Mr. Tan Teik Beng was the Vice President of the Buddhist Missionary Society in 1973. In 1988, he was elected as the President of the Society. During those years, Mr. Tan had strongly supported and helped to raise funds for two major building projects – the 3-storey Wisma Sri Dhamma and the multi-purpose building, Wisma Dhamma Chakra, which are now standing tall in the Buddhist Maha Vihara and are frequently used for dhamma propagation and education. As a devout and concerned Buddhist, as well as an experienced educationist, Mr. Tan had skillfully carried out the dhammaduta work through his publications. In 1988, he published a very timely and useful book Beliefs and Practices among Malaysian Chinese Buddhists to correct the misconceptions held among Malaysian Chinese Buddhists by distinguishing the traditional beliefs and practices which are Buddhist from those which are not. In this way, not only would they be able to perform the correct Buddhist rites and rituals with pride and dignity, but they would also at the same time help to enhance the image of Buddhism in the eyes of other religions.
Besides, Mr. Tan had also contributed many articles to Voice of Buddhism. Among them are “Buddha-Dhamma: Our Rich Heritage” which aims to introduce the Dhamma to beginners; “Know Our Knowledge” which sets out to explain what the Buddhist religion is about and why Buddhists should avail themselves of the existing facilities and opportunities to learn the Buddha-Dhamma; and “Journey through the Cradle of Buddhism” which describes the Buddhist holy places and other significant places in India. In order to help further propagate the Dhamma, Mr. Tan took part in international conferences such as the World Fellowship of Buddhists held in different countries, presented paper “Stress and Religion – The Buddhist Perspective”, and even became a speaker at interfaith forums.
All these achievements are no doubt the result of good planning, hard work and commitment. But underscoring these factors is the all-important element of earnest concern and passion to educate the public in general, Buddhist community in particular, on what Buddhism is. Without this sense of responsibility, not much can be accomplished even with the best ideas, intentions and available resources.
We therefore salute the achievements of Mr. Tan Teik Beng for his great services to the Malaysian Buddhist community. We also thank him and his family for their invaluable sacrifice all these years. Very often, words of thanks might have been left unsaid, but your kind deeds and noble services have not gone unnoticed.
The Nalanda Award is presented to individuals or organizations in recognition of their outstanding achievement, invaluable services and contribution to the Buddha-Sasana. It is an honorary award which comes with a Certificate of Meritorious Service, an Award Citation, and a plaque bearing the recipient’s name.
Although the Award does not come with a monetary prize, its value is beyond that as it amounts to peer recognition and felicitation for a deed well-done, and a life well-lived.
