of How to Meditate, a book published under her lay name, Kathleen McDonald. Registration is required at this one-day workshop. Details will be announced through .

8 sep 2015 oct Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Dharma for Seniors 10.30am Chinese Lam-rim 静心静修 1.30pm Medicine Buddha Puja 4pm Medicine Buddha Healing Festival 10am pm Medicine Buddha Healing Festival 10am - 5pm Guru Puja Guru Puja Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Animal Liberation 10am Chinese Lam-rim 静心静修 1.30pm Tara Puja 4pm Preparing for Death and Helping the Dying Workshop - Ven. Sangye Khadro 10am pm (Registration required) Tara Puja 4pm Confession and Purification Practice 4pm Guru Puja Guru Puja Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Medicine Buddha Puja 4pm Tara Puja 4pm Tara Puja 4pm TASHI DELEK editorial team Editor Ven. Tenzin Tsultrim (Vivian Seah) Spiritual Programme Ven. Tenzin Gyurme Design & Layout Kennedy Koh Photography ABC photo archives Stephen Ching Tan Seow Kheng Noelle Teoh Printer Highlight Printing Services Stay Connected TASHI DELEK is a free publication of Amitabha Buddhist Centre. Subscribe: Call our office at Online: Download our full-colour edition directly from All events and dates published are up-to-date at the time of printing. For the latest schedule and on-going updates, subscribe to our or SMS updates, or visit us online: OR The Confession and Purification Practice of the 35 Buddhas and Vajrasattva on 27th September will be the last session for the year. The installation of our Thousand-Arm Chenresig statue is expected to get underway in the Level 2 prayer hall where the monthly sessions have been held. The smooth wooden floor on Level 2 has been ideal as the practice involves making full-length prostrations. Sessions will resume possibly in February 2016 after the works on the altar are complete. In the meantime, Tara and Medicine Buddha pujas will continue as scheduled on Level 4. Sunday Puja News The weekly Sunday puja is part of a long-established routine at ABC that provides the opportunity to congregate in regular prayers at the centre. The pujas are dedicated for the benefit of all sponsors or whose names are given, for all our members and students, and for the success of the centre and our gurus wishes. Anyone and everyone can attend, not merely to observe, but as active participants. As the merit gained from practising in a group is one hundred times more powerful than practising alone, there is only benefit to be gained from collective prayer.

9 Medicine Buddha 3 4 October 2015 Performed by Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi and Sangha Receive the triple blessings of Medicine Buddha, Vajravidarana and White Umbrella Deity special pujas to bring healing and peace to you, your family, and departed loved ones Saturday, 3 October Medicine Buddha Purification Ritual for the Deceased 10 am Help your deceased loved ones attain favourable future births with the jangwa ritual of Medicine Buddha. Through meditation, the consciousnesses of the deceased are hooked onto tablets inscribed with their names. A series of purification and offering practices, including the reciting of powerful purification mantras, then purifies the negativities of the deceased and enables them to receive a good rebirth. Extensive Medicine Buddha Puja with 1,000 Offerings 2 pm Prayers to Medicine Buddha are powerful for bringing about success in all aspects of life, from good health to peace and prosperity. At ABC, we conduct the extensive Medicine Buddha Puja with a profusion of auspicious offerings including 1,000 sets of offerings and 1,000 arura fruits (the healing medicinal herb of Medicine Buddha) for the extensive accumulation of merit for the benefit of our sponsors and members. Vajravidarana Ritual for Purifying Sickness and Pollution 4.30 pm The deity Vajravidarana purifies all negativities, including diseases and karmic pollution. The heavy pollution brought on by negative thoughts, unethical actions, and broken or degenerated tantric commitments contaminates a place and brings sickness, including contagious diseases. The Vajravidarana ritual extirpates the effects of these harms to one s body, speech and mind. All are welcome to receive the healing benefits of the ritual. Come in person and bring family and friends along. Sunday, 4 October White Umbrella Deity Torma Offering for Turning Away Harms 10 am 5 pm White Umbrella Deity [Sanskrit: Sitatapatra, Tibetan: Dug-kar ] who emanated from the crown protrusion of Shakyamuni Buddha is the Great Expeller with a vajra ushnisha who turns away evil harms. In the White Umbrella Deity Torma Offering, 33 tormas with 33 specific substances are offered to 33 guests, from the transcendental to the worldly, including White Umbrella Deity. Having made these ceremonial offerings, we request the guests to turn away fearful, inauspicious and vengeful harms, such as from spirits, sorcery, infectious diseases, untimely death and threats to life and possessions. With heavy obstacles repelled, the guests grant us peace. All Are Welcome to Sponsor and Participate! Sponsorship will be open through our website at www. fpmtabc.org or at our office until 4 October. Look out for more information via our updates on , Facebook, SMS and our website. Medicinal nectar pills and blessed water will be given away to all sponsors of the Medicine Buddha Puja and White Umbrella Deity Puja.