bf newsletter(jul - sep10)
TRANSCRIPT
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 1/20
Dhamma in a tea cupBy Teo Chiang Wee
Blessed with sunny weather, we went about serving two types o Chinese Pu-Erh
tea at the BF Vesak Fair this year. The ully ermented Pu-Erh was served rom the
dispenser and the naturally ermented seven year-old tea was brewed through a
process known as the ‘Chinese Tea Ceremony’, as and when ordered. The process
o Chinese Tea Ceremony brings out the characteristics o the tea being brewed:
the colour, the ragrance and the taste.
In this day and age, people tend to preer instant products: instant noodle, instant
coee, instant tea. The liestyle is based on instant response and wanting instant
results: instant solutions. Our tea stall was themed on the basis o no rush. Even the
ully ermented Pu-Erh tea had to be consumed slowly because it was hot. As or
the Chinese Tea Ceremony, the tea drinkers had to spend a minimum o 10 minutes
to appreciate the tea. The tea had to be sipped and the cup had to be smelled.
The Right Stuf To brew a 'good enough' cup o tea, we need the right ingredients: right amount
o good quality tea leaves, reasonable quality tea pot, right water temperature,
appropriate utensils, right mind-set o the tea maker and the openness o the tea
drinkers. Like when we walk the Buddhist Path, we equip ourselves with the right
ingredients: paying homage to the Buddha, taking the Reuge in Triple Gems,
observing the 5 Precepts, taking the Eight-Fold Path, doing meditation, attending
Dhamma talks and much more.
Two-Way Process
The mental-preparedness o calmness by the tea maker is similar to the Dhamma
speaker preparing or Dhamma talk. Cultivating loving kindness with body, speech
and mind, beore action. The tea drinkers (the audience) with an open heart can
then receive the essence o this communication. The peaceulness is transmitted
Newsletter o the Buddhist Fellowship • July - September 2010
Address: 2 Telok Blangah Street 31 Singapore 108942 • Tel: 6278 0900 • Fax: 6278 0102 • Email: [email protected] • www.buddhistellowship.orgO f f i c e H o u r s : M o n - F r i : 1 0 a m - 8 p m , S a t - S u n : 1 0 a m - 5 p m • C l o s e d o n P u b l i c H o l i d a y s
MICA (P) 155/05/2010
HIGHLIGHTS
EVENTS
13-15 Aug 2010 Project Nargis Step 6
WEDNESDAY TALKS
21 Jul 2010 Bro Richard Chia: Noble Eight-Fold Path
- Part 1
28 Jul 2010 Bro Richard Chia: Noble Eight-Fold Path
- Part 24 Aug 2010 Bro Richard Chia: Four Foundations
o Mindulness
11 Aug 2010 Bro Richard Chia: Dependent Origination
18 Aug 2010 Bro Richard Chia: Karma & Rebirth
25 Aug 2010 TBC
1 Sep 2010 Angie Chew: Meditation & Buddhism
- Applying it at work
8 Sep 2010 Angie Chew: Meditation & Buddhism
- Applying it with riends
15 Sep 2010 Angie Chew: Meditation & Buddhism
- Applying it with amily
22 Sep 2010 Angie Chew: Meditation & Buddhism
- Applying it at work
29 Sep 2010 Angie Chew: Meditation & Buddhism
- Applying it on onesel
SUNDAY TALKS
25 Jul 2010 Ven Rathanasara The Purpose
o Meditation
1 Aug 2010 Bro Piya Tan: How do we know
Buddhism is true?
8 Aug 2010 TBC
15 Aug 2010 TBC
22 Aug 2010 Sis Sylvia Baey: Can we attain
enlightenment while living a laylie?
29 Aug 2010 Angie Chew: Applying Dhamma
in Making Dicult Choices in Lie
5 Sep 2010 Dr Wong Yin Onn: TBC
12 Sep 2010 Pro Wong Weng Fai: TBC
19 Sep 2010 Sis Sylvia Bay: How to deal with stress?
26 Sep 2010 Ven Shi Chun Hui: How to have a
good rebirth
Spiritual Patron: Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso
Advisor Patron: Mr Low Teck Suan
Patrons: Dr. Ang Beng Choo
Dr. Tan Choon Kim
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang
MONTHLY INDONESIAN SERVICE
18 July 2010 Bro Usman Tan: Symbols in Buddhism
15 Aug 2010 Bro Heinz Kurnia: Teamwork
19 Sep 2010 Bro Luis Lioe: Discussion on animal release
17 Oct 2010 Sis Vina: How good is your knowledgeo Buddhism?”
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 2/20
rom the tea maker to the tea drinkers through the cup o tea. This
is similar to attending a good concert or play where the audience
receives the essence rom well prepared perormers. The key is to
capture the essence in the present moment.
The Tea O Change: Impermanence
The naturally matured Pu-Erh tea is known to change its taste more
prominently compared to other types o tea rom one time-period
to another. Generally, the taste gets better as it ages. Suppose you
drink the tea taken rom the same batch a month later using the same
equipment and same method to brew, you can notice a change in the
taste. A good reminder o impermanence: we are changing rom time
to time and hopeully or the better, with mindul cultivation. When
this tea is young, it tastes bitter.
Five years later, it tastes much better. You can even eel the ow o the
Chi in your body when you drink tea that is at least 10 years old. This is
similar to our spiritual maturity; the Dhamma serves to rene us rom
coarseness. The reward is more happiness and less suering.
Stillness and Flowing
Ajahn Chah in his book “Everything is Teaching Us” wrote that
“tranquillity is stillness, owing is wisdom”. We practice meditation
to calm the mind and make it still; then it can ow.” This is related to
when we brew tea with a still mind; the output o our energy rom
our preparedness can ow and inuse the essence into the tea. This is
the Ying (stillness) and the Yang (ow) in union. Similar to top athletes
that experience “in the zone” mental state, the surrounding seems to
be still and the process o movement is uid with the ow. Coupled
with well-polished skills the result is always optimum.
True Happiness Equals TranquilityI we strive or happiness, we end up suering. Ajahn Chah advocated
the cultivation o the quality o heart. As or Ajahn Brahm in the 2010
Chiang Rai Retreat, he emphasized the daily practice o peaceulness
and loving kindness and letting go. We have a choice o incorporating
these cultivations in our body, speech and mind to get rid o spiritual
poverty and gain wisdom. True happiness is when we achieve a state
o tranquillity: in good times and bad. We deal with the outcome with
peace and let wisdom ow.
Dhamma is everywhere, whenever you open your heart to the ow.
Each o us carries a unique piece o jigsaw puzzle in the tapestry o
lie. We have a choice to reshape the edges into renement that will
lead us into the path o peaceand tranquillity.
May we all journey into
wholeness, into light.
News2
“Operation No Release”by Hendri Tan.
NParks collaborated with Buddhist Fellowship to do "Operation No
Release" on Saturday afternoon, May 29th, 2010, between 3 pm - 7 pm.
The purpose o this operation is to prevent the release o animals into
nature reserves and reservoirs or which they are unsuited.
Every year, people release animals on Vesak day. Most people believe
that releasing animals into the wild is a benevolent act that promotes
good karma. Actually, this practice o release is considered an oence
under The Parks & Trees Act 2005. Furthermore, this well-intentioned
act might do the animals more harm than good. For one thing, these
animals would not adapt well as they don’t have the natural instinct
and capability to nd ood themselves since they’re used to being ed
by humans. Moreover Releasing animals in relatively large amounts
can cause ecological imbalance.
Thereore, this operation is done to educate people, through brochures
and educational exercises, about the harm caused by indiscriminate
animal release. We met Vanessa, the Nparks volunteer at Casuarina
Road and she gave us a short brieing about the operation. We
were divided into three groups. First group, Ivy and Catherine, were
stationed at Mandai Fishing Pond. Second group, Linda, Shi Xuan, and
Lycky were stationed at Mandai Bus Stop. Third group, Eddie, Anne,
Hendri, and Yennita were stationed at Upper Seletar. Below are the
details about the situation on each spot.
Mandai Fishing Pond, is the hot-spot where most releases would
occur. Sign boards were placed at the stairway to remind the publicthat they are doing more harm than good i they release animals
into the nature reserve. The reserve was quiet, serene and a beautiul
scenic area. Drivers stopped by the car-park & drove o when they saw
us patrolling the area. A car with a amily o our, stopped by the car
park. Father and two sons alighted whilst their mother, who was
seated at the back, was about to take something out o the car. She
saw us watching and hence she alighted rom the car empty handed
and the amily walked to the reserve to take photos. Our mission has
eectively brought awareness to the public that it is against the law
to release animals into the reserve.
Not many activities were on at Mandai Bus Stop as it is not as large as
other parts o Mandai. We only saw 3 people shing. There was no signo animal release. We hope dangerous animal release will be reduced
in uture as people are educated by temples and other organisations.
Eddie, Anne, Hendri, and Yennita at Upper Seletar ound the place
quiet and peaceul. We did not spot anyone releasing or attempting
to release animals. We only saw a amily (young couple and their baby)
drive by, stop or a while, sightsee and leave.
The ope r at ion
was cancelled at
around 5 pm due
to the impending
rain.
Vesak Celebrations at BF
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 3/20
News 3
CELEBRATING VESAKby Fanny Foo
Extracted from Wikipidea : “Vesākha (Pali;
Sanskrit: Vaiśākha) is an annual holiday
observed traditionally by Buddhists in the
Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, and the South
East Asian countries o Singapore, Vietnam,
Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar,
and Indonesia. ]Sometimes inormally called
"Buddha's Birthday," it actually encompasses
the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and
passing away (Parinirvāna) of Gautama
Buddha.
The exact date of Vesākha varies according to
the various lunar calendars used in dierent
traditions. In Theravada countries ollowingthe Buddhist calendar, it alls on the ull moon
Uposatha day (typically the 5th or 6th lunar
month). Vesākha Day in China is on the eighth of
the ourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar.
The date varies rom year to year in the Western
Gregorian calendar but alls in April or May.
In 2010 the irst ull moon
day in May is the twenty-
seventh. However, Myanmar
and Cambodia observe the
event this year on April 28,2010.”
Singapore, too, celebrated it
on the 28th May 2010.
Vesak is usually celebrated
with monks giving dhamma
talks and devotees distributing
ood to the needy. At Buddhist
Fellowship this year, Ajahn
Brahm was in town to give
two talks, one in the morning
and one in the aternoon andto conduct a Reuge Taking
Ceremony. The children o
Rahula had the benet o Ajahn
Brahm giving them a talk too.
At the same time, the car park
was converted to a unair with games and ood stalls. Kind
sponsorship rom various quarters coupled with the volunteers
who worked tirelessly throughout the day helped make the event
a successul one.
From the games stall, the obvious draw was the dunking machinewhich drew loads of laughter and excitement when someone
managed to hit the target. The dunking machine was designed by
Charles Baey who also designed the “Mothball Pounding” game
and “Hitting the Bell”. It took approximately 2 weeks to complete
the dunking machine with saety eatures
oremost in mind. The contractor who
abricated the 3 devices had not heard o
Buddhist Fellowship beore. Despite that, he
was very kind to get his hourly paid workers
to work on the devices ree o charge with
materials thrown in. They also came a day
early to set up the equipment and to remove
the equipment at the end o the event. It is
this type o kind generosity rom him and
many other sponsors that made the Vesak
Day a special event. It also reinorced my
belie that everyone has a “Buddha nature”
in them. Especially in working or a good
cause, this “Buddha nature” will emerge.
To all the volunteers, your “ Buddha nature”
was shining clear and bright on Vesak day.
You made the day special as we were unitedin one common objective “To enjoy Vesak
day and do something meaningul without
expecting anything in return“. Thank you.
Vesak Celebrations at BF
Face Painting
Dunking Machine that added to the excitement level
Some o the volunteers at the end o the day on dynamo power
Oering o fowers to the Buddha to signiy the impermanence
o all things
Calligraphy master showing his skill
Which tube will the mothball come
out rom ?
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 4/20
News4 Vesak with Ajahn Brahm
Brainless, body-less and baffling
By Viduranga Waisundara
Ever heard o the boy with no brain? I am not making this up and
neither was Ajahn Brahm during his sermon bright and early in the
morning on Vesak day at the Buddhist Fellowship Center. This case
goes back to an article published in the Science Magazine in 1980,
where neurologist Proessor John Lorber o Sheield University
mentioned an unusual phenomenon associated with one o his
students. Apparently, this student had an IQ of 126, gained a rst-
class honours degree in mathematics, and was completely normal
in all aspects. However, a scan revealed that the student had only 1
millimeter o brain tissue lining the inside o his skull: uid lled the
area where the rest o his brain should have been! How is that or a
mystery?!
Anyway, in going back to the very beginning, Ajahn Brahm’s sermonstarted o with a ew case studies on patients who had undergone
organ transplants. The cases that he presented made us believe at
rst that consciousness exists in the physical body, or rather the
brain, since the gist o the stories implied that those who underwent
transplant surgery tend to take the characteristics o their donors.
As a scientist mysel, I did a bit o homework on such cases to nd
out the truth – whether it was actually the mind or consciousness
being transerred over rom one person to another. Ater going
through a ew published journal articles, I discovered that the passing
o donors’ characteristics to receivers via organ transplantations
could be associated with certain types o neuropeptides. These arechemicals ound in all our major organs and muscles, which enable
communication between the brain and the organs. Certain types o
neural patterns could get transerred over to an organ receiver due to
the transmission o these neuropeptides which are associated with the
transplanted organ. In summary, the transer o donor characteristics
to a receiver is nothing more than a precipitating eect rom the
transer o chemicals and these chemicals behaving in a previously
known pattern. Thus, it may be saely concluded that this is not a
transer o consciousness rom one person to another.
Back to the content covered in Ajahn Brahm’s sermon…
Near Death Experiences (NDEs) were also mentioned as examples
o where the consciousness is shown to be a separate entity rom
the brain or the physical body itsel. The research paper o Dr. Pim
Van Lommel which was published in the journal Lancet in 2001 was
highlighted in particular. This was a comprehensive study conducted
on patients who suered rom heart attacks but were successully
resuscitated in coronary care units in ten Dutch hospitals. I quote the
following statistics taken from publication: 62 patients (18%) reported
NDE, of whom 41 (12%) described a core (or deep) experience. It was
mentioned in this paper that psychological, neuro-physiological, or
physiological factors did not cause these experiences in the patients
ater cardiac arrest. Ajahn Brahm mentioned that there is but one
explanation for this occurrence, that the body is a mere vessel inwhich the consciousness houses itsel; when the body gives away,
the consciousness drifts away and exists as a separate entity.
Speaking along the same lines, Ajahn Brahn also mentioned Out
of Body Experiences (OBEs) as another experience which conrms
the existence of the consciousness independently from the body.
This typically involves a sensation o loating outside the body.
The dierence between NDEs and OBEs is that NDEs are usually
experienced when the physical body is close upon experiencing
death, whereas OBEs mostly occur during sleep or sometimes even
when during deep meditation.
Interestingly enough, all these examples and stories lead to the single
conclusion that the stream of consciousness exist after death. As
Ajahn Brahm pointed out, in the event o the demise o one o our
loved ones, we should not be cry and wail. Ater all, the consciousness
which resided in him or her will carry on existing. In fact, many who
have experienced NDEs and even OBEs had described the sensation
outside o the body to be a eeling o bliss rather than torment. We
must, in the event o death, be happy that the person is ree rom
the suering or burden o having to carry around a physical sel – at
least temporarily, since unless one is an Arahat, another lie will be
guaranteed ollowing death. In Ajahn Brahm’s own words, death ismerely ‘taking a break’!
From a personal point of view, we may never get to see or experience
what Ajahn Brahm tried to explain using real-life situations, that the
consciousness or mind is independent o the body. My suggestion?
Meditate. Take a break! In fact, this was exactly what Ajahn Brahm’s
second Vesak day sermon was all about. Those who attended his
sermons at the Buddhist Fellowship Center on this day would have
received nothing but a complete package o science, reality, materials
and methodology – and that is all thanks to the wit and sel-styled
pedagogy o Ajahn Brahm!
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 5/20
News 5
“The Suuuper-naaatuurallll”By Kumudu Amarasingham
"I shall not commit the ashionable stupidity o regarding everything I cannot
explain as a fraud." famous psychiatrist C.G. Jung once said. Whatever else
Buddhists may be, provided we’ve taken to Buddhism ater careul reection,
we’re not typically stupid – at least not ashionably so!
Hence, generally, most Buddhists assume, based on the Buddha’s word –
though they might leave a margin or error until they happen to bump into
one – that ghosts, gods, aliens, demons, angels, devils and myriad other
beings can and do exist. Not only do they exist, seen or not, we live side by
side with them! This piece o news will hardly be startling to any Asian culture;
certainly not here in Singapore where ghosts are worshipped, revered and
burnt or on a regular basis. All this notwithstanding however, they are oten
misunderstood; with the predominant emotion at the mention o anything
super-natural being ear.
Given this intrinsic, cultural ascination with the para-normal, it was with much
interest that many sat down on the night of May 27, to listen to Ajahn Brahm
speak about: “the suuuper-naaatuurallll”, as he eerily whispered.
Happily or the purpose o the talk, Cambridge University’s highly respected
paranormal researcher and UK’s top ghost hunter, Tony Cornell, happened
to be one o Ajahn Brahm’s close personal riends. Cornell had, according
to Ajahn, interestingly and encouragingly said that never in over 40 years
o research and ghostly encounters, had he ever heard o a ghost harming
a human being.
We are much stronger than ghosts said Ajahn, emphasising, “Humans beingaraid o ghosts is like elephants being araid o mice”
Furthermore, they can actually be quite helpul. Ask the poor builder, in dire
need o money, who happened to be passing by an old Australian house,
when he clearly heard a voice tell him to “put his hand under the house” (this
was a very old-ashioned home on poles). Bewildered, he did as he was told.
Similar to Aladdin, he was presented with an old biscuit tin ull o cash that
the previous owner had buried to hide from the tax man!
Even better, ask the monks at the Boddhiyana Monastery (where Ajahn
Brahm is currently Abbot) about George. George’s wie didn’t trust him, so
she asked the monks there to give her a decent burial, and oered to donate
hal her estate (in her will) to the monastery in return. Shortly ater she died
the monks arranged her uneral as promised. Being monks however they
did not ask George or the promised donation – though o course it was his
duty to give it. When people did approach George on the matter they were
told he didn’t have the will.
Some time later, a very agitated George ran to the monastery with the
‘missing’ will, and begged the monks to take it – emphatically stating he
didn’t want anything to do with it! He told them his wie had come to him
in the night and said, “George, you know where the will is George: give it to
them”. That settled matters soon enough!
Ajahn Brahm also told o the ghost that wrote his daughter’s phone numberso that his riend could contact her beore his uneral and ask her to attend.
Not to mention the extremely comforting and loving appearance of a man’s
mother at his bedside right ater she died, even though she lived miles away.
He knew immediately she had died, and got a phone call a ew minutes later
rom his sister, confrming the event.
“None o these ghosts wanted to scare anyone, they just wanted to say
goodbye or fnish some unfnished business, like you or I would” Ajahn
said.
He added; sure, rarely there may be one who’s upset, in which case it’s always
worth remembering that because o their morality and mental cultivation,
Buddhist monks are “the best ghost-busters around!” (Provided they observe
and live as monks are supposed to)
A step higher and you’ve got those known as devas: gods or angels. “Angel’s
are very rare and they only help really good people” said Ajahn Brahm.
For instance, at a time when the British were killing o monks in Thailand, one
(monk) decided to ee to a remote reuge. He had to march through dense
orest, walking or many days without any ood. One day, at the end o his
tether, he called on the devas saying, “I’m a virtuous monk, and it has beensaid devas help people like me, so i there are such beings, please help”. Just
as he rounded the next bend he saw a very well dressed man (which was
practically impossible given the place and time) holding a lunch (tin) box.
He oered hot, delicious ood, which the monk accepted. The man however
didn’t speak, and when asked where he came rom, pointed towards the sky.
The monk made it to his destination thanks to that meal.
Closer to home (metaphorically speaking) Ajahn Brahm had a similar
experience. Walking from one Monastery to the other through remote Thai
jungles at the height o summer, a young Ajahn grew unbearably thirsty.
Finally he too called on the devas, “I’m a good monk; I keep my precepts and
everything! Now I’m really thirsty. If you exist, please send me a Pepsi!”
Soon ater, a young boy in a nearby village he happened to be passing called
out to Ajahn Brahm, Pepsi bottle in hand. What’s really interesting though, is
that eight other people did as well – all oering him a bottle o Pepsi – which
meant he got a total o nine bottles o Pepsi – ruling out co-incidence entirely!
Even more intriguing is that, according to Ajahn, nine is the lucky number
in Thailand! He said, with a chuckle, the episode showed him the devas had
a sense o humour.
Ajahn also spoke of various near death experiences; most notably the case of
Ryan Edwards who blew up in a land-mine. A ash o unbearable pain later,
Ryan ound himsel oating ree in the air, away rom his body which was
lying maimed. The sense o peace and reedom was palpable, and he didn’t
want to go back. Until that is, he remembered his new-born son and elt his
amily needed him. In a ash he was back in his body, and being taken to
the hospital.
One only need search NDE online for thousands of such experiences, often
well documented, researched and studied, rom around the world.
Quite apart rom the ‘enthral and thrill’ actor, ghosts and other paranormal
phenomena have an important message. Not only is there lie ater death,
there are other realms, and any one o us may be born in any one o them –
depending on our thoughts and actions – so make good karma now!
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 6/20
News6
Outwitting the thief!By: Luis Tirtasanjaya Lioe
This topic was interesting because it was the rst time I heard Ajahn
Brahm talk about procrastination as a culprit. All along, Ajahn has
always strongly supported procrastination. One o his amous quotes
is “never do today what you can put o until tomorrow, because
you may die tonight!” In this talk, Ajahn shed light on what kind o
procrastination he actually supports.
“Right” Procrastination?Ajahn explained that the procrastination he supports is not that
driven by laziness. To procrastinate because o idleness is wrong
action, as Ajahn said, since we have to give our best to any task in
the moment. However, it is a act that we cannot do everything at
once. Thereore, there is a need to “procrastinate”, but we have to do
it right. We have to choose, what important things that we have to
do now, and what less important things that we can delay. In otherwords, we have to learn to prioritise in order to achieve right time
management.
It takes right understanding to prioritise things according to level
o importance. People oten prioritise wrongly; like giving rest and
relaxation low precedence. Knowing when and how to rest is as
important as knowing when and how to work eectively.
To illustrate this, Ajahn told his story o a business proessor who
demonstrated an experiment. He started with a big empty jar and
lled it up with big rocks until there was no more space. He then
asked his students i the jar could take up anymore thing. Thestudents answered “no”. But it turned out that the proessor could
pour in another bag o small stones, then pebbles, then sand and
nally water. The lesson of this experiment should not be mistaken
as “no matter how tight our schedule is, we can always t in more
tasks”. Rather, it’s “i we do not put the big rocks in the jar rst, we will
never be able to put the rest later”.
What are the big rocks in lie?People are oten deceived about the big rocks in lie. They usually
think their career is the biggest rock, and hence they have to put
their career rst. Deluded, they sacrice their health, relationships,
and happiness to their career. Only when they approach a lie-
halting experience: that is death, do they suddenly wake up to the
act that they’ve mistakenly put the wrong thing on top. Suddenly
precious things like spending time with their loved ones become
so important.
Ajahn Brahm told the story o a ather who worked very hard to
support his amily and always reached home late. He thought that
what he did was actually or his amily’s happiness. One day, when
he reached home he ound his son was still awake. He got angry and
scolded the boy. Ater cooling o, he asked his son why he stayed up
that late to wait or him. The son in return asked how much his dad
made per hour. Surprised, he said $20. The son then asked i he could
borrow $10 rom his ather. Once again, he got angry and scolded thechild, but eventually gave him the $10. The little boy was very happy,
and immediately took another $10, composed o ew notes and many
coins, rom under his pillow, and putting them together asked his
ather, “Can I buy an hour o your time to play with me? I really wanted
to play with you; that’s why I needed to borrow $10 rom you rst. I
promise I will return it later.” Immediately the ather realised his error:
he had mistakenly taken small stones to be big rocks.
Ajahn advised us to ask ourselves, “I today was the last day o my
lie, what would I do?” I you have ound what your big rocks are,
prioritise them now.
Another big rock?Ajahn explained there is another big rock that is equally as important
as spending time with our loved ones: spending time alone. We need
time to spend alone, give everything to ourselves. We need time to
go or a meditation retreat every now and then, and re-energise our
body and mind.
To illustrate the importance o spending time with ourselves, Ajahn
quoted Blaise Pascal; “All o humanity's problems stem rom man's
inability to sit quietly in a room alone".
Ajahn shared his own story when he was still studying in Cambridge
and went through a week full of nal examinations. Each day, there
were two examinations, morning and afternoon, with only a one
hour lunch break between. Unlike other students who used the
break to study, Ajahn actually went to a quiet place and meditated.
By meditating, he enjoyed his lunch break to the maximum (that is
the real meaning of break!). When he entered the examination room,
he entered fresh and clear. As the result, in doing his examination,
the ideas owed and the “data retrieving process” went smoothly. As
a result he passed brilliantly!
So, what is the real thie o time?With this Ajahn highlighted that the real thie o time is worry,
because worry takes away precious time or enjoying lie, here and
now. Our uture is made right at this present moment. That is, in the
true sense, the law o karma.
To overcome the thie o time, Ajahn summarised the ollowing three
points as a recipe or success
Understand the law o karma•
Live in this moment, do not go ar ahead•
Be gentle, generous, peaceul, and righteous•
Vesak with Ajahn Brahm
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 7/20
News 7Vesak with Ajahn Brahm
“I who have nothing” on everythingBy Luis Tirtasanjaya Lioe
What does Ajahn Brahm, who has nothing, have to do with creating
and managing wealth?
This talk marked the beginning o the Vesak programme, with a topic
that’s very close to us: creating and managing wealth. We all know
that Ajahn Brahm is a disciplined monk. He does not carry a penny!
It is still resh in our memory, when Straits Times reported this in its
interview with him in 2008, in an article titled “I who have nothing”.
Ajahn has been invited several times to talk to various groups, some
even consisting o CEOs rom multinational companies, all o whom
beneted rom the wisdom o this simple and moneyless monk! Why?
“It’s because I meditate!”
Meditation trains the mind to have clarity in seeing things as they are,including how wealth is generated, even i one does not deal with it
personally. Interestingly, the Buddha himself described it 2600 years
ago, as can be ound in the suttas.
What creates wealth? The rst question is “Why are some people successul in creating
wealth and others not?” Wealth is created by karmic energy. People
who practice generosity are planting ‘wealth seeds’. Moreover, they
are happier. Ajahn explained that this mechanism is supported by lots
o scientic studies that report strong correlation between people’s
generosity and their levels o happiness.
The story of Visākhā, the female chief supporter of the Sasana, in
dealing with her in laws reservations about giving dana to monks,
explains why generosity is the karma for creating wealth. Visākhā’s
father-in-law, Migāra, was a wealthy man but he refused to oer alms
to a monk. Visākhā skilfully taught the Dhamma to him, by telling the
monk that it was okay not to receive the ood rom her ather-in-law,
because the food was “old”. Migāra, furious, asked Visākhā to explain.
She claried that at that time, her ather-in-law’s amily was wealthy
because they were reaping the results o their past karma, but now
the ood was “old” because he no longer created good karma or
uture wealth.
How to create wealth?Ajahn continued with how to eectively make such karma. Its secret
is the two mental qualities, virtue and kindness. Virtue is cultivated
through keeping the ve precepts: which renders the intention
or generosity pure. In addition, generosity must be merged with
kindness.
Meditation also helps us in creating our wealth. We are able to
better cope with stress and think and work more productively. Many
companies lose because o their rigidity and inability to cope with
dynamic change. Moreover, generating a healthy mind also helps to
build a healthy body.
This is a reason why many CEOs become Buddhists and many
companies send their employees or regular meditation retreats.
Interestingly, Ajahn also shared an article published in one
business journal
that reported the
economic benets
o Buddhist monks.
The article states
that dishonesty
in business incurs
transaction costs.
The author argues
t h a t B u d d h i s t
monks teach positive values to people, which results in their
becoming more trustworthy. This reduces transaction costs; thereby
generating more wealth.
Ajahn told a story o a businessman who once sought to close a
big deal, and was asked to join the night entertainment: entailing
alcohol and prostitutes. As a practicing Buddhist he reused. He lost
initially, but later got a call. Ater reecting, the clients decided they
preerred to do business with someone who did not cheat on hiswie or drink.
Is being wealthy ‘wrong’?Another common misapprehension among Buddhists is that wealth
is wrong. Ajahn corrected this, adding; wealthy people can support
the clergy and help in propagation o the Dhamma.
The core idea in managing wealth is the balance between ullling
needs and simplicity. Ajahn explained that although he kept talking
about generous acts to share wealth or others’ happiness, it is not
wise to be overly generous and neglect our own amily’s needs. The
Buddha has actually taught us wealth management. In AṅguttaraNikāya 4.61, the Buddha described four worthy ways to spend
money: for daily expenses, for the happiness of oneself and one’s
amily (including riends, employees, and co-workers), or savings and
insurance, or making oerings to relatives, guests, and ancestors, and
for providing alms to monks and nuns. In Sigālovāda Sutta (Digha
Nikaya 31), he advised us to avoid six forms of squander: indulging in
intoxicants, wandering the streets at night, frequenting public fairs,
compulsive gambling, bad companionship, and habitual idleness.
Ajahn added one practical tip; that is not to buy a big house. In
his experience and various encounters, big houses create lots of
emptiness, while smaller ones, help build amily ties and create
warmth.
Material wealth vs Spiritual wealth The last 10 minutes o the talk was actually the core o the day’s
discussion. Having spoken a lot about what generates wealth and
how to manage it, we learned that there is something ar more
important than material wealth: spiritual wealth.
The second noble truth explains that craving is the cause of suering,
and can never be completely ullled as it always generates more
desire. The third noble truth is about the end o suering, which
is perect contentment. Our spiritual wealth is more valuable as it
gives us inner peace and contentment. “Contentment is the greatestwealth”, (santutthi paramam dhanam) said the Buddha.
To sum up, Ajahn advised us not to let our material wealth destroy our
peace and happiness: because peace and happiness is true wealth.
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 8/20
By Kumudu Amarasingham
Do you have lie mapped out? Are their images dancing in your
head; portraying how things should go, how people should behave
in relationships, what kind o house you
should live in, how much money you should
earn and what kind o position you ought
to hold?
We all have a picture o the perect lie – or
perhaps more accurately the perect “I”.
This picture o how things must pan out
is usually the product o our individual
tendencies, combined with social and
cultural conditioning: a case in point being
the inamous 5Cs that supposedly measure
‘success’ (in Singapore).
This need to make the world t our (or other
peoples’) image o it is at the root o most o
our suering.
Hollywood, Bollywood, Broadway, airytales
and other antasy churners play a huge
role, especially in our expectations from
relationships. Boy meets girl, they all in love,
vanquish the villain and everybody lives
happily ever ater.
The problem with this ormula is actually
quite simple: the bad guy is always outside.
Buddhist Fellowship’s recent musical,
Expectations! took it a little further into
reality: showcasing the villains within. Every
boy and girl; mother and ather; brother and
sister; son and daughter – has a villain and
a hero within.
Greed, selishness, insecurity, pride, lust,
regret, vengeance and ear, constitute a part
o even the best o us; as much as generosity,kindness, sellessness, bravery, humility,
wisdom, love and orgiveness constitute a part o even the worst.
Moreover, everything really is impermanent, changing. To expect a
changing world, with changing people, to always cater to our whims
is stupidity personied – and yet – it’s just what we all do on a daily
basis! This, to me, was the essence o this play.
To expect the unexpected, to live without images of how things ought
to go, to abandon the “control reak” in all o us, in all situations – is
to live truly ree and happy. (Easier said than done – but nonetheless
the only ormula or lasting peace).
This message was beautiully and entertainingly staged by the
Soracco Group in the highly acclaimed musical Expectations! from
May 20-23 at the Rafes Hotel Jubilee Hall.
The musical marked well known proessional actor and cast member
Lim Kay Siu’s debut as a playwright, director and composer. The cast
also included TV actor Nick Shen, Etienne Wang, Jacklyn Kuah, TayHwee Mei and Angie Monkseld. Music was composed and directed
by August Lum.
“It was professionally done;the acting was good. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back if they have another show.” - Rui Fen
“I’m over-whelmed. I’mimpressed. It was very professionally done. Theeveryday emotions depicted are very current. This
is better than counselling: it provides insight intothings like truth, support and friendship.” - Dr.Kanwaljit Soin
“I’m crying because it touched me deeply; I’m muchmoved. This is too real: it is every couple’s everyday life. It was good, all good” - Catherine Tan
“This shows that everyone has problems and it’sa matter of how we deal with them. Very real.” - Ashok Buxani
“They don’t comeacross as amateurs.The theme was great and standard wasvery high.” - ChenYeng Kit
“Very well produced.The songs were very good. The themewas very reflectiveof Asian society.” -Leong Cheng Chik
Side-stepping stupidity - “Expect the unexpected!”
BF would like to thank all thevolunteers, sponsors and well-wisherswho contributed towards making thisevent the success it was. May you all
be well and happy!
News8
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 9/20
News 9
A brush with realityBy Justin Poh
“Youth these days do not understand the spirit o giving and
instead selshly enjoy their good ortune; heedless o the need to
cultivate generosity and gratitude towards the community.”
No need to be alarmed by this actuality because I can assure you
that this phrase, while sadly being more and more apt, is totally
unbetting in the case o 30 Buddhist Fellowship Youth, who
volunteered their services to the Cheshire Home on May 15th.
The Cheshire Home is a residential home or those suering rom
muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and other physical impediments
that render them unable to move around the way most o us,
privileged through our past kammic actions are able to.
It was a meticulously planned aair by three youths: Alex Chen (16),
Kenneth Lim (17) and Nicole Lai (15). They coordinated with the
home, the perormance arm o Buddhist Fellowship Youth and other
Youth Captains such as mysel to put orth a
seamlessly executed day of exciting activity
or the residents.
One popular item on the menu was the BF
Youth Bingo Challenge – which saw some o
the residents breaking into a wide smile ater
winning, not to mention excited exclamations
rom those who nearly won! The BF YouthDance Perormance didn’t disappoint either,
with most in the audience sitting captivated
throughout the perormance. Last came the
BF Youth Connection Session: where youths
partnered up with the residents (some as
young as in their mid 30s) to engage in
meaningul banter about lie, beore saying
their arewells to them. The encounter let the
usually cheerful Samantha Baey (16) tearful,
as she realized the reality o human suering
and impermanence.
In a word “We went to give, and instead got back so much more”.
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 10/20
News10
Ajahn Brahm goes to school..By Kumudu Amarasingham
Ajahn Brahm went to school last Thursday (May 27th)!
He went to the Mee Toh School. He was not late so he
didn’t get detention. He did get a lot o laughter and
claps though. The other children loved him.
I say “other children” implying he is a child, with the
greatest possible respect or Ajahn: because he has
the heart o a child: a pure heart. And there’s no way
you can be a great man or woman without the heart
o a child. You can be very smart and have big titles;
even be called great by everyone in the world – but
only a pure heart makes anyone truly great.
So what did the great Ajahn tell the
children? Well, or one thing, he told themlots o interesting stories about jungles
and tsunamis, and snakes and talkative
tortoises.
He told them about a mango tree that was
riends with a little boy. Throughout his lie,
whenever the boy wanted anything, the
tree would oer up a part o itsel to be sold
so the boy had the money to buy what he
needed. First he sold the leaves o the tree,
then the ruits, the branches and inally
even most o the trunk. By the time the boygrew into an old man, the tree had only a
small part o the trunk let, and even this
part he oered to the boy to rest his head
on before he died. He then explained that
the tree represented our parents, who give
up everything or us. He told everyone to
love, honour and take care o their mother
and ather always; especially when they
grow old.
The true story about the good man who
ed crocodiles in Sri Lanka and was later
rescued by one, when he got caught in thetsunami, showed everybody that being kind
to people and animals meant they would get
kindness in return when needed.
A ew little talkative tortoises were also
told by Ajahn: opening your mouth too
oten could lead to a big, bad all that turns
tortoises, and people, into hamburgers – so
don’t talk too much!
The children had lots o questions or Ajahn:
like how come a crocodile lived at sea andhow to be helpul to others. He answered
all o them. Soon it was time to go, so the
children said goodbye beore Ajahn Brahm
was driven away rom school in a big car.
G e t t i ng t o r e ad t he s e q u e r i e s w as o ne o f t he b e s t t hi ng s ab o u t d o i ng t hi s
ne w s l e t t e r ! T he R ahu l a k i d s w e r e as k e d t o j o t d o w n any q u e s t i o ns t he y ’ d
l i k e t o as k t he B u d d ha , i n t he f o r m o f hi s r e p r e s e nt at i v e A j ahn B r ahm. T he
q u e s t i o ns w e r e p r o f o u nd , c o mp as s i o nat e and v e r y v e r y w i s e ( ap ar t f r o m
b e i ng hi l ar i o u s ! ) . H e r e ar e s o me – u ne d i t e d !
K i d s ’ q u i z z i c a l q u e s t i o n s !
“ How can I get r id of anger if I’ m v er y mad?” ( K eif er )
“ How c an I mak e my f r iends happy ? ” ( Nat alie)
“ W hen w ill t he w or ld end? ” ( D ar r en)
“Ho w can I fl y b y m ysel f wi thou t
tak ing a plane ? ” (De Bao )
“Ho w can I s ta y ali ve fore ver ? ” (De
Bao ) “ Wh y am I born on Ma y 26 ? ” (De Bao )
“Why do we still need to chant again even though we know all the rules and teachings?”
(Unnamed) “How do I score straight As in all subjects?” (Unnamed)
“W hy did y ouwant to be amonk ?” (Darry l)
“How much will the new xbox 480 cost?” (Sean)
“W hy must all Buddha’s be bald?” (Julian)
“Ho w do I ge t an i-phone from m y
mum ? ” ( Tara )
“Why isn’t lie perect?” (Samantha)
“How can I be a happy person?”(Amabel)
“How do I mak e more f riends?” (V enus)
“Who taught you so much kindness, compassion and teachings?” (Jean)“How can I let go o anger, hatred and other things?” (Jean)
“Can you make me Enlightened?” (Jean)
“How do I become a Buddha?” (Rebecca)
“How do I get rid o people that disturb me?”
“ Where do we come from?” (Sha wn )
“Can you make everybody enlightened?” (Goh Ming)
“Why do we need to splash on a little water?” (Goh Ming)
“How can I stop murder?” (Zhua)
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 11/20
youth 11Vesak @Orchard
Destination: Happiness!by Justin Poh
May 8th and 9th saw the Buddhist Fellowship Youth (BFY) invited
by the Singapore Buddhist Federation to jointly participate in their
Vesak Celebration at Orchard Road. A large tent had been erected
in ront o the main entrance o Takashimaya Shopping Centre.
This invitation was also extended to a number of other Buddhist
Youth Groups along with a request or perormances to showcase
the Buddhist Youth presence in Singapore.
The other youth group presentations included singing, dancing
and even drumming.
Our BFY perormance brought the words “Youth” and “Vibrancy”
to a whole new level, with two colourul and energetic dance
acts rom Korean Pop (Heartbreaker by G- Dragon) and Indian
Bollywood (Jai Ho by The Pussycat Dolls).
Even more exciting was the fact that our BF Youth dance troupe
consisted o two o the youngest and most talented
youth on the stage: Teo Heng Soon and Baey Yu Ling,
both aged 13.
All in all, the estive season worked in our avour,
inspiring no less than an overwhelming 136 young
people to leave their names and contact details with
us, in the hope o joining BF Youth.
This portrayed the eagerness to look or new riendsat Buddhist Fellowship Youth, where we welcome new
comers with open arms and open hearts.
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 12/20
Peace, paradise and Pandanus JuiceBy C-u Pinn
Despite the many trials and tribulations aced by the coordinators
o the event this year (limited transportation, cancelled ights and
other exigencies), kudos to Buddhist Fellowship for holding the best
Executive Meditation Retreat that I have ever been on.
Inherently picturesque, Chiang Rai exudes a laid-back charm that
supplements perectly the mindset required or meditation. The
concept o time seems to vanish, and only the sheer enjoyment o
the moment remains. The choice o Le Meridien as the centre or the
meditation retreat was another aultless decision. Set along the Mae
Kok river against the backdrop o a magnicent mountain range, the
resort aorded many antastic spots or practicing meditation amidst
man-made comorts complemented by natural scenery.
Two spectacular rain trees more than 100 years old each spreadtheir protective boughs over the lush lawns o Le Meridien. And it
is under one o these ancient guardians that Ajahn Brahm held the
early morning meditations. The session was slated for 6.30am, and
the hotel was kind enough to start serving breakfast at 6am for those
who wished to have a quick bite beore meditating. I have to admit
rueully, that waking up this early was dicult or me. But once I
was under the gentle shade o the rustling leaves listening to the
morning song o the birds, I elt peaceul. When insects crawled over
my feet and mosquitoes buzzed next to my ear, I remembered Ajahn
Brahm’s advice that we should treat them as “Ajahn Mosquitoes”, and
my innate aversion decreased.
Lie at the retreat was what lie should always be everyday, but
unortunately never is. Ater the early morning meditation (optional),
each day would ocially begin with a sumptuous breakast served
in the hotel’s immaculate restaurant “Latest Recipe” which aorded a
panoramic view o the landscape beyond. Due to the wide variety o
ood which included interesting beverages such as “Pandanus Juice”,
I had the tendency to gorge mysel, which unortunately led to me
eeling a little drowsy at the 9am Dharma talk. Fortuitously, my little
unborn baby in my womb would kick me into paying attention. And
when Ajahn Brahm guided us into meditation ater his talk, I could
eel her settling, calming down as though she too was moved into
a meditative state by the soothing energies emanating rom Ajahn
Brahm. Once meditation ended, we were treated to another east o goodies – teatime!
Aternoons were ree and easy – serious meditators went back into
the hall to meditate on their own while others did their walking
meditation in the open grounds, early birds who signed up or
personal interviews received their 10 minutes o elucidation rom
Ajahn Brahm, some went sightseeing, some went or massages, some
did yoga on the verdant grass while the younger participants had un
in the three-tier innity pool. Personally, I liked curling up in the library
with a good book, enjoying simultaneously the mellow music and
beautiul vista outside while protected rom the heat by the generous
air-conditioning cooling the glass paneled chamber. Mesmerized bythe rolling white clouds in the azure sky, unbeknownst, it was time
or dinner: yet another mouth-watering lavish spread.
In the evenings just beore bedtime, Ajahn Brahm answered questions
with unailing patience
and compassion. Closing
o the day, he wouldguide us through another
meditation which assisted
much in a restul sleep.
Although the days passed
languidly, my instance o
serenity came to an end all
too soon. Glancing back
longingly even as I was
preparing to board the
bus, I promised mysel that
“I will be back to regain
this precious moment o personal peace at next
year’s Buddhist Fellowship
Executive Meditation
Retreat!”.
lotus soup for the heart12
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 13/20
Executive Retreat Junkie!By Lai Peng
This is my 3rd Executive Retreat with BF. Yes, I admitted I am a slow
student who’s not yet graduated. Better still, call me a Executive
Retreat Junkie!
This Executive Retreat is an excellent environment that appealed to
my parents to join, as it has the comort and conditions or a gentle
break-in to a meditation retreat.
The un 5 days were lled with a lot o joy and amily bonding;
spending time together with my parents, aunt and brother. They
let ater the 5th day to continue their un in Chiang Mai beore
returning home.
They carried home the memories o peace, nature illed
experience, great food and loads of laughter, and promises tocome back next year. To me, it is sheer happiness and blessing to
have a wonderul amily holiday with my loved ones. Incidentally,
I turned 40 during midweek o the retreat, I elt so elated and
grateul to have my amily giving me hugs and wishes. I thank
my parents or bringing me up to this age.
I could see they were very happy with their biggest smile beaming
when they greeted me. Being in the vicinity o Dhamma talks
and Guided meditation by Ajahn Brahm was another blessing I
am thankul or.
The happy experience left me very elated, settling into the silentretreat. I can understand why Ajahn recommended us to have a
happy state o mind or meditation. It became so peaceul I elt
there's nothing more I want at that moment in time. Imagine i this
eeling lasts a lie time! It must be something similar to what the
Teacher meant by lack o desire.
Having attended several retreats before, this Executive Retreat is
much more luxurious. I nd that I became kinder to myself and this
lead to general awareness o what my body likes and dislikes. Though
luxury may be seen as a hindrance to a 'proper' retreat, I feel that
luxury - couples with right understanding, helps us reect on what
we have and don't have.
When we go through hardship in dicult physical conditions, I see
mysel pushing and attempting to tolerate physically - more to keep up
with other yogis. Eventually, the mental state becomes unwholesome
or just neutral. At times, I attempt to push away the negativity
to generate
s o m e
p o s i t i v i t y ,
o t e n
knowing ly
or by orce.
Some have
commentedt h i s
E x e c u t i v e
Retreat to
be 'lax'. It is
really sel motivation that determines i you wish to put in the
meditation hours or not. I nd that during my dicult sittings, I had
the option to get up and nd another area which can help to divert
rom beating mysel up during meditation. The resort was just so
beautiul, there's so many corners that I can choose to settle my
mind into. Not to mention, the comort o air-conditioning, chair and
big cushion - I don't have an excuse NOT to meditate. I had many
peaceful experiences, also a lot of reection on gratitude for all that
was given to me.
For those who are sceptical on this Executive Retreat, I highly
recommend this as a wonderul holiday or the body and mind. Both
body and mind has the chance to nd the peace on this retreat.
13lotus soup for the heart
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 14/20
“Growing Up Gifted”By a parent
With the Vesak season upon us, the Buddhist Fellowship Exco,
members and volunteers were all working everishly to celebrate
with a BANG! The “Expectations!” musical, Ajahn Brahm’s talks,
Vesak Day Fun & Food Fair and the Youth camp were just some
highlights o a very busy period in May.
I would say however the idea o having the inaugural Junior
Camp during the Vesak long weekend was indeed among the best
initiatives, albeit a tad ambitious with resources being stretched
so thinly.
Timing was perect: with the opportunity or the young ones to be
treated to Ajahn Brahm’s story-telling, the synergy o having the Youth
and Junior camps simultaneously, as well as the extra day of rest
during the long weekend to recuperate from the physical exertionand sleep deprivation or some (adults in particular; kids are having
their term break)!
Despite the (relatively) low publicity or the camp, the response had
been overwhelming. Originally intended or the upper primary (10-13
years), it was later extended to younger students by popular demand
– subject to certain conditions being met, such as the attendance o
an older sibling. In our case, Jean is 8, so we had to cajole Sis Bita into
letting her participate on conditions o no sleepover, plus 2 pairs o
watchul eyes (mine and Vanessa’s!) during the outdoor activities.
Registration and admin started at 5.30pm. The warmth and smileso the Youth leaders let us in no doubt that Jean would be in good
hands, especially with the oversight o Sis Irene, Katherine and Bita,
who are amongst the best in the business o handling children! In act,
or group size o about 35 kids, the teacher/instructor-to-kids ratio
would have beaten any commercially-run activity o the same.
While we headed o to get some bites, I was really curious to nd
out the children’s state o mindulness during the 1-hour talk by
Ajahn Brahm. Feedback rom Jean later suggested that she had been
attentive to Ajahn’s ‘scary’ tales!
The handicrat work by ood artist Angela, which ollowed, also let a
huge impression on her. Rian (Jean’s older brother by 2 years) also gothis hands on some o the dough to help with the sushi creation. The
end product had remained a eature in Jean’s bedroom or days.
The classroom activities and high concentration levels obviously
whetted the
c h i l d r e n ’ s
appetite and
the items o
the BBQ menu:
chicken wings,
sausage rolls,
c h i p s , a n dmarshmallows
– were wiped
out in no time!
It was especially
gratiying or
the parent volunteers to see the ood prepared by them being so
well appreciated!
What ollowed was a real blast or the kids – “showers o blessing” –
which were in act water-play. Alliances were ormed, targets identied
and tactics employed - all in the name o play! The large, open-air andisolated compound also proved to be a conducive setting or the
children to indulge in some sae, good and clean un.
[I you would still recall, there was to be no sleepover or Jean. She did
put us in a spot by wanting to join her new-ound and old riends in
staying over! We had her sensible friends to thank in helping to coax
her out o it.] Lights out and ater a little shut eye or the teachers,
youth leaders and the hyperactive children, all were up at 6am the
next day for breakfast Dana with Ajahn Brahm.
Next highlight was the Amazing Race at Hort Park and time for the
Youth leaders to take charge. They did not disappoint and I wasparticularly impressed with their propensity to lead and care or the
juniors. It also dawned on me that role-modelling can be key to a
child’s learning and development.
The Mindulness walk along Henderson Bridge with Bro Yap capped
o the outdoor activities or the day. Ater lunch, we headed back to
base camp at Yeo’s building. More water-play ensued – a timely reward
for their physical exertions in the morning.
The session on “Right Speech” by Rose Tan touched on a topic which
I nd to be oten neglected, especially in the young. The advent o
the internet, prevalence o TV and the omnipotent peer inuence
can conuse educated and seasoned grown-ups, let alone youngminds. The least we can do is to raise their consciousness o such
inuences, and encourage them to question the meaning, relevance
and appropriateness o some o the words being used today.
The camp ended on a nice note: with awards, appreciation and
recognition aplenty, especially to the Youth leaders. Throughout
the camp, I was impressed by how much the children had enjoyed
themselves. This will undoubtedly create positive associations with
the Dhamma, and set them on the right path towards cultivating the
mind and building character.
Kudos to Sis Bita, Irene, Katherine, Jessie and Bro Matthew, Yew Thong,Chin Tuan, Kheng Guan and the Youth leaders or pulling this o.
The success o this camp can be best summed by Jean,
“I HAVEN’T HAD ENOUGH...PLEASE HAVE A WEEK-LONG CAMP NEXT
TIME!”
rahula college14 Junior Camp 28-29 May 2010
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 15/20
17DhaMMa By the youNg
Camping with my Rahula Buddies!By Natalie Ang
I had a lot o un at the camp held by the Rahula Sunday School. It
was also the FIRST EVER camp that I have been to. I was so excited
as it was my rst camp, I just couldn’t wait!
During the camp, we learnt a lot o un new songs and dances.
I had a REALLY great time playing all the interesting games. We
attended a talk by Ajahn Brahm. I ound the talk very interesting
and unny. I enjoyed the unny stories Ajahn Brahm told us. I learnt
that we must be obedient and listen to our parents. Ater the talk,
we had a CAMPFIRE!! I really enjoyed the campre, as we got to
eat yummy ood, sing and dance! We also got to eat sticky roasted
marshmallows! Ater the campre, we had some water un!! We
threw water bombs and sprayed water at each other! We were
having a great time! After an exciting round of water games, every
single one o us were soaked to the core, even the teachers! Ater anexhausting day, we all snuggled into “bed” after calling out to each
other, “Good Night!”
The next morning, the youths came into our sleeping area to wake
us up. Once they icked on the lights, I literally “jumped” out o bed
and said cheerully, “ok, I’m up!” Ater a wonderul breakast, we got
ready or the day ahead o us. The day’s main event was the Amazing
Race and walk on the Alexandra Bridge. I LOVE the Amazing Race!! It
was great!! I had SO much FUN!! I was worried that some o us would
get hungry, injured or bitten by mosquitoes so I packed a whole lot
o ood, a ew plasters and a bottle o insect repellent spray in my
backpack.
During the Amazing Race, we had to go through obstacles, complete
tasks and do a lot o running! We thought we were not the rst to reach
the ending point, but in fact, we were! Next, we went for a walk on
the Alexandra Bridge. We saw squirrels, dierent kinds of plants and a
cute little bird house on a tree. We were told that the bird house was
used to rear a type o bird called the “Hornbill”.
Back at Yeo’s Building, the youths taught us a new dance! We had so
much un, we never stopped laughing. We were treated to yummy
ice-cream while the youths were preparing the prize presentation.
During the prize presentation, we were given a certicate which was
personally signed by Ajahn Bhram. The results or the Amazing Racewere also announced. Finally, they gave out the prizes or the best
‘Smiling Face’, the best ‘Improvement o Attitude’, ‘Most Energetic’ and
A ew more. I was surprised I was awarded the ‘Best Camper Award’! I
really want to thank all the teachers, all the youths and my great pals
that stayed by my side!! Thanks Everyone!!
In summary, this is what I have achieved during my camp
experience:
I learnt to share with my riends.1.
I learnt about leadership skills and teamwork.2.
I learnt to be grateul to my parents, my grandparents and my3.
teachers and riends.I learnt to be mindul at all times4.
I learnt to be kind to all living things.5.
I learnt that we have to care or one another and we have to help6.
each other in times o need.
A Pr o se On “ W ha t Ha p p ine s s I s ”
Wri t ten b y : Brian Toh (a 11- year old Rahula s tu
den t )
Inspired b y li t tle ac ts o k indness
Some times your jo y is the source o your smile,
Bu t some times your smile can be the source o your jo y.
Happiness is in fni te; share i t wi th people b y co
ns tan tl y smiling!
Being happ y is the mos t impor tan t thing in the uni verse.
E ven when you can’ t be happ y, look a t the bri
gh t side
and you migh t fnd some thing surprising to help you o vercome
the obs tacle!
Happiness is :
Being Happ y Al wa ys Jo y ul
Helping People
Cheering People Up
Brigh t SideNe ver Be Sad
E ver yda y is a happ y da y SMILE :)
S ta ying Happ y!
To me, al though I don’ t smile much,
I think when I’mhapp y,
e ver ybod y is happ y!
P.S. Sta y Ha p p y !!! LOL!!
Brian Toh
Extracted from website of MDAS (www.mdas.org.sg)
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore), MDAS, is a sel-help organization ormed in March 2000. We are committed to uplit
the lives o people with Muscular Dystrophy.
Muscular Dystrophy is the name given to a large group o muscle
diseases characterized by the development o muscle weakness,
wasting and contractures, that are usually progressive and
sometimes lie threatening. These diseases oten maniest in
childhood, although some may begin in adulthood. Each disease
is caused by one o a large variety o inherited gene abnormalities.
At present, there is no cure or Muscular Dystrophy.
MDAS understands the challenges aced by people with MuscularDystrophy and their families. MDAS extends its membership
privileges to all children, youth and adults with Muscular Dystrophy
as well as their amilies.
Brian is a young
volunteer at the
Muscular Dystrophy
Association (MDAS).
He enjoys visiting the Centre every school holiday to play
games, work on projects and just have un with his riends!
Brian helping a young member with a project
on the computer.
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 16/20
youth16
Straighten up - it’s boot-camp!By Baey Yi Wei
As the Vesak Celebrations came to a close on
the evening o May 28, every one o the BF
volunteers exhaled. Not just in relief, but also
in accomplishment. The mammoth task o
coordinating three consecutive days o events
at our new premises in Yeo’s Building had
successfully been executed.
Meanwhile at another part o the building, our
Youths took a deep breath. BFY’s Mid Year ‘Boot
Camp’ was about to commence. Most walked
in with little or no clue as to what to expect.
BFY Camps were typically adulterated un and
learning – but this – was a camp like no other.
For the rst 24 hours, instilling discipline was the
Camp Committee’s priority. Ater Ajahn Brahm’s
opening Dhamma talk and some ice breakers,
they were sent to bed; only to be woken up and rmly
reprimanded because none had adhered to the lights out
timing! No one was happy. But this was Boot Camp.
Amazing Race, Condence Walk and a Camp Fire were
the key highlights in the ollowing days. Coupled with
the numerous station challenges, the amazing race
saw all 4 teams trekking through the Henderson Wave,
Mount Faber and Tree-top walks. As soon as night ell, thecampers proceeded to the Condence Walk, where they
had to tread down Mount Faber Hill on a hair-raisingly
dark path towards Harbour Front.
An excellent concluding event came in the form of the
Camp Fire, where campers’ parents and riends were
invited. The individual teams very enthusiastically put
up skits using what little props were available, while their
relations watched in awe at their sheer creativity.
It is without any hesitation that I declare the camp a
success! However I must rst acknowledge that while
our Youth Leaders had the passion and commitmentto see through the weeks and months o tedious
planning, much could not have been done without
the support o our beloved parents and riends who
comprise the very dedicated Youth Support Group
(YSG). With them, ood, water and saety were never
neglected. Many a time, they would also go out o their
way just to make the camp a more positive experience
or everyone.
SADHU! SADHU! SADHU!
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 17/20
21 Days At Santi Forest MonasteryBy Matthew Rikard
Having spent our months working in Sydney I was ortunate enough
to be able to stay at Santi Forest Monastery or three weeks, beore
returning to Singapore in late April. Keen to urther develop my
practice and learn more about Buddhism, a orest monastery was
sure to make the ideal setting. Santi Forest Monastery is nestled in
the orests surrounding Bundanoon, a small country town two hours
south o Sydney.
The monastery was set up by Bhante Sujato seven
years ago and is now home to ve monastics as well
as the training Anagarakas, and part time guests. The
grounds are made up o spectacular Australian orest
with a host o wild lie including Lyer Birds (birds
that imitate the sounds o other animals), Wombats,
Kangaroos, snakes and many other animals and plantlie. There are small paths through the orests that
lead to many caves you can hide away in, and guests
get to stay in simple orest huts, ideal sanctuary or
meditation and relection. Arriving on a Sunday
evening, I decided to make the trip rom Sydney
city by train to Bundanoon and then walk the 5kms
to Santi to soak up some o the resh country air and
allow mysel some time to slow down rom city to monastery pace
beore arriving.
During my rst week at the monastery I stayed in the main building
which had two small rooms, each with a basic bed, and a meditationmat. The daily schedule had everyone meditating rom 5am or an
hour either on their own or in the main hall as a group. Breakast
was then oered before a short meeting at 7.30 to assign work
duties or the morning. The work time ran until lunch at 11am with
a whole range o duties including cooking in the kitchen, painting
or other odd jobs in the shed, or maybe looking ater the gardens
and grounds. During the aternoon there was plenty o time to
meditate or read, and on some days there were Sutta, Pali and also
History classes. I attended both Sutta and Pali classes during my
stay and though both were interesting much o it was beyond my
understanding. The Pali class brought back memories o Latin classes
I attended at secondary school. Not a subject I excelled at! For me
the highlight o the week was the Wednesday evening Dharma talk in the cave. ‘The Big Cave’, as it was known, was a ten-minute walk in
to the forest from the monastery and was large enough for sixty or
seventy people to sit whilst Bhante Sujato gave a talk. Lit by candles
and with a large Buddha statue at the back wall it was easy to imagine
the Dharma being shared in this way hundreds o years ago.
Ater ten days I moved rom my room in the main building to a kuti
out in the orest about hal way walk to the cave. Called The Bridge
Kuti, my new home was a small shed, again with a small bed and
meditation mat, but with the addition o a wood burner or the cold
evenings. Winter in Australia alls between June and August so April
is spring time, however the temperature still dropped as low as 5degrees on one clear night. Evening drinks at 6pm were always an
interesting event at Santi. Most evenings Bhante Sujato would sit
and answer questions or visiting guests and with the wide range
o people that were either staying or just popping in to say hello or
the drinks, there was always a
new and interesting topic o
discussion. And o course the
opportunity or a ew squares
o dark chocolate beore bed.
A prized luxury when the last
meal o the day was at 12pm!
On Sunday evenings we watched a short topical video o the Internet,
everything rom documentaries on re-incarnation to talks on the
psychology o happiness or discussions on vegetarianism and diet.
With one o my objectives being to learn more about Buddhism I also
made use of the extensive library. The collection covered everythingfrom books on Buddhist logic and complex explanations on karma
and rebirth to Buddhism or Idiots (which I have to admit I picked up
to reerence something and could not put it down or hal an hour).
As usual though I found myself consumed by Ajhan Chah’s texts and
other teachings by the monks that practiced under him.
By my nal week at the monastery I had ound mysel very much in
the ow o the daily routine and it seemed time had gone by very
quickly. I was also very content living in the simplicity o my kuti with
just a mattress, torch and wood burner. As much as learning about
Buddhism and urther developing my practice, I had also made some
good riends, and learnt a lot more about being environmentally
friendly. Santi is one of the best examples I have seen of living in
harmony with the environment. Things such as recycling, composting,
using less water, and simply turning o lights as much as possible
are all part o the daily routine. Though some o these things are not
possible living in a city such as Singapore, many are, and it did help
develop my awareness o the small things that can be done to make
a dierence.
So, my stay was over and time to head back to the ‘real world’ and get
back to work! As I reected on all the experiences of my stay at Santi
the thing I remembered above all was a Dharma talk Bhante gave in
the cave on my second week. A heart elt talk, the theme was around
riendship, amily and spirituality. Themes I would use to describe SantiForest Monastery and my experience being part of the community
there. I you would like to stay at Santi Forest Monastery more details
can be ound at www.santi.org.
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 18/20
Being present with little devasIrene Tham, an accounts assistant by proession, has been an active
BF volunteer since 2005. In addition to being a PRO and amiliar
riendly ace at almost all BF events, Irene teaches Buddhism to the
lower primary students o Rahula Sunday Service. She is also involved
in Community service and takes part in regular meditation retreats.
Her pet project though is the Rahula Service.
The Rahula Sunday Service allows children to learn the basics o
Buddhism, while their parents attend Dhamma talks and take part
in other BF activities. The number o kids currently attending stands
at 120 and growing. Students age range in age from 6 years to 12
years.
What attracted you to Buddhism?It is the simple yet practical teachings o Buddhism; rom the Four
Noble Truths and Eight-old Path that makes sense and attracts me
most to Buddhism. Buddhism has given me a deep inner sense o purpose in lie and helped me to be at peace with mysel.
I am able to apply Buddhist teachings in my daily lie and have ound
ullment and contentment, resulting in ewer cravings.
What made you join BF?I was invited to Ajahn Brahm's talk at Kong Meng San Monastery on
the topic “Open the door to your heart” conducted by BF in 2005.
BF members & volunteers impressed me with their riendliness &
wholesome image both proessionally & spiritually. BF's diversied
activities enable my curious mind to explore further the teachings
of the Buddha. For example: the Rahula Sunday Service allows me
to share Buddha's teachings with the young whilst their parents/guardians attend Dharma talks, and the Indonesian Service allows
me to meet new riends rom Indonedia and share dierent cultural
experiences. The Inter-faith conference teaches tolerance and non-
discrimination o other religions
and Matripals helps practice unconditional metta. Community service
such as GEHA (Geylang East Home or the Aged) is a study in aging and
impermanence as well as lial piety. I also have the privilege to display
my cooking skills in helping prepare dinner or the GEHA residents.
Meditation Retreats help me be at peace with mysel, clear my mind
and reconnect with mysel spiritually, to be more orgiving.
Can you comment on your experience as avolunteer?Volunteer work is tangible but the experience derived from it is
intangible. It helps in broadening your horizons and developing new
social skills outside the corporate world. The laughter & contentment
rom the audience at each Ajahn Brahm talk gives you personal joy
and impetus to reach out to others, and the appreciation rom the
public: "keep up the good work", gives you a great eeling o giving
back to society. It is immeasurably gratiying.
Why Rahula? There was a shortage o teachers in Rahula College (now Rahula
Sunday Service) during year 2007. There were 20-30 students in aclassroom managed by 1 teacher then. It was so easy or me to be
critical o their 1st perormance at the Main Dhamma Hall. Brother Tai
Wee (Principal o Rahula SS) had kindly asked me to work together in
teaching the Lower Primary students on Buddhism during year 2008,
whilst Bro Yap takes care o the Upper Primary students. Since then, my
Sundays were blessed with little "devas" smiles and laughter!
How do you apply Buddhism in your day to daylie?Being in the accounting line or past 20yrs, I have come to realised
that most corporate companies would rely on budgets & orecasts
to match on company/sta's perormance. Imperection is usually
unacceptable. However, Buddhism teaches me the otherwise,
that: "The only real ailure in lie is not to be true to the best one knows"
a amous quotation by the Buddha.
The Noble 8-Fold Path is good practice and reminder to mysel to be
mindul o my speech and actions, be it with amily or riends. One
has to learn to lower her pride and ego in order to achieve Right
Wisdom, Right Ethical Conduct and Right Mental Cultivation. One
has to learn to change in order to suit to the Environment and not
the Environment to suit onesel.
"The secret o health or both mind and body is not to mourn or the
past, nor to worry about the uture, but to live the present moment
wisely and earnestly." said the Buddha
Whenever I ace obstacles in lie, and when things go wrong, I
would practice with the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and meditate
with my ellow members in BF. This constant practice, and chanting
the Metta Suttas helps me to calm my mind and to tackle problems
tactully without being rash and making hasty decisions.
What is the most important lesson you'd like to
teach the Rahula kids (and everyone)? To be able to teach everyone to be more compassionate, to give
unconditional Metta to amily and riends, without asking or anything
in return. To neither hold grudges nor seek revenge.
What is the most important lesson you eelyou've learnt rom the children?It’s been close to three years with Rahula students (2008 to 2010)
and the most valuable lesson I have learnt rom the kids is denitely
to "BE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT" - laugh with amily/riends and
even at onesel.
The lovely git rom eight year old student Jean Chua (shown in picture) during
the recent BF Junior Camp speaks or all. I am still learning rom the kids.
18 feature MEET OUR MEMBERS
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 19/20
Has Maitreya Come?By Piya Tan
Maitreya (Pali, Metteyya),
whom the Buddha prophesies
will be the uture Buddha in
the distant uture when his
teaching are totally orgotten,
is perhaps the most popular
religious igure, adopted by
numerous non-Buddhists. One
o the latest claims is that this
prophecy actually reers to the
coming o Christ!
S i n c e t h e T h e o s o p h i s t
m ove m e nt in the 19th
century, many non-Buddhistreligious groups and cults
have used Maitreya’s name
and characteristics o Maitreya
or teachers in their traditions.
Another such innovator was
Share International, ormerly
called the Tara Center; the
Ascended Master Teachings
(early 1930s-1956) which
called him “Cosmic Christ.”
Some Ahmaddiyya Muslims
claimed that their ounderMirza Ghulam Ahmad was
Maitreya. Some Bahais believed that their prophet Bahaullah ullled
the prophecy by appearing as Maitreya.
Since the 7th century, many had proclaimed themselves as Maitreya,
such as the Xiang Haiming (613); the empress Wu (690); Gung Ye, the
Korean warlord and briey king o Taebong (10th century); Yiguandao
patriarch, Lu Zhongyi, believed God mandated him as Maitreya (1905); L
Ron Hubbard, ounder o Scientology, in his poem, “Hymn o Asia” (1955),
hinted himself to be Maitreya. In 1973, a 27-year-old Frenchman, Claude
Vorilhon, a car racer and a sports journalist, claimed to have met Elohim
(God) in a UFO and told him that Maitreya would arise in France. Claiming
that he is the one, he called himsel Rael. Some Koreans believed thatMaitreya will arise in their country. A ew leaders o rebellions in China
and Thailand too proclaimed themselves to be Maitreya. And the list is
growing.
What is the real story behind Maitreya? Maitreya (Pali, Metteyya) is
mentioned only once in the early Buddhist texts: in the Cakka,vatti
Sha,nâda Sutta (D 26), which was probably compiled during Asoka’s
times. Even then, it is not so much prophecy, as it is an inspiration to the
emperor to be a truly good ruler. The Sutta closes with a teaching on the
our ocusses o mindulness (satipatthana) and a reminder or the monks
to practice lovingkindness, compassion, altruistic joy, and equanimity. In
other words, it is a didactic (educational) discourse.
The Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta opens with the Buddha’s nal teachings,
that is, to dwell as island unto ourselves. This is a reerence to the our
ocusses o mindulness. Then ollows a Jataka story o king Dalhanemi
and the seven universal monarchs. All o them keep to the ancient way o
ruling which keep everyone happy. The eighth monarch, however, breaks
with tradition. As a result, poverty becomes bad, and when people begin
to steal, then deviant lustul conduct, and
nally disrespect or others.
In due course, the warring parties have
had enough and stop killing. With that
the human liespan doubled. As each
new generation begins to become more
moral, their lie-span doubles, until it
reaches 80,000 years again.
The king decides to help those who
steal by providing with their needs. This
encourages others to steal, to the extent
the king has to punish them with death.
With such a killing, the liespan o humans
declined rom 80.000 year to 40,000
years. Then lying becomes widespread;followed by slander, sexual misconduct,
then harsh speech and idle talk
At each worsening stage, the human
liespan declined by hal until the point
where human liespan is only 10 years,
at which point a woman o 5 years is
ready or marriage, In other words, the
maturing process o human is speeded
up dramatically. At that time, a terrible
“seven-day war” breaks out. Many ee
and hide in remote places. This is a time inthe distant uture when India and the world
become such a crowded and prosperous world.
This is when the next Buddha Metteyya would arise, teach the Dharma.
and establish the Teaching. The Sutta closes with the Buddha teaching
on the our ocusses o mindulness (satipatthana) and a reminder or
the monks to practice lovingkindness, compassion, altruistic joy, and
equanimity.
The ollowing points should be noted:
(1) The Sutta is a mythical story to remind the ruler to keep to the good
ways o his predecessors,
(2) The events described here have not yet happened, but will onlyoccur at least thousands o years rom now when the present Buddha’s
teachings are totally orgotten.
(3) Metteyya is the uture Buddha, not some cult leader or sel-proclaimed
religious guru.
(4) The Sutta reminds Buddhist monastics to meditate and practise
lovingkindness and other wholesome virtues.
The misuse and abuse o Maitreya’s name by others is like a reected
light, but with the warmth, a light that appears dazzling in the dark or
some. But or those with eyes will see true reality in the bright light o
day. Let us leave the dark dusty corners o strange religions or the open
resh space o Buddhist liberation. Let go o the past, it is gone; let go o the uture, it is yet to come. Live now with lovingkindness (metta): then
you yoursel are Maitreya at heart.
[Link to Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta https://sites.google.com/site/
dharmaarer/home/digha-nikaya].
8/9/2019 BF Newsletter(Jul - Sep10)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bf-newsletterjul-sep10 20/20
DIRECTIONS TO YEO’S BUILDINGBy car AYE, exit by Alexandra Road (towards Telok Blangah Road).
Turn let into Telok Blangah Road and turn let into Telok Blangah Street 31.By Public transport Take MRT to Harbourront Station. Go to bus stop (no. 4) beside Harbourront
MRT Station (Exit C). Board bus services 10, 30, 57, 61, 97, 100, 143, 166.EXCO Members:
President: Henry Baey • VP - Administration: Bita Seow • VP - Members Afairs: Angie Monkseld • VP - Public Afairs:
Yap Kheng Guan • VP - Resource Development: Jerry Ong • Hon Secretary: Poh Mui Hoon • Hon. Treasurer: Luar Ling Ling• Committee Members: Jayson Goh, Lim Ai Ling, Poh Joo Tung, Tikki Gee, Henry Yeo, Teo Yew Thong, Wong Tai Wee, Vera
Santiboon, Luis Tirtasanjaya, Tikki Gee (co-opted), George Lim (co-opted)
General Manager: Wang Pei Chong • Centre Manager: Ho Eng Chin • Public Relations & Communications Executive: KumuduAmarasingham
WE HAVE MOVED!
T u e , 7 .3 0 - 9 .3 0 p m S u t t a D i s c o v e r y
W e d , 7 .4 5 - 9 .3 0 p m W e d n e s d ay N i g h t S e r v i c e
F r i , 2 .3 0 - 4 .3 0 p m V i s i t t o R e n C i N u r s i n g H o m e
F r i , 8 - 9 p m
G r o u p M e d i t at i o n
S u n , 11am - 12 .3 0 p m R ah u
l a S u n d ay C h i l d r e n S e r v i c e
S u n , 1.3 0 - 5 p m S u n d ay Y o u t h S e r v i c e
4 t h S at , 3 .3 0 - 6 p m V i s i t t o G e y l an g E as t H o m e f o r t h e Ag e d
1s t S u n , 6 .4 5 - 8 am C l u b M e d i t at i o n at Fort C
2 n d S u n , 9 .15 - 10 .3 0 am Famil
A C T I V I T I E S
B e d s i d e S u p p o r t
G r o u p • E
h i p a s s i k o C
h a n t i n g G r
o u p
S i n g l e s A g
a i n C l u b •
C o u n
s e l l i n g S e r
v i c e s
L e g a l A d v i
s o r y S e r v i
c e s • M a r r i a g e
S o l e m n i s
a t i o n
( P l e a s e r e f
e r t o w w w
. b u d d h i s t f e
l l o w s h i p . o
r g f o r m o r e d e t a
i l s )
S E R V
I C E