1

jan/feb 2015MIC (P) 057/02/2014

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and ABC A Sincere Heart

Connection

2 3

It finally happenedhaving our precious guru Lama Zopa Rinpoche with us in Singapore for our 25th anniversary celebrations. In case you missed it, here is an excerpt from Rinpoches message during the grand dinner celebration held at the Grand Copthorne Hotel on 21st November 2014.

amitabha buddhist Centre is a centre for the study and practice of Mahayana buddhism, based on the tradition of Lama Tsong Khapa, in the lineage of Lama Thubten Yeshe and our Spiritual Director, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

OUR VISIONLearn to Be Happy

Courage to cherish allWisdom to see the truthfaith in buddhas peace

Follow Our Four-fold PathInspire Connect Learn

Practise

SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche

RESIDENT TEACHER

Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi

PRESIDENT

Tan Hup Cheng

SPIRITUALPROGRAMME COORDINATOR

Ven. Tenzin Gyurme

CENTRE MANAGER

Koh Zi Yen

OFFICE STAFF

ADMINISTRATION - Alicia LeeOPERATIONS - Denis Kwan

RETAIL - Serene Tan

OFFICE HOURSOpen daily except Mondays

Tuesdays Saturdays: 10.30 am 6 pm

Sundays: 10 am 6 pm(Hours extended to 7.30 pm when evening sessions are scheduled)

aMITabHa bUDDHIST CenTRe44 Lorong 25a Geylang

Singapore 388244Tel: 6745 8547 fax: 6741 0438

www.fpmtabc.orgcentre@fpmtabc.org

Rejoice for Amitabha Buddhist Centre

Thank you billions and zillions. I want to thank you. This is like a dream that this centre started and today is the 25th, developed so many years. This is great, great, great!

The greatest success is benefiting sentient beings by Dharma. This is more than the Pacific Oceans depth, more wide and deep than the Pacific Oceanbenefiting sentient beings by Dharma. The centres accomplishment is that. So many different ways, not only through the teachings, but benefiting sentient beings in many different ways. Not only benefiting them but benefiting the mind because from the mind came or produced hell, came the narak [hell beings], and it produces full enlightenment, sang-gye, total elimination of all obscurations and completion of all the realisations.

From the mind comes samsara and from the mind comes nirvana, liberation from oceans of samsaric sufferings, and from the mind comes this lifes happiness and problems and the day-to-day happiness and suffering. Each hour and minutes happiness and problems comes from ones own mind; therefore, benefiting sentient beings is through the mind, and through the mind benefiting the body. From a correct way of thinking comes happiness, ultimate happiness, liberation from oceans of samsaric sufferings, the cause of sufferings, and also full enlightenment or sang-gye, the total

elimination of all obscurations and the completion of all the realisations. Therefore, the whole solution is to eliminate the root of samsara, the ignorance holding the I to be truly existent, or existing from its own side, or existing by its nature, as it is appearing that way, as it has been appearing from beginningless rebirths and holding it in that way from beginningless rebirths. And so, have experienced the oceans of sufferings of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, suras, and asuras up to now.

Up to now, we have been reborn and died, reborn and died, experiencing all the different realm sufferings as we get born in those realms. Therefore the antidote is Dharma, nothing else. The antidote is Dharma. The antidote to eliminate the root of all the sufferings, ignorance, is the Dharma. By eliminating that then all the oceans of suffering of samsara are eliminated. Whatever the global problems, country problems, individual problems, whatever, physical and mental, everything, the oceans of samsaric sufferings are eliminated. Then you achieve the ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara.

The Centre Is for Dharma Practice

Therefore, Dharma, benefiting sentient beings through Dharma, greater and greater success as year

by year up to now, the 25th year happened, so it is great. How much Amitabha Buddhist Centre has been able to offer service to sentient beings in many different ways, but the main thing is benefiting with Dharma in many different ways, not only with teachings.

This great benefit, this is what makes Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, Tara, Maitreya Buddha, all the numberless buddhas happy and pleased and numberless bodhisattvas happy and pleased, so that means His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is the best offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as to Lama Yeshe who took care of me for many years, maybe more than 30 years, who started the FPMT, the organisation, so it is the best offering. You pleased Lama Yeshe and His Holiness the most. Of course there is no question that you pleased me, Mickey Mouse, that little Mickey Mouse. So really, really, it is fantastic. Really. And then making sentient beings happy, not delusion-attachment happy, excitement-hallucinated happy, noreal happiness and peace to sentient beings.

When I first came to Singapore, I stopped in Singapore when travelling from Europe to other countries, in a hotel with Lama Yeshe. Then Dharmawati [early student] organised a tour for me in Indonesia and Malaysia, and by the way, I came to Singapore. There

How marvellous! This year, 2015, the Lunar New Year and Tibetan Losar synchronise on the same dates, from 19th February to 5th March, a double celebration to look forward to. Coupled with that is the Tibetan tradition of celebrating the New Year (Losar) in conjunction with the Buddhist festival known as the Display of Miracles, which elevates the coming festive season to the maximum level of auspiciousness.

The Display of Miracles commemorates a period in the Buddhas life where he performed a series of miracles every day for 15 days, when he was confronted by a group of ascetics (tirthikas) who opposed and challenged his views. The Buddhas daily display of miracles not only subdued the tirthikas, they were won over and thereafter developed faith in the Buddha. The 15th full moon day came to be known as the Day of Miracles. Because of the power of the Buddhas deeds, these 15 days are a merit-multiplying period where any virtue created is increased by 100 million times. This is stated in a Vinaya text called Treasure of Quotations and Logic. Other sutras mention that the merit-multiplying effect is an incredible one billion!

With this spectacular astrological line-up as the setting, ABC will be hosting a New Year Wealth Treasure Puja on 28th February that will harness these powerful potentials and channel them into prayers for wealth and prosperity to flow throughout the year and beyond. The prayers are for everyone in the ABC family, an occasion to herald the New Year in the most beneficial way possible. This is a new event where Khen Rinpoche and Sangha will perform the pujas of White Dzambhala and 12-Armed Red Ganapati. As it happens, these two wealth deities are emanations of Chenresig/Avalokiteshvara. Turn to the back page for more about the Wealth Treasure Puja. With the highly favourable aspects produced by 2015s lunar conjunction, this is a New Year celebration not to be missed.

In celebrating the miracle of the Buddha and his triumph over all afflictions, here are some verses that arose in spontaneous homage.

With due respect for all beliefs,Without disdain for any creed,These lines below are mere expressionOf that which is a true distinction.

What do words mean in Buddhism?Some words do not appear to existIn the language of the Buddhadharma This makes the difference between heaven and nirvana.

Instead of suffering with guilt, generate strong regretInstead of condemning others, practise equanimityInstead of the power to pardon, demonstrate loving kindness Instead of mercy, develop

compassion and bodhicitta

Instead of the will of a god, understand dependent arisingInstead of surrendering to almighty, rely on the Three JewelsInstead of seeking heaven, aspire to enlightenmentInstead of everlasting peace, abide in nirvana without remainder.

By depending on the mind of matchless reasonAnd three countless great eons of great compassionFor us, the Buddha realised true cessations.If one attains the same, what more is there to question?

Heaven and Nirvana

4 5

was a Dharma centre, a lay centre, Dharmachakra Centre. I dont know his name. He passed away from cancer, the man who started Dharmachakra Centre. I was there. I felt that if in Singapore you ask the question, How do you begin to practise Dharma? I thought it was hard to get the answer. I felt that. If you ask a sangha or lay person how to begin to practise Dharma, it would be hard to get an answer.

For somebody who has studied lam-rim, the beginning of the path to enlightenment, the root of the path to enlightenment, is correctly following the virtuous friend or the graduated path of the lower capable being. The graduated path of lower capable being starts there. That is the beginning of Dharma practice. That is why it is the root of the path to enlightenment. I felt that if you ask the question, How do you begin to practise Dharma? it would be difficult to get an answer.

Before I came to Singapore, that time after Lama passed away, I felt going to Singapore would be of great, great, great benefit. I felt like this, like vomiting, not as vomiting, but I felt it here [at his throat], the feeling that it would be so great to start a centre in Singapore.

Normally, people come from all over the world to the Kopan meditation

course then go back to their country and start to do meditation and discussion with their friends. That is how most centres started. But a fewAm