[Event] New Moon Musical Puja

There will be a New Moon Musical Puja as follows:

• Date: 5 August 2005 (Friday)
• Time: 8.30pm (please come before 8.30pm!)
• Venue: BGF Center

Come with your friends and family to experience spiritual peace of mind, relaxing atmosphere and contemplative surroundings. Chill out with live music and inspirational speeches. Make new friends, foster existing relationships.

Because at BGF... we inspire the future...

An excerpt from our discussion in yahoogroups:

Ceremonies and rituals are vehicles for spiritual _expression. In fact there was a survey once done by Reader Digest that show 80% ppl who partake in a religious ceremony periodically in their life, lives longer than those who don't. However this could be just a general survey but it tells us alot.

Puja have a very strong implication to our spiritual practice. I would concur that it us who have to walk the path ourselves and not rely on others or even be aping others in performing religious practices without knowing what we are doing. After all, we are all educated and have a good reasoning power unlike previous generations that perform certain rites "only" out respect for the previous generation.

However being or joining a Puja session is very important. It helps to develop the devotional aspect of our practise, moreover when a Sangha member is present.

We must always remember that Sangha members we meet and have contact with today are representations of all the great Sangha members, from the time first five ordained Bhikkhus to Sariputta and Moggallana to all the great Patriaches.

So if we could develop the same sense of respect everytime we meet a monk as we were meeting Sariputta, it have a great impact on us.In fact i'm sure if we meet famous contemporary masters, even without talking to them we also feel so awed! And this is something i know from experience. Moreover the sight of a Sangha (or as mentioned in the Sutta, Samana-holy people) is a true blessing in life - Mangala Sutta.

Having periodic devotional practise will help us to lead a more humble and respectable life. Everytime we pay respects to the Triple Gem, we humbled ourselves to bow down, to accept that we are in this path of perfection and the Triple Gem are our noble examples of enlightenment and purity. We condition the mind and the body to internalise this purpose. With that we have a great foundation for our other practises.

I feel that going for pujas for the right intentions and right views would yield splendid results. Communal gathering is an excellent support for spiritual practise. After all the Buddha did corrected Ven. Ananda once that friendship is entire of part of spiritual practice. I have been reading the life of Sariputta (http://accesstoinsight.org/lib/bps/wheels/wheel090.html) and found that noble association actually helps one and the other for spiritual goals. Both Sariputta and Moggallana have been friends aeons and asshankheyyas ago since Buddha Anomadassi's time and made the aspirations together to become a future Buddha's chief disciples.And many lifetimes they were also friends, until the finally achieved their spiritual goal.

Thus to summarize!
1) there are 1001 benefits of attending a Puja
2) however one can only reap full benefits if done with right intentions.
3) communal practise is very important. spiritual friendship can support one all the way for spiritual attainment.Kindly attend a puja today....

metta mudita,
mui han