Benefiting Sentient Beings!
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JUL/AUG 2014 MIC (P) 057/02/2014 1 Benefiting Sentient Beings! “Wow, Wow, Wow! Thank You, Amitabha Buddhist Centre is a centre for the study and practice of Mahayana Buddhism, based on the tradition of ABC Family!” (Part 1) Lama Tsong Khapa, in the lineage of Lama Thubten Yeshe and our Spiritual Director, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. th fter months of build-up and anticipation, our magnificent thangka Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s special message to ABC students on our 25 anniversary is featured in our OUR VISION of Amitabha Buddha In His Pure Land was finally unveiled at Vesak very own documentary, “Thank You, ABC Family!” We are pleased to present an edited transcript Learn to Be Happy ACelebration 2014. Behind the scenes, extensive planning went into of Rinpoche’s warm greetings and precious advice. Part 2 will be featured in our Sep/Oct issue. Courage to cherish all preparing the thangka for its inaugural display at the Aljunied open ground. The Wisdom to see the truth task was spear headed by our president Tan Hup Cheng with highly capable hands- Faith in Buddha’s peace on help from a volunteer, Lim Yeow Heng. Follow Our Four-fold Path Lama Yeshe, my guru, kinder than all Amazing! Amazing. Really, really The centre giving to sentient beings, A steel scaffolding structure 60 feet high formed stable support for the thangka. Inspire the numberless past, present, future fantastic! Then not only developing to people, so much opportunity to Connect A sturdy canvas was then mounted on the front of the scaffolding to act as a receive a direct human body or even th buddhas, and fulfilling of course, ABC but helping many projects, Learn windshield. On the afternoon of 8 May, the thangka was raised up and secured the pure land. Amazing, amazing. onto the frame with the aid of strong ropes and many helping hands. Finally, a His Holiness Chenresig’s holy especially Kopan, the needs of Practise Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! custom-made sheet of clear plastic was hoisted up to cover the thangka, affording wishes; then little me—“Mickey Kopan, and many other projects— protection from the elements. Mouse”—“Mickey Mouse’s” wishes. FPMT. Thank you very, very, very, Amazing! Amazing! SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR And fulfilling all the sentient beings: very, very, very, very much. Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche The thangka was the centrepiece of our Vesak festivities from 10-13 May. It could hell beings, numberless hell beings, The next one is, introducing the be seen from the trains zipping across the Aljunied MRT station. Thousands of hungry ghosts, animals, human Unbelievable, unbelievable, Four Noble Truths, true suffering: RESIDENT TEACHER visitors, passers-by and the whole neighbourhood got to see it. It was also featured beings, suras, asuras, intermediate unbelievable, unbelievable, what is samsara and the nature of Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi in the newspapers including the Straits Times. Just by its transient appearance, state, numberless beings. As in unbelievable, unbelievable… The suffering? Not only suffering of pain we fulfilled the great purpose of benefiting countless sentient beings. We cannot numberless, for example animals, ABC family enjoying so much good but the suffering of change, which PRESIDENT measure its success by the usual profit-cost ratio. In the Dharma scheme of things, is more difficult. All the samsaric Tan Hup Cheng the mere sight of a giant Buddha transcends all worldly convention. numberless ants, numberless fish, results, happening more and more, 2 numberless what else, cockroaches, and then outside, different people pleasures have their own nature of 3 suffering. Then the next one is more SPIRITUALPROGRAMME COORDINATOR What would Lama Zopa Rinpoche say to our accomplishing his wish? I imagine and then numberless shell animals— who receive much benefit, who see Ven. Tenzin Gyurme it might go something like: “Wow, wow, wow…!” Our Amitabha Buddha thangka wow, wow, wow—numberless frogs! much progression. They enjoy, they difficult, among those more difficult contributes to Rinpoche’s vision for FPMT centres to have prominent displays of Fulfilling their wishes. Amazing, rejoice, enjoy so much. Thank you ones to understand, but is the most CENTRE MANAGER holy objects for the benefit of the whole world. For more about this, read “Fulfilling amazing. Amazing! Amazing! very much, so much, SO, SO much! important to actualise: nature of Koh Zi Yen Rinpoche’s Vast Vision”, page 11. Amazing! Really, really, wow, wow, suffering together with renunciation wow, wow, wow, wow… So, that is Just to mention, the centre benefiting from that. So, the pervasive OFFICE staff th Speaking of Rinpoche’s vision, I thank everyone who attended the 25 anniversary what you have been doing, the ABC sentient beings, to not be reborn compounding suffering from where Administration - Alicia Lee movie premiere on 7th June, and everyone who helped me create the two movies. A family. in lower realms, by introducing suffering of pain, suffering of change Operations - Denis Kwan year ago, I had no clue I was going to be involved with “movie making”. Period. One comes from. Introducing that, then retail - Serene Tan karma, the shortcomings of negative year on, there somehow seems to be a growing YouTube collection! Chief among realising how samsara is in the nature them is the message that I, with Hup Cheng’s support, had specially requested from My numberless thanks, and ‘big karma, such as the ten non-virtues of suffering, trying to see that. Lama Zopa Rinpoche for ABC students. My idea was for Rinpoche’s interview heart’! Numberless ‘big heart’ to and so forth, which is cause for the OFFICE HOURS to be included in the 25th anniversary video that the Exco had assigned me to ALL my ABC family! It started and lower realms, then suffering for an Open daily except Mondays produce. The interview was recorded on 21st January this year in Sera Je Monastery developed through 25 years up to incredible length of time. It can We have been suffering in samsara Tuesdays – Saturdays: with the invaluable assistance of Ven. Kunsang and Ven. Gyurme. now, up to today. Wow, wow, wow, even be possible, the good karma, from beginningless rebirth. Without 10.30 am – 6 pm what a development. SOOo long. only with refuge vow—I’m just knowing that, being hallucinated Sundays: 10 am – 6 pm Rinpoche spoke for over an hour. His message was filled with such warmth and Many years. Butterfly Avenue. giving an example—one precept, with that, samsara is a beautiful (Hours extended to 7.30 pm when delight towards all of us. It deserved its own video. It deserved to be shared. It That’s the past. SOOo many years! two precepts, three precepts, five park, as Panchen Losang Chökyi evening sessions are scheduled) deserved to be fully heard and without delay. It so happened to be a busy period Thank you very much. Continue precepts, complete upasika vow, Gyaltsen mentioned in the “Lama in March and not the wisest time to call for voluntary help for this sort of thing. your dedication. Continue your then eight precepts, that causes Chöpa”. The toilet or the beautiful Relying entirely on myself to do what I felt was the right thing, I ventured into park, samsara is a beautiful park. AMITABHA BUDDHIST CENTRE unfamiliar territory and made my own movie. study. Continue your study and higher rebirth. Refuge in karma, I 44 Lorong 25A Geylang putting effort to develop the explained, which is cause to achieve Total hallucination. This is what Singapore 388244 “Thank You, ABC Family!” was made in just one week, thanks to a MacBook, centre, the conditions, to receive higher rebirth, a direct human happens. So far, oceans of suffering Tel: 6745 8547 Fax: 6741 0438 iMovie, the Help Menu, and many fervent prayers to Rinpoche. Thank you all for teachers, and then sentient beings to rebirth and so forth, also pure of hell beings, hungry ghosts, www.fpmtabc.org watching my very first DIY movie. I couldn’t thank Rinpoche enough for taking receive teachings. Making all that, land—unbelievable, unbelievable, animals, human beings, suras, [email protected] the starring role! For those who missed the premiere, the video can now be viewed developing all that, better and better, unbelievable opportunity. asuras, intermediate beings, suffering on YouTube. With great pleasure, Part 1 of the edited transcript is featured right and better and better. Amazing! on and on, up to now, numberless here from page 3-5. times. That is still not free. That is reality. That is factual. So life is filled wa’, but it means ‘tsol-me nyong-wa’, wow, wow, to achieve enlightenment. ALL the three times’ happiness, all with hallucination. without effort. It should be like Then learning about enlightenment, came from Buddha. Sorry, I just said that, but Rinpoche said ‘tsol-me kyi cessation of all those obscurations, Buddha. Guru is Buddha as well. So teaching true cause of suffering, nyong-wa’ first and then afterwards completion of all the realisations, Because I mentioned guru, I’m not karma and delusion, and then, ‘tsol-che nyong-wa’. It’s not like that: ‘sang-gye’! You have all the qualities, talking about myself. You can think cessation of suffering, and true path, ‘tsol-che’ first, then ‘tsol-me’ after. omniscient mind and what else? of His Holiness and others. the antidote to the cessation of those ‘Tsol-che’ is with effort. By reasoning Infinite compassion towards sentient sufferings, and then true path, wow, with quotation [Rinpoche meant beings, then perfect power. You have You are able to work for numberless wow, wow, wow. All the extensive scriptural citations], then your mind all the qualities to help sentient sentient beings of each realm and subjects, what you are learning, feels that.