Chanting cum Potluck Fellowship on 1 August 2009 has been cancelled

Dear BMSM Welfare members & supporters,

Please be informed that the Chanting cum Potluck Fellowship on Saturday 1 August 2009 has been cancelled.

Buddhism Won "The Best Religion in the World" Award?

15 July 2009, Tribune de Geneve
This news is published in beliefnet but is probably fabricated. Source

1. The organisation (International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Sprituality) that sponsored this award couldn't be found anywhere on the web other than Beliefnet. Neither were the personalities quoted in the news, such as ICARUS Director, Hans Groehlichen and Bhante Ghruata Hanta.

2. Thank you Riglin for pointed out that this news couldn't be found on Tribune de Geneve online. I can't read French and is unable to verify it myself.

A lesson for me that all news shall be verified against all sources before posting it.

Nevertheless, I hope this article would stir up the minds of all religious leaders a bit.

1. Organised religions have increasingly been used to inflame rather than to bring together. Practise of compassion is the solution.

2. The spirit of modesty.

I would've verified the source if this article mentioned certain Buddhist commnunity had accepted "this award".

(updated 17/7/2009 11:45pm)

In advance of their annual Leading Figure award to a religious figure who has done the most to advance the cause of humanism and peace, the Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has chosen to bestow a special award this year on the Buddhist Community. "We typically prefer an under-the-radar approach for the organization, as we try to embody the spirit of modesty found in the greatest traditions," said ICARUS director Hans Groehlichen in a phone conference Monday. "But with organized religion increasingly used as a tool to separate and inflame rather than bring together, we felt we had to take the unusual step of creating a "Best Religion in the World" award and making a bit of a stir, to inspire other religious leaders to see what is possible when you practice compassion."

Groehlichen said the award was voted on by an international roundtable of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum. "It was interesting to note that once we supplied the criteria, many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion," said Groehlichen. "Buddhists actually make up a tiny minority of our membership, so it was fascinating but quite exciting that they won."

Criteria included factors such as promoting personal and community peace, increasing compassion and a sense of connection, and encouraging preservation of the natural environment. Groehlichen continued "The biggest factor for us is that ICARUS was founded by spiritual and religious people to bring the concepts of non-violence to prominence in society. One of the key questions in our voting process was which religion actually practices non-violence."

When presenting the information to the voting members, ICARUS researched each of the 38 religions on the ballot extensively, offering background, philosophy, and the religions role in government and warfare. Jonna Hult, Director of Research for ICARUS said "It wasn't a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in the World, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war fought in the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keep a gun in the closet just in case God makes a mistake. We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army. These people practice what they preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritual tradition."

At least one Catholic priest spoke out on behalf of Buddhism. Father Ted O'Shaughnessy said from Belfast, "As much as I love the Catholic Church, it has always bothered me to no end that we preach love in our scripture yet then claim to know God's will when it comes to killing other humans. For that reason, I did have to cast my vote for the Buddhists." And Muslim Cleric Tal Bin Wassad agreed from Pakistan via his translator. "While I am a devout Muslim, I can see how much anger and bloodshed is channeled into religious expression rather than dealt with on a personal level. The Buddhists have that figured out." Bin Wassad, the ICARUS voting member for Pakistan's Muslim community continued, "In fact, some of my best friends are Buddhist." And Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein said from Jerusalem, "Of course, I love Judaism, and I think it's the greatest religion in the world. But to be honest, I've been practicing Vipassana meditation every day before minyan (daily Jewish prayer) since 1993. So I get it."

Groehlichen said that the plan was for the award to Buddhism for "Best Religion in the World" to be given to leaders from the various lineages in the Buddhist community. However, there was one snag. "Basically we can't find anyone to give it to," said Groehlichen in a followup call late Tuesday. "All the Buddhists we call keep saying they don't want the award." Groehlichen explained the strange behavior, saying "Basically they are all saying they are a philosophical tradition, not a religion. But that doesn't change the fact that with this award we acknowledge their philosophy of personal responsibility and personal transformation to be the best in the world and the most important for the challenges facing every individual and all living beings in the coming centuries."

When asked why the Burmese Buddhist community refused the award, Buddhist monk Bhante Ghurata Hanta said from Burma, "We are grateful for the acknowledgement, but we give this award to all humanity, for Buddha nature lies within each of us." Groehlichen went on to say "We're going to keep calling around until we find a Buddhist who will accept it. We'll let you know when we do."

Buddhism thrives as China relaxes religious policy

WUTAISHAN, China (AFP) — Temples thrive, monks travel far and wide in search of enlightenment, the faithful fill the halls of worship -- after decades of atheist policies, Buddhism is making a huge comeback in China.

For decades, the communist-run State Administration for Religious Affairs has said there were only about 100 million religious believers in China, but state press reports have recently said that number has grown to 300 million.

Nowhere is this revival more apparent than at Wutaishan, the most important of China's four holy mountains and home to a sprawling complex of temples, 300 kilometres (180 miles) southwest of Beijing.

In late June, Wutaishan was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nation's cultural arm UNESCO, a move expected to bring more visitors to this holy shrine that houses some of China's oldest Buddhist manuscripts.

Currently 53 temples house monks and nuns, while the ruins of more than 150 temples are scattered around hillside terraces or isolated on remote mountain tops.

The earliest temples date back to the first century when Buddhism first arrived to China from India.

"Twenty years ago, as we started recovering from the Cultural Revolution, the total number of monks here was just a few hundred," said Yi Bo, spokesman for the Wutaishan Buddhist Association.

"Since then Buddhism has not stopped developing. More and more monks have come. The numbers hit 1,000, then 2,000, then 3,000. Three years ago we hit 5,000."

At that time the government stepped in and began restricting the number of monks who could study here, he said.

Meanwhile, 2.8 million visitors came to Wutaishan in 2008, bringing in 1.4 billion yuan (206 million dollars) in tourist revenues, according to government figures. This year more than 3.1 million visitors are expected.

"The government supports us mainly with policy, but funding for our growth mainly comes from donations from the Buddhist faithful," said Miao Yi, a nun at the Buddhist Institute at the Pushou Temple, China's largest convent.

More than 600 nuns are studying in the Buddhist Institute which has received generous funding from Buddhists in Hong Kong and Taiwan, she said.

Source

8 Day Meditation Retreat at BMV

There will be an 8 DAY MEDITATION RETREAT held from the 22-29 August 2009.
This Meditation retreat will be conducted by Ven Punnaji Thero.

For those who are interested, please call the BMV office at 03 22741141 for more information.

The Sichuan Cultural Troupe Variety Show has been cancelled

Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia regrets to announce that the Sichuan Cultural Troupe Variety Show which has been scheduled to be held on 19 July 2009 at Buddhist Maha Vihara has been cancelled as the troupe members are infected with A(H1N1) flu.

All ticket holders will be refunded.

The inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.

Fa Yu Chan Si ( 法雨禪寺) - the "Ang Kor Wat" of Malaysia

Land is a scarce commodity in Singapore. Other than the existing temples, there isn't much land to build new temples in the city-state. As a result, many Buddhist devotees and monks build their temples or contribute towards the expansion of the existing temples in Johor.

Thanks to the contribution of a Singaporean collector who is also a devout Buddhist, thousands of ancient Buddha statues as well as time-honoured stone, wooden and copper statues have been placed at the Fa Yu Chan Si monastery (法雨禪寺) in Ulu Tiram. Being built in the woods on a 3-acre site at about 2km from the town of Ulu Tiram, the monastery offers an excellent haven for religious retreat.

Even though the monastery is still undergoing beautification, renovation and further development at this moment, once you step inside the temple, you will be able to find countless of stone statues of Buddha.

Other than the nost notable Big Buddha's Head and half-body Buddha statues, the most eye-catching relics are the Buddhist columns and pagoda. These masterfully crafted carvings have created an atmosphere of a thousand-year-old ancient monastery. Besides, rows of intricately carved Buddha statues have been neatly placed on both sides of the pagoda and Buddhist Columns.

The Cultural Relics Hall, meanwhile, looks like a relic site full of inscribed texts, stone statues of Buddha, etc, the most outstanding being the 500 Luo Han statues in different postures, costumes, and names.You can also find thousand-year-old stone tortoise statue, statues of Bodhidharma and the God of Mercy, among others. There are also relics from the Tang, Yuan and Han dynasties.

Other than the Sakyamuni Valuable Palace, the God of Prosperity Temple, Di Zhan Dian Cinerarium Pavilion and the Hall of Spirit Tablets which have been completed within the compound of the Fa Yu Chan Si monastery, the remaining buildings such as Buddhist Relics Hall, Cultural Relics Hall and the Bodhidharma Pavilion are under construction.

The abbot of the monastery, Master Shi Zhen Guan said many devout Buddhists gave up their faith when they got old. Hence, the main focus of development in future for this manastery is to provide a quiet retreat for these people.

He aspired to develop the monastery to something similar to the renowned Kek Lok Si temple in Penang. While encouraging Buddhist devotees to study the Doctrine and retreat, he also hoped opening the monastery for public viewing would enable more people to appreciate the relics of great artistic values.

Fa Yu Chan Si

Address: Lot 380
Jalan Sungai Tiram
Batu 133/4 Kampong Sungai Tiram
81800 Ulu Tiram, Johor
Contact: 016-717 9633 (Ms Chen Yi Ping)

Source : Sin Chew Daily News (星洲日报）