Kmbs President New Year 2010 Message

Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society Puchong, Selangor. 37C Jalan TK1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong http://www.kinrarametta.org

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT OF KINRARA METTA BUDDHIST SOCIETY AT KMBS NEW YEAR 2010 BLESSINGS & SANGHIKADANA Namo Buddhaya, Our most respected Spiritual Advisor, Ven.B.Sri Saranankara Nayaka Maha Thera, the Chief High Priest of Malaysia, Judiciary, Ven. Dhammika, Maha Sanghas, our distinguist guests, our KMBS Advisor, Bro. Tan Huat Chye, Organising Chairman of this event, our fellow KMBS Excos, devottees and most of all those present here – our Kalyana Mitras, our KMBS Friends and supporters. As the President of KMBS, it gives me great pleasure to say a few words on this auspicious moment of KMBS 2010. It marks the beginning of the year and also the beginning our KMBS’s calendar of events and all our effort to have a land and a new Building of our very own to accomondate the growing number of devotees and students in our KMBS Sunday Dhamma School. This effort will be speed up, if we have a people like YOU - unselfishly supporting, contributing and reaching out helping us to increase the number of cell groups in your neighbourhood for the Compassion and the Happiness and for the Welfare of the people of Puchong. The number of Kalyana Mitras increasing each year is the sign of Happiness to all of us. Today’s message is about Buddhist Dreams – Our Vision, Our Value & Our Destination Vision of Success -Our Dreams Dreams and Their Significance 'Life is nothing but a dream.' One of man's greatest unsolved problems is the mystery of dreams. From the very earliest of times man has tried to analyze dreams and has tried to explain them in prophetic and psychological terms, but while there has been some measure of success recently, we are probably no nearer the answers to the baffling question: 'What is a dream?' The great English Romantic poet William Wordsworth had a startling concept: that this life we live is merely a dream and that we will 'awake' to the 'real' reality when we die, when our 'dream' ends. 'Our birth is but a sleep and forgetting: The Soul, that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar.' Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society, No 37C, Jalan TK 1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong, Selangor. Tel: (6016) 270 2120 Fax: (603) 8075 7240 http://kmbs-building-fund-dinner.blogspot.com/

Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society Puchong, Selangor. 37C Jalan TK1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong http://www.kinrarametta.org

A similar concept is expressed in a charming old Buddhist tale which tells of a deva who was playing with some other devas. Being tired, he lay down to take a short nap and passed away. He was reborn as a girl on earth. There she got married, had a few children and lived to be very old. After her death again she was born as a deva amongst the same companions who had just finished playing their game. (This story also illustrates the world is very different from time in another plane of existence). What has Buddhism to say about dreams? Just as in every other culture, Buddhism has had its fair share of people who claimed to be skilled in interpreting dreams. Such people earn a lot of money exploiting the ignorance of men and women who believe that every dream has a spiritual or prophetic significance. According to Buddhist psychology dreams are ideational processes which occur as activities of the mind. In considering the occurrence of dreams it is relevant to remember that the process of sleeping can be regarded as falling into five stages. - drowsiness, - light slumber, - deep slumber, - light slumber and - awakening. The significance and the cause of dreams were the subject of discussion in the famous book 'Milinda Panha' or 'The Questions of King Milinda', in which Ven. Nagasena has stated that there are six causes of dreams, three of them being organic, wind, bile and phlegm. The fourth is due to the intervention of supernatural forces, fifth, revival of past experience and sixth, the influence of future events. It is categorically stated that dreams occur only in light slumber which is said to be like the sleep of the monkey. Of the six causes given Ven. Nagasena has stated positively that the last, namely prophetic dreams are the only important ones and the others are relatively insignificant. Dreams are mind-created phenomena and they are activities of the mind. All human beings dream, although some people cannot remember. Buddhism teaches that some dreams have psychological significance. The six causes mentioned earlier can also be classified in the following manner: Every single thought that is created is stored in our subconscious mind and some of them strongly influence the mind according to our anxieties. When we sleep, some of these thoughts are activated and appear to us as 'pictures' moving before us. This happens because during sleep, the five senses which constitute our contact with the outside world, are temporarily arrested. The subconscious mind then is free to become dominant and to 're-play' thoughts that are stored. These dreams may be of value to psychiatry but cannot be classified as prophetic. They are merely the reflections of the mind at rest. The second type of dream also has no significance. These are caused by internal and external provocations which set off a train of 'visual thoughts' which are 'seen' by the mind at rest. Internal factors are those which disturb the body (e.g. a heavy meal which does not allow one to have a restful slumber or imbalance and friction between elements that constitute the body). External provocation is when the mind is disturbed(although the sleeper may be unaware of it) by natural phenomena like the Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society, No 37C, Jalan TK 1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong, Selangor. Tel: (6016) 270 2120 Fax: (603) 8075 7240 http://kmbs-building-fund-dinner.blogspot.com/

Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society Puchong, Selangor. 37C Jalan TK1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong http://www.kinrarametta.org

weather, wind, cold, rain, leaves rustling, windows rattling etc. The subconscious mind reacts to these disturbances and creates pictures to 'explain' them away. The mind accommodates the irritation in a seemingly rational way so that the dreamer can continue to sleep undisturbed. These dreams too have no importance and need no interpretation. Then there are prophetic dreams. These are important. They are seldom experienced and only when there is an impending event which is of great relevance to the dreamer. Buddhism teaches that besides the tangible world we can experience, there are devas who exist on another plane or some spirits who are bound to this earth and are invisible to us. They could be our relatives or friends who have passed away and who have been reborn. They maintain their former mental relationships and attachments to us. When Buddhists transfer merits to devas and departed ones, they remember them and invite them to share the happiness accrued in the merit. Thus they develop a mental relationship with their departed ones. The devas in turn are pleased and they keep a watch over us and indicate something in dreams when we are facing certain big problems and they try to protect us from harm. So, when there is something important that is going to happen in our lives they activate certain mental energies in our minds which are seen as dreams. These dreams can warn of impending danger or even prepare us for sudden over-whelming good news. These messages are given in symbolic terms (much like the negatives of photographs) and have to be interpreted skillfully and with intelligence. Unfortunately too many people confuses the first two kinds of dreams with these and end up wasting valuable time and money consulting fake mediums and dream-interpreters. The Buddha was aware that this could be exploited for personal gain and He therefore warned the monks against practising soothsaying, astrology and interpreting dreams in the name of Buddhism. Finally, our mind is the depository of all kammic energies accumulated in the past. Sometimes, when a kamma is about to ripen (that is, when the action we did in a previous life or early part of our life, is going to experience its reaction) the mind which is at rest during sleep can trigger off a 'picture' of what is going to happen. Again the impending action has to be of great importance and must be so strongly charged that the mind 'releases' the extra energy in the form of a vivid dream. Such dreams occur only very rarely and only to certain people with a special kind of mental make up. The sign of the effect of certain kammas also appears in our minds at the last moment when we are going to depart from this world. Dreams can occur when two living human beings send strong mental telepathic messages to each other. When one person has an intense desire to communicate with another, he concentrates strongly on the message and the person with whom he wishes to communicate. When the mind is at rest, it is in an ideal state to receive these messages which are seen as dreams. Usually these dreams only appear in one intense moment because the human mind is not strong enough to sustain such messages over a long period of time. All worldlings are dreamers, and they see as permanent, what is essentially impermanent. They do not see that youth ends in old age, beauty in ugliness, health in sickness, and life itself in death. In this dream-world, what is truly without substance is seen as reality. Dreaming during sleep is but another dimension of the dream-world. The only ones who are awake are the Buddhas and Arahats as they have seen reality. Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society, No 37C, Jalan TK 1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong, Selangor. Tel: (6016) 270 2120 Fax: (603) 8075 7240 http://kmbs-building-fund-dinner.blogspot.com/

Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society Puchong, Selangor. 37C Jalan TK1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong http://www.kinrarametta.org

Buddhas and Arahants never dream. The first three kinds of dream cannot occur in their minds, because their minds have been permanently 'stilled' and cannot be activated to dream. The last kind of dream cannot happen to them because they have eradicated all their craving energy completely, and there is no 'residual' energy of anxiety or unsatisfied desire to activate the mind to produce dreams. The Buddha is also known as the Awakened One because His way of relaxing the physical body is not the way we sleep which results in dreams. Great artists and thinkers, like the German Goethe, have often said they get some of their best inspiration through dreams. This could be because when their minds are cut off from the five senses during sleep, they produce clear thoughts which are creative in the highest degree. Wordsworth meant the same thing when he said that good poetry results from 'powerful emotions' recollected in tranquillity. http://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/321.htm

Many motivational speakers and DIY Books will tell you that We set Goal or Dreams for family life, friends, finances, career, travel, health, education, and our spiritual life. We @ KMBS our Vision is a new Sunday School Building, 2-3 Storey & a Govt. allocated religious land. And most of all, ‘Metta’ in our hearts to be shared & cared. Value Added We have come to conclusion that successful people with strong self-belief do not set their goals this way. Why ? Because they are too busy doing what they need to do, to get what they want. Successful people don’t spend time writing down what they want out of life- they just get on with it. To be successful at meeting your goals , you need to ask yourself. What do I want to achieve ? What are my dreams, my spiritual journey ? If you said I shall walk this path, any fellow beings that I can help or any kindness that I can show…………. Then you are on the right track. Most of us experience this kind of feelings when you fall in love. We do almost anything to impress and be with the person of our dreams – this is how people create success. Vitality – Our Destination You may not want to achieve something so dramatic. You may just want to have a successful business, be an excellent accountant, or excel in sports. Whatever it is, once you identify & FOCUS on it, you will find the motivation to make it happen. When I first spoke as President of KMBS, I request a task for all and that is, each member – try to get 5 quality friends here by year end. Now, you can roughly gauge your spiritual success in KMBS. For those that are new, We, Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society, No 37C, Jalan TK 1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong, Selangor. Tel: (6016) 270 2120 Fax: (603) 8075 7240 http://kmbs-building-fund-dinner.blogspot.com/

Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society Puchong, Selangor. 37C Jalan TK1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong http://www.kinrarametta.org

welcome you and please help us to make things happen instead of just waiting for things to happen. With this I like to thank you all. We must, however, say a big ‘SADHU’ to our KMBS Spiritual Advisor, Ven. B. Sri Saranankara Nayaka Maha Thera for getting this present Premise for us and all those who initially help to make it Happen ! & All benefactors and donators who have sponsored wisely to this KMBS Building Fund Project. Without you all, this is not possible to touch almost half a million in Fund Raising. Thank you our KMBS Exco comprising of Sis. Paru, our VP & Principal of SDS, Sis. Julie Tan our Secretary+ Special Dhammaduta Ambassador, Sis. Wong Sue Chuen, Asst.Sec., Bro.Chew Leong Aik, our Treasurer and Financial Controller, Bro. Tan Kim Chan, Chairman of KMBS Building Fund Management, Bro. Tom Hen, the Dhammaduta Head, Bro. Tan Kok Kuan, Welfare and Religious Head, Bro. Tham Yee Eng Hoe, Maintenance and Logistics Head, Sis. Karen Cheah, our Fellowship and F&B Suppliers, Bro.Fong GingPang & Mrs.,Sis.Chow, KMBS Dhamma School Teachers, Our KMBS Youth Chairman, and their committees and the rest of our KMBS sub-committees and KMBS Friends. Your commitment, support and Dhammadana will pave many good things to come and basically for our future generations of tomorrow. Thus, creating a peaceful and harmonious group of good Buddhists with ‘Metta’ in our hearts. As Bhante Wimala in his New Year message basically put it, while giving the usual gifts to make others happy, think of the wealth in your heart and find a way to share a bit of it. There is power within you to forgive, to forget; there is power to love and care, and the power to nurture somebody with your words or actions or even your presence. You can explore the possibilities of sharing a bit of inner wealth in the spirit of the New Year. Whenever you share anything from your heart, you will not only nurture the one who receives it, but as the giver you reap many spiritual benefits.

Sukhi Hotu to all of you who are present here. Do join us throughout the year and enjoy this KMBS New Year 2010 Celebration & Blessings. May you all be Well & Happy ! Thank you. With Metta from the Heart of the Dhamma, DAVID KARUNA TAN President KMBS http://dktan.blogspot.com

Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society, No 37C, Jalan TK 1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong, Selangor. Tel: (6016) 270 2120 Fax: (603) 8075 7240 http://kmbs-building-fund-dinner.blogspot.com/

Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society Puchong, Selangor. 37C Jalan TK1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong http://www.kinrarametta.org

Kinrara Metta Buddhist Society, No 37C, Jalan TK 1/11A, Taman Kinrara, 47100 Puchong, Selangor. Tel: (6016) 270 2120 Fax: (603) 8075 7240 http://kmbs-building-fund-dinner.blogspot.com/