Dear members of BUBS, friends.

 

We come to the close of another year.  It is quite remarkable to note that the Society is maturing as many members and friends who once considered themselves as “new” have stepped up to positions of responsibility, guiding and running several of our programs either on a regular or on a project basis. This is how we envision the Society to be; managed by those inspired enough by the Dhamma to wish to contribute towards its development and flowering in this part of the world.

 

We encourage members who have special skills or ideas that may be put to good use by the Society to approach the EXCO. We do not know your talents so you will have to tell us. In the meantime it is worthwhile considering that this is an election year, so if you feel you would like to contribute your services in a greater capacity, please put your name up for nomination at the coming Annual General Meeting.

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1. Developments in the Society

 

1.1 Groundbreaking ceremony for New Center

 

The event so many of us has been waiting and working for finally arrived. We had our Ground Breaking Ceremony for our new Centre in BU6 on 15 September 2007.  This event was attended by our Spiritual Advisor Ven Saranankara as well as many monks from the three traditions.  YB Datuk Tan Chai Ho was present to officiate at the formal ceremony.  This is of course a historical event.

 

Two hundred “golden spades” specially prepared to commemorate the occasion was sold. This helped boost our Building Fund which now stands at about RM3.5m.  Our budget for the building was initially RM5.5 million. However, it now appears that this might fall short as costs for some building materials has increased quite a bit recently.

 

Construction work at the site has commenced. A pit has been dug and piling work has begun.  You can see photos of progress here: http://www.parami.org/bubs/bubsprogress.html

 

1.2 Welfare and Outreach Team

 

The Welfare sub-committee has been polishing up their chanting skills every Tuesday evening and has broadened their repertoire of suttas and gathas.  As a result, a BUBS chanting group has been officially formed and regularly attends to the sick and at bereavement ceremonies to perform their meritorious act.  Chanting suttas for the benefit of others is a highly meritorious karma. Preaching and listening to the Dhamma are both constituents of the ten paramis and thus, are very beneficial acts.  Some may feel it is un-auspicious or unlucky to attend funerals. Please be assured that this is a totally wrong view.  If such were true, the Buddha and members of the sangha would be in a very unfortunate position. Instead, one should call to mind the great benefit and comfort one brings in chanting the words of the Buddha for the welfare of others.  Please call Bro Yip at 019-2315515 if you wish to participate in this noble and meritorious work.

 

1.3 Birthday Chanting Blessing

 

The Tuesday chanting group has also initiated a Birthday chanting session once a month. Members who have their birthdays in that month are invited to attend the chanting session for blessings.

 

1.4 Dhamma Aid Cambodia

 

Our foreign Dhamma assistance project for Cambodia continues to be appreciated in that country. In November, we reprinted for free distribution in Cambodia, another 4,000 copies of “Good Question Good Answer”, the 4th reprint of this book since DAC started in Sept 2006, and 3,500 copies of “Buddhist Ethics in Daily Life”.  This brings the total to 19,000 books printed for free distribution in Cambodia this year. In addition, we sponsored the scholarships for 4 Cambodian monks studying in a Buddhist university in Phnom Penh.  Going forward, we hope to keep up the momentum with more book publications and other projects.  A new presentation slide show for DAC was also put online and can be viewed at http://www.parami.org/dhammaaidcambodia/slides.html.

 

 If you wish to sponsor a scholarship or the reprinting of books or to assist in fund-raising for this project, please contact Yu Ban at 019-2291881.

 

1.5 Sunday School

 

To improve on the quality of the Sunday School, we ran a Dhamma Teachers & Development Program  for the Dhamma school facilitators. This program from July to November was facilitated by Bro Tee Chee Seng. The Facilitation Skills covered included Multiple Intelligence, What We Seek In Life and Mind Mapping.

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2 Visits by Monastics

 

BUBS continues to be blessed with visits by several monks/nuns who share their wisdom and inspire us.  During the 2nd half of the year we were visited by:

 

Venerable Dr Dhammapiya Sayadaw

Venerable Dr Dhammapiya Sayadaw  of Burma became a novice monk at the age of nine and a fully ordained monk at the age of twenty. In 1982, he became a permanent resident of Mahasi Meditation Center. During his stay there, he taught Vipassana meditation to monks, nuns and yogis. In 1986, he was assigned to reside at the Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Center in Penang and in 1992, Venerable was invited to be the Abbot of Tathagata Meditation Center, San Jose, California, USA. Venerable taught Vipassana meditation Venerable Dr Dhammapiya Sayadaw also established a new meditation center, Mettananda Vihara Dhamma Yeiktha in Fremont, California in 1999. Sayadaw’s book “Buddhist Ethics in Daily Life” was also translated into Khmer and reprinted for free distribution in Cambodia by our Dhamma Aid Cambodia.

 

Bhante Kovida

Bhante Kovida grew up on the tropical island of Jamaica, West Indies, of Chinese descent. He immigrated to Canada, studied for a science degree, then traveled overland from Europe to India and Nepal during 1974-1975, where he began the study of Indian history and culture, Yoga, classical Indian music and Buddhism. This journey was to be the most significant event in his life as it fulfilled a deep childhood yearning for travel and adventure, and spiritual understanding.  After further visits to India and Sri Lanka, Bhante Kovida took ordination with Venerable Balangoda Anandamaitreya, a noted scholar, teacher and meditation practitioner, in January, 1991.  Bhante Kovida left Sri Lanka towards the end of 1993 and began traveling and sharing the Dharma in Canada. Since then he has also traveled and taught in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and London.

 

Venerable Bhikkhuni Kusuma

Venerable Bhikkhuni Kusuma is the first Theravada Bhikkhuni of the modern era, ordained in the late 1980s. Her lay name was Prof. Kusuma Devendara and she has authored and translated about 10 books on Buddhism and written many articles for various journals.

 

Bhante Punnaji

Ven. Punnaji Maha Thera from Sri Lanka, was ordained at the Bhikkhu Training Centre, Maharagama, in his thirties. He obtained his training in meditation at the Island Hermitage, Dodanduwa. He studied modern science and Western medicine in Sri Lanka, and he obtained two doctorates while in the United States, one in Western psychology, and another in Western philosophy and comparative religion.

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3. Special Events & News

 

3.1 Discovering Buddhism in You, July

 

In July, we held a 6 week course on the basic doctrines of Buddhism.  This was attended by about 45 people. The feedback we received from the participants was that most felt they benefited and learnt from the course.

 

3.2 Dhamma School - Educational trip to Deerland Park and Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary in Lanchang, Pahang, 19 August

 

On 19 August 2007, 120 Dhamma School Students together with their families went on a 1-day fun-filled educational trip to the Deerland Park and also Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary.  The objective of this trip was to allow our DS students to develop compassion to animals and respect for the natural environment.  The participants enjoyed themselves with the various activities like feeding the deer and honey bears. They also bathed elephants in a river, went on elephant rides and jungle trekking, learnt to identify local herbs and vegetation and also had a traditional Orang Asli lunch.

 

3.3 Special Sutta Recitation for Blessings for the examination period, 26 August 2007

 

We held our annual Special Puja dedicated towards the success of members' children in the coming examinations ("UPSR, PMR, SPM").   As in previous years, this was well attended. Perhaps news that the participants at this puja in previous years have been getting excellent results have leaked out!

 

3.4 Save-a-life - 20 October 2007

 

We regularly hold events to save the lives of sentient beings. Usually, we arrange to purchase live fish, frogs and crickets to be released into their natural habitat. Recently, such an event was held on Saturday 20 October 2007 at Ulu Langat Dam Cheras.  A total of RM1005/= was collected. From this amount, RM200/= was spent to buy fish, frogs and drinks. The remainder of RM805/= was donated to Sau Seng Lum Haemodialysis Centre.

 

3.5 Fellowship Retreat at Fraser's Hill

 

The retreat received very good response with 61 participants, well above the anticipated number. The retreat covered talks on health, healthy eating, herbal therapy, Reiki healing balanced with qi gong, yoga and nature walks. While the adults listened to the talks, the children were treated to a programme of fun conducted by Bro Ron Leong. All who attended the retreat not only benefited from the event but also enjoyed themselves.

 

3.6 BUBS 2nd Charity Golf 2007, September 2007

 

We held our 2nd Charity Golf in aid of the Building Fund on the 21st September 2007 at the Tropicana Golf and Country Club.  The response was tremendous as all the flights were taken and we had to turn down late comers. Many non golfers came to support the event at the dinner presentation and enjoyed themselves as well.

 

3.7 Dhamma School Appreciation Day, 4 November

 

We held a concert on a small scale at the Yamaha Music Centre, Kelana Jaya, to mark the end of the year for the Sunday school and to express mutual appreciation to teachers, staff and students of the Sunday school and parents.  Classes were invited to perform a sketch or some performance.

 

3.8 Trip  to Sasanarakha Buddhist Sanctuary, Taiping for Kathina, 11 November

 

This year, our trip to Taiping was rather special because the Kathina at the Sasanarakha Buddhist Sanctuary was sponsored by a group of our BUBS members.  In addition, our members also threw in a 10 minute theatrical performance led by Pat Boey.   Response to this trip was very good and we filled 3 coaches with our pilgrims. We were the biggest delegation for the kathina.

 

3.9 Movie screening – Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”, 8 December

 

We screened the widely acclaimed documentary movie "An Inconvenient Truth". This film offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's commitment to expose the myths and misconceptions that surround global warming and inspire actions to prevent it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on an all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. In this eye-opening and poignant portrait of Gore and his "traveling global warming show,"

 

3.10 BUBS Fund Raising Dinner , 11 Dec

 

The year concluded with the fund Raising Dinner and Concert featuring David Leon and the Stars of Beatlemania at the prestigious One World Hotel in Bandar Utama.Dinner tables priced between RM3,000 to RM15,000 each were snapped up and a total of 149 tables were sold to members and the public. Diners were shown a slide presentation on the society and our future building before the highlight of the evening, the magnificent concert by David Leon and the stars of Beatlemania. Their music took members back to their adolescent years and we were soon rocking away the night! Yes, it’s true, Buddhists boogie too.

 

The night itself saw the generosity of the audience where approximately RM59,000 was collected from pledges and cash donors.

 

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Thank you

 

We are happy to note that member participation and support of all our activities have grown. It has become increasingly difficult for the editor to keep track of all those who have contributed towards the various activities.  So we take this opportunity to thank all the members and friends who have given of themselves. Thank you very much.

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