Dear members of BUBS, friends.

 

Our Society could no longer be described as a young society anymore.  Regardless of its actual age, we have moved from a fledgling group trying to find its direction and strengths to one that is more self-confident and grounded.  Like many who go through this period of adolescence, we feel a need to deepen our spiritual experience and establish meaningful connections with the teachings of the Buddha.  Thus, as a Society with a vision of establishing a community of Buddhists who are truly Dhamma-inspired, we call upon our members to deepen their faith in the Three Jewels, to firmly put in place the Three Refuges as the principal pillar of their lives. 

 

The EXCO is committing itself to helping members realize this ideal.  We shall intensify our Dhammaduta activities and re-orientate ourselves towards activities that shall deepen our faith and devotion towards the Buddha Sasana.

 

In order for the Society to quickly achieve its objectives, we appeal to members to volunteer their services to the various sub-Committees.  Notices for the various ways you can help will be put up from time to time.  In the mean time, if you have any ideas or initiatives that is in accordance with our overall objectives, please present them to any EXCO member.  May the blessings of the Three Jewels continue to bless us in our work.

 

1. Society Matters

1.1 Annual General Meeting
The 6th Annual General Meeting was held on 6 March. This was a non-election year and the Meeting was held to present the Annual Report and to brief members on the plans, affairs and activities of the Society.

1.2 Changes in the EXCO
Ms Pat Boey resigned from her position as the Honorary Secretary of the Society in April. The EXCO has accepted her resignation with regrets and wishes to thank her for past contribution to the Society.

TK Teoh has assumed the position of the Society’s Honorary Secretary, relinquishing his role in Dhammaduta to Chiam Swee Ann (sweeann_chiam-at-gmx.yamaha.com). Dr Oon Hong Geok (joonpin-at-gmail.com)has also joined the EXCO to head the Fellowship activities. We wish to congratulate and express our appreciation to Teoh, Chiam and Dr Oon for stepping up to these positions.

1.3 Humanitarian Fund
The Society has approved the disbursement of financial aid of RM 2,500.00 to Mr Chong Tuck Meng. Mr Chong, aged 44 years, from Bentong, Pahang, is a severely handicapped person who has lost the use of his arms and legs following a car accident in 1982, when he was 16 years old. For the past 23 years, he has been wheelchair bound, and has not been gainfully employed. He suffers from pressure sores and urinary tract infections, and needs lifelong medical assistance. The EXCO wishes to thank all members and friends who made donations towards this purpose.

1.4 BUBS Land – Update
We are pleased to inform that the Land Office has, on 24 June 2005, advised us that the title to our Land has been issued. This brings us another step closer to the building of our proposed Centre. We are still awaiting the Development Order (DO) approval (which at the moment is pending the approval from the State Religious Committee). Once the DO is issued, we will proceed to submit the Building Plans for approval. With this we shall then be able to apply for tax-exempt status for donations to our Building Fund. We need to raise RM4 million for the Fund, a major task for a young society like ours. We shall appreciate if members may assist us in our fund raising activities so that we may quickly meet our objectives. We will keep you posted.
Our Exco members working on this are: Ir Leong Wai Tak – Building, Ms Lim Kim See - Building Fund (012- 2832317)
 

 

2. Regular Activities update

2.1 Dhamma School
With the rental of the adjoining house for our use, our Dhamma School is in full swing with a enrolment of about 330 students. With the increased enrolment, we have managed to almost eliminate the Waiting List for students eager to join the school with intakes at the start of the two school semesters. With the increase in students, there is a constant need for volunteer staff in the areas of facilitators and administration. Please assist us to help you teach the Dhamma to the next generation. If you can assist us, please contact Ananda Fong at 019-3499468.

2.2 New moon and Full Moon Puja
The Society continues to hold special Pujas on the New moon and Full moon days. These are the traditional days of Buddhist worship and we shall be reciting the paritta suttas during these pujas. Furthermore participants may nominate names of their sick relatives and friends, or new born babies and others for special blessings. The Year 2005 dates for these pujas are set out in our website and can be accessed through this link. http://www.parami.org/bubs/lunar.html.

2.3 New program for the Sunday Puja
We will be changing the program of the Sunday Puja quite a bit. This should start in July and would be more devotional in nature. In addition to several new verses to invoke blessings from the Three Jewels, we will be making greater merits in the performance of the Puja itself as this would involve devotees participating in making the offerings of light, flowers, water and incense to the Buddha, and reciting the appropriate verses. The Puja will also include a brief period of meditation. All this would be incorporated together with the new Puja book. Watch out for it!

2.4 Visits by Monastics
The Society was visited by several monks over the past months. Usually when we have such visits the monks will give us a talk and this will be followed by a lunch dana. Bhikkhuni Kusuma from Sri Lanka visited the Society on 13 January to give a talk. She is one of the pioneers in the effort to revive the bhikkhuni lineage ( nuns or female monks) within the Theravada tradition as it had died out more than 700 years ago.

On 24 March, Venerable Dhammavihari, an 84 year old Sri Lankan monk visited us. He was the former Editor in Chief of the Encyclopedia of Buddhism and a learned scholar and linguist. Bhante has published many books re-examining many current Buddhist traditional practices and beliefs and advocates a return to the original Buddha Vacana. He is a regular Dhamma speaker on Sri Lankan television and radio programs.

On 15 May, 2 Malaysian Chinese monks, Bhante Dhammavuddho from Vihara Buddha Gotama, Temoh and Bhante Katanpunna of Bukit Mertajam visited us.

3 June, Bhante Aggacitta of Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary gave a very interesting talk on the process of dying and rebirth as perceived by the various Buddhist traditions.
 

 

 

3. Special Events & News

3.1 Tsunami Relief
In the weeks following the December Tsunami, Malaysian Buddhists were at the forefront in efforts to raise aid and coordinate efforts in relief work. In the Klang Valley area, the Buddhist Maha Vihara and the Sri Lanka Vihara in Sentul were the main foci of activity. Your Society also participated in these efforts and collected food and relief aid that was shipped to the disaster zones. In addition, we raised more than RM30,000 cash which was donated to Ven Wimala and Ven Saranankara (Sri Lanka Vihara, Sentul) in support of their relief and reconstruction efforts.

3.2 Another sell-out talk by Ajahn Brahmavamso, 30 January 05
Well not in the normal sense, as we didn’t sell tickets for this event. Like before when we invited Ajahn Brahm for a talk, we tried our best to rent a large hall and publicise the event to the public so that man people would be able to attend. The hall we rented in Kolej KBU, Bandar Utama was filled to capacity with about 300 people, some of whom had to find their seats on the steps and the floor. Yet everyone listened attentively to another entertaining and profound talk by the Ajahn on the topic "Where Is Mankind Heading". The audience also contributed about RM9,000 which we then donated to the Buddhist Society of Western Australia for the Meditation Retreat Centre project in Perth.

3.3 Special Puja and Memorial Service in conjunction with Cheng Beng, 3 April 2005
A Special Puja and Memorial Service in conjunction with Cheng Beng
or "All Souls' Day" was held on Sunday, 3 April 2005. The Puja, including the chanting of parittas, was conducted by Ven Saranankara, Abbot of Sri Lanka Vihara, Sentul and was followed by a short talk.

3.4 Book Reprints
Just before Wesak the Society reprinted 3 publications for free distribution. These were 2000 copies of Ven K.Sri Dhammananda’s “Why Worry”, sponsored by Alex Chan and Steven Oon and 3,000 copies each of Ajahn Brahm’s “What is Buddhism” and “How to Develop Happiness in Daily Living”, a compilation of articles by several teachers and news reports on celebrity Buddhists. We wish to thank all donors for their generous contributions in furtherance of the cause of the Dhamma.

3.5 Wesak, 22 May 05
The Wesak Celebrations this year was organized by a sub-committee headed by Ms Lim Kim See and carried the theme “A Happy Caring Family”. Building on our previous success we had an even more celebrative year with record turn-outs at our traditional pre-Wesak blood donation and at the Center on Wesak day itself. Building up to the event, we had distributed 4,000 flyers to the neighboring houses and put up banners and flags along busy roads. Further publicity was generated through email announcements, newsgroups, and the public media.

The Blood Donation campaign was organized together with One Utama (New Wing), who allowed us free use of space in the Mall and partly sponsored by the Malaysian Youth Council. The event was attended by YB Tan Sri Dr K S Nijhar & Puan Sri and drew 107 blood donors, our highest number so far.

Wesak Celebrations started with the lighting of oil lamps, almost 800 of them on Wesak Eve and a talk by Uncle Vijaya.  On Wesak Day, several monks were present to conduct the puja and blessing ceremonies for the devotees. Our VIP Guests, Dato Dr Lim Thuang Seng and YB Yong Dai Ying also gave their speeches remarking upon the universal messages of peace taught in Buddhism. The Youth Group put up an acapella performance and 10 Dhamma School children, coached by Sis Hor Yoke Sun (Sunny) and Bro Chong Su Lim sang 3 hymns beautifully. The Dhamma School also put up an exhibition with the participation of several classes and the Dhamma School Facilitators.

A modest shrine for the ritual of ‘Bathing the Little Siddhatta’ was also set up and this was very popular with members and visitors.

With the help of a generous benefactor, we sold in excess of RM90,000 coupons for the Food Fair, which together with other receipts resulted in a total of RM111,491 collected for our Building Fund.  Several welfare homes, namely Ci Hang Welfare  Home, Tiratana Orphanage and  Welfare Home, Taman Megah Handicapped and Disabled Children Home, Lovely Nursing Centre and Orphanage were also benefited as many devotees used their coupons to purchase food and other items to be donated to them.

3.6 Sumi Loundon Meditation Camp, 4 June
35 young participants from the Society attended the popular camp conducted by Ms Sumi Loundon from the Insight Meditation Society, USA. The one day camp was held in the premises of the Kota Kemuning Buddhist Centre, Shah Alam. The objective of the Camp was to introduce to our young Buddhists the importance of mindfulness practice in daily life. They learnt  that mindfulness not only helps them in their studies but also in their interactions and relationships with others. Most important, learning mindfulness can indeed be interesting and fun!

3.7 Inter-Dharma School Hymn Singing Competition, 26 June
The Inter-Dharma School Hmn Singing Competion was organized by the Nalanda Buddhist Society, Sri Serdang and held at their Community House.  The event was participated by several Dhamma Schools in the Klang Valley.  Our Dhamma School presented one entry for the Primary-Group category.  This choir, comprising of 5 budding singers and a guitarist did not manage to win any prizes but we are happy for the exposure and experience they gained. A big Sadhu to the children’s parents for their support, Sis Hor Yoke Sun (Sunny) and Bro Chong Su Lim for coaching the children.

  

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4. Coming Activities

4.1 Introductory Course in Buddhism
The Society is organising a "Buddhism for Beginners Course" for its members and friends.

Brief details are as follows:
Commencing: 26 July 2005 - 27 Sept 2005, Every Tuesday
Time : 8.30 pm to 10.00 pm:
Venue: BUBS Centre
The course will guide participants towards an understanding of the basic and essential tenets of Buddhist teachings. It prepares and builds a foundation to deepen your knowledge. Topics covered include the 3 Jewels, Kamma, 5 Precepts,Buddhist Apologetics etc. Members new to the Buddha Dhamma are encouraged to attend. Contact:Chiam SA 012-3290183, Robert Yap 012-3127122

 

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To see photos of our activities, visit our photo album at http://www.parami.org/bubs/photoalbum.htm

 

Sabbe danam, Dhamma danam jinati
Of all gifts, the gift of Dhamma is supreme