Tashi Delek - Amitabha Buddhist Centre

At Amitabha BuddhistCentre, one often hears orreads about making skies oroceans of merit, especiallyin relation to merit-multiplyingdays. One should not mistake themotivation to arise from worldlyconcerns. Rather, it stems from theMahayana aspiration to accumulatethe merit necessary to strive for fullenlightenment. Our Spiritual DirectorLama Zopa Rinpoche teaches themassive benefits of collecting meritto us with endless patience. ABCtakes every available opportunity toput this teaching into practice so thatwe can offer boundless merit to ourteachers and the teachings, and to allthe people – members, students andbenefactors – who make up ABC.Two recent merit-multiplying datesprovided the opportune moments tocreate merit for everyone on a galacticscale.Total SolarEclipseThe solar eclipse on 22 July was arare phenomenon where the sun wasblocked for over six minutes in someparts of East Asia. This was said to bethe longest solar eclipse to happenthis century. Throughout the world,the interest was focused on viewingthe eclipse. At ABC, 35 membersgathered that morning before 9 amwhile the eclipse was in progress torecite the Sanghata sutra instead.Quite a few people even took half aday’s leave from work just to attendthe sutra reading session. Heavy rainand an overcast sky outside did notdeter our sutra readers from coming.Some might scratch their heads andwonder why.It is because the merit-multiplyingeffects during an eclipse are mindblowing.The night before in the BasicProgram class, Geshe Chonyi referredto the merit-multiplying effectsduring an eclipse. The math workedout to one thousand billion times!He advised us to engage in as muchvirtue as possible during the time ofthe eclipse. With that motivation,these 35 were encouraged to gatherfor the virtuous practice of recitingthe Sanghata sutra.Wheel TurningDay25 July was another powerful day. Itmarked the Buddha’s First Turningof the Wheel of Dharma, where Hetaught the Four Noble Truths. Anyvirtuous action performed on this dayis multiplied a hundred million timesdue to the power of the Buddha’srealisations.This year, ABC requested therecitation of the Sanghata sutra in thefollowing seats of our Gelug traditionin south India:• Sera Je Monastery by 1,300monks• Gyudme Tantric College where500 monks reside• Gyuto Tantric College by 475monksABC also offered the midday mealto 3,575 monks of these threemonasteries.On that very same day, our President,Tan Hup Cheng, was in Lhasa,Tibet, representing all ABC membersand benefactors on a merit-makingmission. Gold was offered to theextremely holy statue of the Buddhain Jokhang Temple. The JowoBuddha statue in the Jokhang, saidto have been blessed by ShakyamuniBuddha himself, received our goldThe Jowo Buddha receiving ABC’s offering ofgold. Actual gold is dissolved into paint andbrushed onto the entire statue. The crystal bowlin front of the statue contains ABC’s offering ofprecious gems.offering on the entire holy body aswell as new robes. Hup Cheng alsovisited the original Sera Je Monasterywhere gold was offered to the statueof Most Secret Hayagriva.The heaps of merit amassed fromthese virtuous deeds were dedicatedfor the success of all the centre’sactivities that benefit and help somany on the path to enlightenment,for the preservation of the Buddha’steachings, and for all the wishes of ourmembers, students and benefactors tobe swiftly fulfilled.Ayouth wing has takenoff at ABC. ABC Youthscame into being on 4August with the launch ofits own Facebook page. Check it outat www.facebook.com/abcyouths.In a chat with centre volunteersduring his visit in January this year,Lama Zopa Rinpoche encouragedreaching out to the youngergeneration to connect them to theDharma. So ABC Youths has beenformed to create a space for youngpeople to enjoy the teachings ofBuddha in a fun and supportiveenvironment, and to nurture a newgeneration of practitioners who willuphold the Buddha’s teachings ofuniversal peace and compassion.Calling out to those aged 17 to 30,whether you know something ornothing about being a Buddhist,come join us and explore with theABC Youth team!We have alreadykicked off our firstintroductory talkon Buddhism,“What’s BuddhaGot to Do withMe?” on 15August.Don’t miss outon the next talkcoming up.“Just One Lifeand that’s It?”will give youan insighton Buddha’steaching onreincarnation.You will learnhow the Buddha provedthe existence of past and futurelives. The talk will be presented byVen. Tenzin Gyurme, one of ABC’steachers and anN U Salumnus, who is verymuch in tune with Gen Y.Upcoming Saturday Events:“Just One Life and that’s It?”5 September @ 10:30 amMystery Movie Screening:10 October @ 7:30 pmCome join us and bring yourfriends along. Just RSVP yourattendance to youth@fpmtabc.org.You can also stay tuned to futureABC Youth happenings onFacebook. And, if you have anyideas or topics that you wouldlike to share or learn about,drop us a line at youth@fpmtabc.org. We look forwardto hearing from you.