Dear members of BUBS, friends.

No doubt, the most important event for the Society in the near term is the construction of its own purpose built Centre.  We have been obtaining the necessary approvals for the land and building and expect a couple more hurdles before we can actually start construction.  In view of this, we are beginning to gear up and start our fund-raising efforts in earnest. Of course, this will involve quite a bit of hard work and effort. However, envisioning what we can do with our own Center motivates us and makes it all an exciting venture. 

If we also consider that we build today will be our legacy for future generations of Buddhists and others who seek the way, it gives additional value to the way we live our lives. Even if we do not achieve any of our youthful dreams, even if we have not done much good, or even if we messed it up quite a bit, if we contribute our efforts towards this cause, we can know that when it is time for us to leave this life, we will also leave  something of value behind.

1. Society Matters

1.1 Seventh Annual General Meeting

BUBS held its 7^th AGM on 26 March.  Elections are held every two years and this being the election year, a new set of EXCO members were elected by the members.  The elected EXCO members then deliberated among themselves and have formed the EXCO for the year 2006 to 2008 as follows:

President                     :  Mr Chiam Swee Ann

Deputy President        :  Mr Tan Buck Soon

Secretary                     :  Ms Ong Tit Suen

Assistant Secretary    :  Mr Teoh Tiang Kwang

Treasurer                     :  Mr Choo Heng Jin

Assistant Treasurer    :  Mr David Lai Wai Chuan

Committee Members

Dhammaduta              :  Ms Khoo Cheng Cheng

Dhamma School         :  Ms Lau Poh Liew

Building Fund              : Ms Lim Kim See

Building                        :  Mr Leong Wai Tak

Publication & Website:  Mr Lee Yu Ban

Fellowship                   :   Dr Oon Hong Geok

Youth                            :  Ms Fong Jiar Yi

Hon Auditors               :   Mr Lee Lean Hock

                                         Mr Yip Kam Ming

At the AGM, members also resolved two other matters, that the AGM will be held before 30 June of each year and also approving the EXCO to utilize up to RM5.5m fro the Building Fund for the purpose of constructing the new Centre.  We all look forward to two more years of progress and development under the new Committee

2. Regular Activities update

2.1 Dhamma School

Sunday Dhamma School is not only bookish learning.  We do not want it to be another boring extension of school. As a extra-curricular activity for the Dhamma School children, the School has introduced choir training conducted by a professional vocal trainer.   Hopefully, some talented singers will be developed and the Dhamma school will have its own choir soon.

2.2 Meditation

The Thursday night meditation sessions are a popular event with our members. Many look forward to a evening of peace and silence amidst the busy working week, Thanks to the time contributed by Bro Jong Ah Wah, we have managed to run our weekly Vipassana classes for quite a long period. However, because of work commitments, Bro Jong Ah Wah was unable to continue his service.  We have now invited Bro Teo Kian Koon, a long time practitioner and member of the Selangor Vipassana Buddhist Meditation Society to assist in conducting this weekly event. Our thanks to these two gentlemen.  The Friday night Metta Meditation sessions continue to be led by by Bro. Hor Tuck Loon.

2.3 Yoga classes

Yoga is becoming a hot event nowadays. It has become part of the “wellness” regime of many people.  One of our members, Sis Theresa has volunteered to conduct yoga classes at the Center on Saturday mornings and Thursday nights. A nominal fee is charged and the proceeds go to our Building Fund.

2.4 Visits by Monastics

The presence of monastics at BUBS is always a joy. They inspire us and guide us in our practice and are always ready to listen to our problems.  In the last six months, we were specially blessed to receive visits from monks and nuns from both the Theravada and Tibetan traditions.

Bhante Aggacitta, the abbot of Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary, Taiping visited and gave a talk on Friday 3 February.  He elaborated on the many methods of meditation and advised how we should select the appropriate practice.

Ven Ariya Nani, a nun from Switzerland was invited to BUBS on 26 February for a talk and dana.  She first became interested in Buddhism and meditation while training as a music and dance teacher at a conservatory in Zurich. Subsequently she went to Myanmar to ordain and develop her meditation practice.

Ven Siripanno, is of Malaysian and Thai parentage. He completed his studies in the UK before ordaining as a monk in the Thai forest tradition. He was at BUBS on 23 March and gave a short talk on meditation.

Ven Tenzin Palmo, is a British nun ordained in the Tibetan tradition and was made famous by the book “Cave in the Snow” which describes her 13 years of single-minded practice in the Himalayas. She visited BUBS on 31 May to relate her experiences in a talk on Motivation and Practice and also described her ongoing project to establish a nunnery in north India.

2.5 Other regular activities

Pujas continue to be held regularly on Sunday mornings and new moon and full moon days.

3. Special Events & News

3.1 Trip to Ci Hang Old Folks home – 19 Feb

Organised specially for the benefit for the children of Sunday Dhamma School, this event drew quite a number of parents too.  Eventually we needed to charter a few buses to take all the participants to the Home in Subang.  Perched near the top of small hill, the Home impressed us with its efficiency and cleanliness. In addition to providing a home for the aged it also provided therapy sessions and facilities for stroke and accident victims. We were even more impressed to learn that the Home was established totally through the compassion and charity of a dedicated couple.

3.2 Fund raising Dinner – 4 March

The Society has been running on monthly cash deficits for the latter part of 2005.  The main cost is the rental of the two houses we are occupying.  This is necessary to accommodate the increased number of students in the Sunday Dhamma class.  At the beginning of the year an appeal was sent out. Although we received limited response, we deeply appreciate the contributions from those who did.  However as this was insufficient to cover expenses for the whole year, it was decided to hold a fund-raising dinner.

The dinner was held at Golden Dragon City Seafood Restaurant, quite a mouthful for a modest restaurant in Paramount Garden. The dinner turned out to be a fun-filled evening, without doubt the result of an impromptu karaoke competition.  We are pleased to report that the dinner netted RM14,500  which would go some way in covering the expenses for the current year. 

3.3 Buddhism for You – Intermediate Course – from 29 March to 3 May

As a follow up to the popular and successful Beginners Course, a Intermediate Course covering deeper aspects of the Dhamma and its practical application was introduced on 29 March.  Held on Wednesday nights over 7 weeks, the Course also incorporated a Video show on “Mind and its Potential”.

3.4 Special Blessing Service in conjunction with “Cheng Beng” – 2 April

We celebrated the Chinese festival of Cheng Beng in our special way. Several monks from the  Sri Lanka Temple, Sentul were invited to BUBS to conduct a special Puja and to chant Parittas.  The event was completed with a dana to the monks.

3.5 Teens and Youth Group Potluck Dinner – 8 April

This Potluck dinner was held to enable the Teens and Youth to get to know each other  better and to have fun! 25 people including the Youth committee attended this potluck dinner. The food selection was great – pizza, pasta, fried mee hoon, tit-bits, all prepared and sponsored by the youths. After the dinner, there was a musical performance by two of our teens followed by 3 games which allowed all the youth and teens to mingle and get to know more of each other. The potluck ended around 11pm. The gathering successfully brought the Youth and Teens closer in fellowship and even the quiet ones are now more involved in the class activities.

3.6 Wesak Celebrations 2006

We started Wesak Celebrations this year with our customary Blood Donation campaign.  This time, the event, which was launched by YB Datuk Lim Choon Kin, ADUN for Damansara Utama, was held at the Atria Shopping Complex, Damansara Jaya.  More than 100 persons were present to donate blood.  We also received a generous donation of RM3,000 for our Building Fund from Datuk Lim.

The Wesak Celebrations was launched at the Center on Wesak morning.  Our guest of honour, YB Ms Yong Dai Ying was present to launch the celebrations which included the Taking of Refuge and Renewal of Precepts, and a blessing ceremony conducted by the monks present.

The Food Fair, a staple of past Wesak celebrations, was also held this year. However unlike previous years where we had the luxury of space to hold the event, this time the stalls were put up right in front of our premises.  Fortunately the landlord for the neighboring vacant houses, Bandar Utama Development Sdn Bhd, generously offered them for our use on that day. The kindergarten at the end of the road also offered us their garden space to set up a stall. Our special thanks to them for their magnanimous gesture.  The Wesak Celebrations this year raised RM104,000 for our Building Fund. Sadhu to the Wesak Committee for a job well done.

3.7 Wesak International Film Festival (WIFF) 20,21,27,28 May

BUBS collaborated with 14 other local Buddhist organizations to hold WIFF 2006.  Held over two weekends at the Malaysia Tourism Center, Jln Ampang, WIFF featured full length movies as well as documentaries with Buddhist themes from various countries.  It was a successful event judging by the thousands who attended the screenings packing the cinema hall to its capacity. WIFF was also given extensive coverage in the local press and served to raise the awareness of Buddhism in the country.

3.8 Book Reprints

We translated Ajahn Brahmavamso’s book “What is Buddhism” into Chinese and printed 2,000 copies for free distribution. This publication was sponsored by a member Mr Soo Beng Teck while Danny Ng and Evelyn Ng sponsored the design and typesetting costs.

3.9 Fourth Global Conference on Buddhism - 10 & 11 June

Five BUBS members attended Conference held over the weekend in Perth, Australia.  The Conference was well covered in the Australian press and highlighted the international interest and development of Buddhism.  One of our members, journalist Mr Oon Yeoh also provided a commentary on the discussions of the Conference on his blog. (http://oonyeoh.squarespace.com/dhamma-not-dogma/)

4 Forthcoming Activities

4.1 Charity Golf

A Charity Golf event will be held on 28 July at Kelab Golf Sultan Abdul Aziz, in Shah Alam.  This event is a fund-raising event in aid of the Building Fund.  The response has been good and entries for the event are now closed.  However, there are still available places for dinner on that night. 

4.2 Buddhism for You, Beginners Course

We will be holding our 2^nd Buddhism for Beginners Course from 12 July to 4 October 2006.  Minimal changes have been made to the Course structure and all the lecturers of the previous course have replied that they are keen to do the second course.   We are experimenting by running this course without a request for a registration fee but relying on contributions from participants to defray the cost of running the course.

4.3  Examination Blessing Service

We will be holding a special puja and paritta chanting as the annual blessing service for students preparing for their major exams. The date is tentatively scheduled for August 27 at 10 am

4.4 Trip to Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary

SBS will be holding its Kathina ceremony  on Sunday, 22 October.  BUBS will be organising a trip to Taiping, leaving early morning Saturday, 21 October and returning in the afternoon of Sunday, 22 October, arriving by late evening. The cost of the trip will include transport, 1 night hotel accommodation, lunch and dinner on 21 October and breakfast on 22 October. Lunch will be provided at SBS on 22 October. Members will be informed of the cost and registration procedures at a later date.

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