No. 51 January-February 1998

III Popular Practices in Singapore

Eight Precepts

Observance of 8 precepts for one day and one night is a common practice in many temples.

Chanting for the deceased

Pure Land followers like to do chanting for the deceased. These visits are organized by the temples to visit fellow Buddhists who have passed away or to do chanting for their family members who have passed away.

Attending Funeral of Shanga Members

Funeral processions for the elderly monks always attract many followers. They believe that by attending the funeral service of a monk or nun who has gone to the Pure Land, they can accumulate great merit for themselves. They like to participate in the chanting.

3 steps 1 Bow

Started some years ago, 3 steps 1 bow organized by some temples has received overwhelming response. It is a practice held on Vesak days in particular as well as on other Buddhist festival days.

Tours to Holy Places

Joining tours to holy places in India and China is a usual activity of Singapore Buddhists. Many Buddhist organizations are arrange such tours for their members. The educational value of these tours needs to be enhanced so that it can be an effective tool to complement other practices in our spiritual pursuit.

Vegetarian Food

With the entry of Yi-Guan-Dao from Taiwan, vegetarian food is quite easily available now. Apart from vegetarian restaurants, we can always patronize the numerous hawker centers, coffee shops in which vegetarian food stores can be found. Besides, more restaurants offering vegetarian cuisine have sprung up lately. Nevertheless these food outlets are mainly run by the Yi-Guan-Dao followers.

Ancient Chinese Temple

There is only one ancient temple, Shuang Lim Monastery, in Singapore; it will be 100 years old next year. For our island country with 178 years of history, Shuang Lim Monastery is very significant to us. In the early days of the introduction of Buddhism, this temple with 5 acres of land was donated by a philanthropist and this was an important page in the history of Buddhism in Singapore. Shuan Lim Monastery, of ancient Chinese architecture, has a typical layout of a traditional Mahayana temple in China. In 1980 the government registered it as a national monument for preservation. Currently a comprehensive restoration is being carried out to retain the authenticity of these historical buildings.

0 Our Future

Buddhism is a life-time education. When the monks and nuns join the order, they commit themselves to work for Buddhism for the welfare of others as well as for themselves. Present day Singapore does not provide proper facilities for monastic living nor does it offer possibilities for a complete Buddhist education in order to cultivate talents for the continuing propagation of the Dharma. Many Singaporeans go to Taiwan or Hong Kong to further their Buddhist education. We need a Buddhist college in Singapore. This is the direction we are at present pursuing.

REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE 10 DECEMBER
NOBEL ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
 

There follows the complete address given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, on the acceptance of the Nobel Prize for Peace, which took place on December 10, 1989. Many aspects of his speech are as relevant today as they were in 1989 and in general it is of great interest.

Your Majesty, Members of the Nobel Committee, Brothers and Sisters :

I am very happy to be here with you today to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. I feel honored, humbled and deeply moved that you give this important prize to a simple monk from Tibet. I am no one special. But I believe the prize is a recognition of the true value of altruism, love compassion and nonviolence, which I try to practice, in accordance with the teachings of Buddha and the sages of India & Tibet.

I accept the prize with profound gratitude on behalf of the oppressed everywhere and for all those who struggle for freedom and work for world peace. I accept it as a tribute to the man who founded the modern tradition of nonviolent action for change - Mahatma Gandhi - whose life taught and inspired me. And of course, I accept it on behalf of the six million Tibetan people, my brave countrymen and women inside Tibet, who have suffered and continue to suffer so much. They confront a calculated and systematic strategy aimed at the destruction of their national and cultural identities. The prize reaffirms our conviction that with truth, courage and determination as our weapons. Tibet will be liberated.

No matter what part of the world we come from, we are all basically the same human beings. We seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. We have the same basic human needs and concerns. All of us human beings want freedom and the right to determine our own destiny as individuals and as peoples. That is human nature. The great changes that are taking place everywhere in the world, from Eastern Europe to Africa, is a clear indication of this.

In China the popular movement for democracy was crushed by brutal force in June of 1989. But I do not believe the demonstrations were in vain, because the spirit of freedom was rekindled amongst the Chinese people and China cannot escape this spirit of freedom sweeping in many parts of the world. The brave students and their supporters showed the Chinese leadership and the world the human face of that great nation.
Last week a number of Tibetans were once again sentenced to prison terms of up to nineteen years at a mass trial, possibly intended to frighten the population before today's event. Their only "crime" was the expression of the widespread desire of Tibetans for the restoration of their beloved country's independence.

The suffering of our people during the past forty years of occupation is well documented. Ours has been a long struggle. We know our cause is just. Because violence can only breed more violence and suffering, our struggle must remain nonviolent and free of hatred. We are trying to end the suffering of our people, not to inflict suffering upon others.

It is with this in mind that I proposed negotiations between Tibet and China on numerous occasions. In 1987, I made specific proposals in a five - Point Peace Plan for the restoration of peace and human rights in Tibet. This included the conversion of the entire Tibetan plateau into a zone of Ahimsa, a sanctuary of peace and nonviolence where human beings and nature can live in peace and harmony.

Last year, I elaborated on that plan in Strasbourg at the European Parliament. I believe the ideas I expressed on those occasions are both realistic and reasonable, although they have been criticized by some of my people as being too conciliatory. Unfortunately, China's leaders have not responded positively to the suggestions we have made, which included important concessions. If this continues, we will be compelled to reconsider our position.

Any relationship between Tibet and China will have to be based on the principle of equality, respect, trust and mutual benefit. It will also have to be based on the principle which the wise ruler of Tibet and of China laid down in a treaty as early as 823A.D., carved on the pillar which still stands today in front of the Jokhang, Tibet's holiest shrine, in Lhasa, that "Tibetans will live happily in the great land of Tibet and the Chinese will live happily in the great land of China."

As a Buddhist monk, my concern extends to all members of the human family and, indeed, to all sentient beings who suffer. I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction.

Yet true happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion, and elimination of ignorance, selfishness and greed.

The problems that we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding, and the development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one the planet we share. Although I have found my own Buddhist religion helpful in generating love and compassion, even for those we consider our enemies, I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and a sense of universal responsibility with or without religion.

With the ever-growing impact of science on our lives, religion and spirituality have a greater role to play reminding us of our humanity. There is no contradiction between the two. Each gives us valuable insights into each other. Both science and the teachings of the Buddha tell us of the fundamental unity of all things of all things. This understanding is crucial if we are to take positive and decisive action on the pressing global concern with the environment.

I believe all religions pursue the same goals, that of cultivating human goodness and bringing happiness to all human beings. Though the means might appear different, the ends are the same.
As we enter the final decade of this century, I am optimistic that the ancient values that have sustained mankind are today reaffirming themselves to prepare us for a kinder, happier twenty-first century.

I pray for all of us, oppressor and friend, that we succeed in building a better world through human understanding and love, and that in doing so we may reduce the pain and suffering of all sentient beings.

Thank you.

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The Greatest Blessings

Thus I have heard : Once when Buddha was staying at Anathapindika's park, a deva of great radiance inquired of him _ " for those who wish good fortune, please tell of the greatest blessings. "

Last month I gave you a short story from England and by overwelming request I re-encount another :

The Harrier Hawk, by Niegel Thomason.

It was an exquisite warm sunny summers day. I was standing quietly and still, just inside the tree line of the forest, looking out across an undulating golden valley of wheat. The wheat was gently swaying, wave like, to the movement of the warm breeze. A heat haze rose upwards from the dusty yellow wheat. The air was heavy with country smells and pollen. Unseen, but from over the hill I could hear the bleating of sheep and cattle.

The sky was an immaculate blue, with an occasional small white fluffy cloud slowly vaporizing across my view.

High in that beautiful sky swarms of tiny insects buzzed about, whilst swallows, swifts and martins swirled across, beaks stuffed full of those little bugs.

Through my binoculars I could see a brightly marked male pheasant, together with several camouflaged hen pheasants, feeding with their chicks at the very edge of the wheat field. They were scratching about, just outside the tree line where the forest met the wheat. The forest of trees then continued up and over the opposite side of the hill.

Next to the pheasants, several young rabbits scampered about, their little white tails bobbing up and down. Two young, sandy colored roe deer, nibbled at the wheat, whilst their parents stood on guard behind the lush and shady trees.

In the distance along the valley, I saw approaching a flock of about fifty fat wood pigeons. I leveled by binoculars and followed their lumbering flight path. Just as they were opposite me, a single rapidly diving harrier hawk burst into view. She streaked down through the flock smacking into one of the birds, breaking the pigeons neck in the process.

With an expert flick of the wing she peeled away and soared across the sky, returning to her nest, high up in an old and lonesome Scott's pine tree. There she ripped up her prey into bite size pieces and fed it to her fledglings.

The whole scene was exhilarating and far, far better that watching a natural history program on the T.V. After all it was real and it was happening at that time, with me as the only spectator. I was witness to a private moment in natures daily routine of life and death.

An extract from Reflections, by No Ajahn Chan.

I have heard people say, Oh, this year was a bad year for me. How come ? I was sick all year. I couldn't practice at all. Oh, If they don't practice when death is near, when will they ever practice? If they are feeling well, do you think they practice? No. They only get lost in happiness. If they are suffering, they

still don't practice. They get lost in that too. I don't know when people think they are going to practice ?

We don't meditate to see heaven, but to end suffering.

When sitting in meditation, say, That's not my business ! with every thought that comes by.

Whatever we do, we should see ourselves. Reading books doesn't ever give rise to anything. The days pass by, but we don't ourselves. Knowing about practice is practicing in order to know.