24th INCOVAR Dhamma Camp is now open for registration

Sukhihotu.. Sawadeeka.. Salam Sejahtera..Hello..

Brothers and sisters in the Dhamma,

The 24th INCOVAR Dhamma Camp is now open for registration! This time, the camp will be held at Sau Seng Lum in Puchong in Selangor, a relatively new place, from 8 - 11 December 2005.

The theme for this camp is "Closed Eyes, Open Mind" where you will be able to experiene the inspiration of mental development. Come and discover the joys of metta, samatha and vipassana meditation. Experience the beauty of mental happiness as you close your eyes to the distractions of the world.

You'll be happy to realize just how easy it is to stay focus, or to increase the power of your memory and concentration! See the world in a new light with an open mind, practicing mindful living every day. Imagine if, you won't forget where you placed your house keys ever again!

Learn the Dhamma in a fun and experiential way with inspirational talks, games and workshops. Meet new friends and nurture a family of Kalyana Mitras. Join us and experience Closed Eyes, Open Mind.

Date :: 8th - 11th December 2005
Venue :: Sau Seng Lum (Puchong) Exhibition Centre
Theme :: Closed Eyes, Open Mind
Camp Fee:: RM70

*free gifts for the first 20 early birds who register for the camp!

For online registration, please visit our INCOVAR website or contact us through
email :: info@incovar.org
sms hotline :: +016.616.1516
yahoo :: msn :: qmeijoon

because @ INCOVAR
...we inspire...

MPO.Circle is born!

The kick start of the MPO gathering on 1st October 2005 was a promising affair. We were proud to have UM, UPM, D2Y, SJBA, BUBS, MOD, Kang Kee (from Singapore) & other inviduals too.
Because of all your support, this MPO.Circle is created!

You can access your group using the link below
* Your group information:
Group name: MPO-circle
Group email address: MPO-circle@yahoogroups.com
Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MPO-circle

* Get started now:
Just send a blank email to: MPO-circle-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Then you may start posting your email to:MPO-circle@yahoogroups.com
During the 1st MPO kick start event, we had the priviledge to listen to the D2Y music group. Further on, we had group sharing amongst all music group & individuals to create the awareness of MPO being the Central Network for Buddhist Musicians.
The closing of the event drew everyone's aspiration for the next course of action. The 2nd MPO gathering, is set for 29th October 2005. A Saturday of course! Block your calender remember, 2.30pm onwards :)

INCOVAR Roadshow @ PBUPM

To promote the coming 24th INCOVAR Dhamma Camp, the Publicity team planned a roadshow for UPM Buddhist Society. The crowd were mostly 1st & 2nd year students. We joined their Dhamma talk, conducted by Rev. Kai Zhao, which was quite inspiring. Although the talk was in Mandarin, it was not too deep to grasp the essence of the sharing.

Other than our camp, there were other camps that were being publicized to the same audience... hmmm competition! Well, I guess we have to keep the faith that INCOVAR will continue to attract participants, from all diverse background to attend.

I'm grateful for bro Kong Joo's support in making this roadshow possible! Hope to see more representatives from UPM for this 24th edition of IDC... (ahem my uni, of course must promote to them to join :P)

A splendid Mid-Autumn Festival night out

On 18th of September, in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival, BGF organised a potluck Musical Puja with a slight twist! First everyone was ushered to have their dinner, before arranging the cushions for Musical Puja.

Alex was the MC, Swee Feng and Gary were the Puja leader and bell boy. After the Puja is over, we had a short presentation about INCOVAR, followed by a fun game session we all call it "Helium Stick". It's wonderful to see the crowd coming in together, probably not knowing each other, young and old alike having a good time!

What would Musical Puja be without the musical performance! That night, we had the well-known I-Gemz group rendering songs from their upcoming album, soon to be released. Incovarians are already familiar with the songs, so it's wonderful to just to sing along.

And what Mid-Autumn Festival musical performance be, if without singing songs about the moon! After what seems like an unplug concert, there was a little surprised at the end before we call it a night! Alright shall not brag on... think cake!

It was a spended night out, to be with my fellow friends...

~Invitation to MPO kick start gathering~

Attention to all Buddhist music groups, choir groups, bathroom singers, musicians or any Idol-wannabe!

Have you ever thought if you could sing like Jacky Cheung or play the piano like Richard Clayderman? Or maybe render a song full of emotion like Faizull in Malaysian Idol?

Would you consider improving on your stage presentation in any event? Maybe you are merely hoping not to sing out-of-tune during karaoke sessions with your friends or clients? If you have the passion for music, lend me your ears.

BGF Training and Leadership Development portfolio with the collaboration of INCOVAR and the BGF Welfare team would like to invite all of you for our inaugural kick start of MPO.

MPO stands for Music, Passion, and Originality. It functions as the Central Network of Buddhist Musicians, to leverage from musicians, singers and music lovers who come together as a synergy to share music knowledge, songs, organizational skills and personal strength.

Details of MPO kick start event: -

Date : 1 st October, 2005 (Saturday)
Time : 2.30pm – 6.30pm
Venue : BGF Centre, 60A, Jalan 19/3, 46300 Petaling Jaya.

Through this MPO effort, we provide the avenue for musical performance enhancement and training opportunities to you or your music group.

Come and join in the fun with "Roslan, Kak Jee and Paul" of BGF on October 1, 2005 at 2.30pm.

Pass on this message to your friends or anyone you know who would be interested.

Like the jellyfish and the snail, participants of this MPO programme and BGF can be seen as in nature, a symbiosis ongoing process. This relationship of mutual dependence and mutual benefit can demostrate the evolution of Dhamma Inspiration Through Music .

For further enquiry & registration, simply email us or drop us a Y! message:

1. Khoo Nee Sern @ xerxesxerxes@yahoo.com
2. Mooi Chee Onn @ cheeonn@yahoo.com
3. Quek Mei Joon @ qmeijoon@yahoo.com

Inspiring the Future,

Khoo Nee Sern
Exco - BGF Training and Leadership Development
Contact : 016-2011550

www.incovar.org
incovar.blogspot.com
forum.incovar.org
bgf.buddhism.org

24IDC Committees Induction Camp

It was a one-day camp held for all organising committees of this 24th Incovar Dhamma Camp. The focus for this camp will be shifted to "Mental Cultivation". We had bro Lee Lee Kim to share with us his profound knowledge on Bhavana (Mental Cultivation in Pali). On one side there are the 5 hindrances, on the other side there are the 5 faculties. Then there the 4 guardian of meditation and 4 foundations of mindfulness. *phewww... can you remember all that? Well let's see how the camp programmers will extract all that info experiential learning for the camp!




Rounds of group discussion were held to present some ideas. Wonder how a butterfly relates to a lightbulb and then to Taiping hill? Well, anyway we went to Paris for dinner (please allow someone else to order the dishes :P) and later in the night we had rich chocolate cake for supper! (Mama Mia... my mama made the delicious cake :P) What happened in between will be sworn to secrecy. It's for us to know, for you to find out!

All in all, it's a fruitful Induction Camp for everyone, having quite a number of us coming together for the highlight in the evening :) We'll make aspiration for this 24th IDC, may this camp be another successful chapter for Incovar!

Musical Puja :: September :: Mid-Autumn Festival

(ed: Venue for all Musical Puja will always be in BGF, unless stated otherwise. BGF is located at 60A, Jalan 19/3, 46300 Petaling Jaya.)

New Moon Musical Puja
4th September (Sunday)
8.00pm

Mid-Autumn Festival POTLUCK DINNER Musical Puja
18th September (Sunday)
6.00pm
Performance by : I-Gemz

The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) originated in China and is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month and may have started as a harvest festival. On this day, the moon is round. To the people, this signifies completeness and wholeness. Families therefore took this opportunity to come together to celebrate the abundance of their harvest.

On this special occasion, BGF would like to invite all our friends to join us for a potluck dinner from 6pm onwards. Remember to bring along your family and friends to this meaningful event!

It's a great September indeed :)

MPO

Music...
Passion...
Originality...

Inspire the world with the infusion of musical and spiritual harmony.

Coming soon to INCOVAR... do you want to be part of MPO?

Stay tuned...

24IDC kickstart gathering 17.08.05

Alex is the new chairman for the upcoming 24th edition of the Incovar Dhamma Camp. With a new chairman, coming from a training and development working background, it's not surprising to see a more systematic pre-planned approach to conducting this kickstart meeting. If you're interested in training, go find Alex! Haha...
The meeting started with Aaron (Lee) explaining about Buddhist culture. Then a round of ice-breaking followed by explaination about BGF and Incovar. Further on we shared about our experiences in Incovar and what is our expectations!

There's quite a few new faces lined up as committees for this 24IDC, namely Pevin (actually returning committee), Ern Huei, Kar Kin, Gary, Suk Fong. There are some others who're interested to join but couldn't make it for the 1st meeting tho'... hope we'll see them next Wednesday!

[Event] Full Moon Musical Puja ~ 19.08.2005

There will be a Full Moon Musical Puja as follows:

Date: 19 August 2005 (Friday)
Time: 8.30pm (please come before 8.30pm to get the front seats!)
Venue: BGF Center

We have started out a new concept in BGF. Bring-a-friend-along! Come, bring a friend along and let us all make this Full Moon night to be an inspiring yet exciting one. Dont forget to introduce your friend to us!

On this Musical Puja, you will be inspired by the singing sensation of some youth and an enriching talk by Bro Tan Ho Soon. This short talk will be beneficial to the younger generation.

Dont miss this opportunity to come and gather in BGF on this auspicious day and make aspiration.

So see you there! If you need transport, please buzz MJ @ qmeijoon on Yahoo/MSN.