On 20 December, Dr. Phang Cheng Kar continued with Part 2 of the MindfulGym Workshop which he conducted at Nalanda Centre. Dr. Phang started by recollecting lessons he taught in Part 1, and gave opportunities to participants to share their learning experiences.
Read moreOn Service Sunday 13 December, Dr. Phang Cheng Kar conducted the first of two sessions of his MindfulGym Workshop at Nalanda Centre. It is a mindfulness-based stress management programme specially designed for relaxation and wellness. Dr. Phang said that the programme was tailored to suit Malaysians and worked well for both the secular and Buddhist communities.
Read moreOn 6 December, Venerable Rewatha from Glasgow, Scotland gave a Dhamma talk on mindfulness. He began his talk with an oft-quoted gatha from the Dhammapada: “Sabbapāpassa akaranam kusalassa upasampadā sacitta pariyodapanam etam buddhāna sāsanam.”
Read moreSis. Sunanda Ong’s Service Sunday Dhamma talk on 29 November was a lively and animated session. The mood was most apt for her talk on joy and happiness. Devotees were asked what they understood about ‘joy’ and ‘wisdom’.
Read moreOn Sunday 22 November, Bro. Benny Liow gave a talk on ‘Reflections for Daily Life’. In his talk, he said the Buddha taught two types of reflection (attention) – wise reflection (‘yoniso manasikāra’) and unwise reflection (‘ayoniso manasikāra‘).
Read moreOn Sunday 1 November, Venerable Ayya Susīlā gave a Dhamma talk on ‘Mindfulness and daily meditation practice’. The topic is a popular request, even among devotees overseas. Ayya Susīlā gave the definition of mindfulness, sati, as “keeping the mind in the present moment. When we keep our minds in the present moment, our minds are clear”.
Read more“The Verb is Me” was the interesting Dhamma talk given by Achariya Tan Siang Chye on Service Sunday, 25 October. He explained that humans exist because they are constantly changing, vibrating and moving. In reality, humans are ‘verbs and not nouns’.
Read moreOn 4 October, Achariya Vijaya Samarawickrama gave a Dhamma talk on “Mindfulness: The Way to Happiness” during Service Sunday. He said many people have misconceptions about what constitutes happiness. For example, people often mistake pleasure for happiness. When we seek pleasure, which is tenuous and fleeting, inevitably we will become dissatisfied and unhappy.
Read moreOn Sunday 11 October, Dhamma teacher Sis. Tan Yee Yong gave a talk based on 10 Buddhist stories taken from the Jataka Tales, Samyutta Nikaya, and Majjhima Nikaya. One of the stories, taken from Samyutta Nikaya 11.6(6) The Bird Nests, tells of how kindness saved Sakka, lord of the devas and his army who were escaping from their enemy, the asuras.
Read moreOn Sunday 27 September, a memorial service was held in honour of two illustrious teachers – Venerable Kakkapalliye Anuruddha, a foremost and distinguished scholar in the Pāli language; and Acharya Satya Narayan Goenka, a prodigious teacher who taught millions of practitioners the technique and bliss of Vipassāna Meditation. Both great men passed away on the same day, 29 September 2013; their likes will rarely be seen again.
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