With popcorn and coke in hand, many of the staff were excited (or rather terrified) to enter the cinema hall. The movie recounts the frightening true story of a little girl possessed by an ancient demon. Intrigued by an antique wooden box, little did she know it would bring harm and terror to her family as they fought to save her from evil.

As the chilling sound effects crept in during the spooky parts of the movie, some were so terrified by the horror they trembled in their seats. It was comical as some of them hid behind their jackets or covered their face with their hands during the scary scenes. Frightening as it was, the movie was entertaining but it also conveyed the message of compassion and the enduring bond of fatherly love. The father was willing to take on the curse to spare the life of his possessed daughter. Because the father’s love for his daughter was so pure, the demon possessed the father instead.

It was a pleasant movie outing for the staff as they let loose their work attire and bonded with each other between popcorn and screams. His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche is very kind to treat the staff to an evening for their tireless commitment to the Dharma and to Kechara. And it was a good choice for a movie – a horror story with a warm message.

Till the next movie outing, we hope that no one will be having nightmares!

Staff and volunteers of Kechara Oasis (top), Kechara InMotion (left), E Division and Kechara Care (right) all enoy the movie!

Staff and volunteers of Kechara House, Kechara Bloomsand Kechara Discovery (top), Kechara Paradise (left) and Kechara Oasis (right)!

n 2nd September 2012, the monthly animal liberation activity was attended by a total of 42 people, with 7 first timers joining in that Sunday morning. They were Yap Wei Wei, Mr Hee Thye Seng, Chan Pek Wah and mother, Karen Leu’s mother, and Shirine Siow with her husband.

Pastor Chia Song Peng gave the group a short sharing on the benefits of releasing animals before the recitation of prayers. According to Pastor Chia, releasing animals that are destined for slaughter is a virtuous action as we save the life of living beings.

Merits collected should be dedicated to our loved ones for their good health and long life. As for those who are sick, merits are dedicated to them for their swift recovery. And to the dear ones who have passed away, may the merits grant them swift good rebirths.

Pastor Chia also advised that participants must set a good motivation in conducting the animal liberation activity for the benefit of those who would receive the merits. By noon, 200kg of catfish was released into the lake. 150kg is the usual monthly liberation quantity, and the additional 50kg was sponsored by Karen Leu, on behalf of her brother-in-law.

May the fishes enjoy their new found freedom. May those who are ill recover swiftly. May all enjoy good health!

It was a fund raising charity program organised by the Brickfields Maha Vihara members. This was their second time having a musical night using Kechara Care Lounge. A total of 90 people turned up for the event, which was a closed event by invitation only. Most of the attendees included family members and friends.

The Maha Vihara members performed for the night along with their vocal teacher, Stanley, who happens to be one of our Kechara member’s – James – former singing teacher. Surprisingly, the performers were all within the age ranging from as young as 5 years old up to 70 years old.

Most of the aunties who performed were above 60 years old. This shows how much passion they have for music and performance as they believe age is just a figure. Everyone had a great and wonderful night at KC lounge and were very happy and satisfied with the facilities provided.

If you would like to know more about the booking of Kechara Care Lounge, please call +603 7803 3908.

We sing, we enjoy

A fulfilling and happy night...

Although it was drizzling, it did not stop the 70 participants that arrived as early as 8.30am to engage in this auspicious and meritorious event together. A total of 36 first timers joined and everyone eagerly waited to set the fishes and birds free!

The session started off with Pastor Chia leading the group to set the motivation and reciting prayers. Pastor Chia gave a brief explanation of the event and the benefits of liberating lives. With Frederick Law as the Mandarin translator, the prayer session started with taking refuge, followed by Shantideva Boddhicita’s prayer.

Then, everyone recited the Medicine Buddha Mantra and Guru Mantra 7 times each before moving on to blowing the blessings of the mantras that was recited into the birds and fishes mind streams for a good rebirth in the future. A completion dedication was done after releasing the animals.

By the end of the day, a total of 150kg of fish and 85 birds were released.

The act of liberating animals provides a platform for families to participate in a meaningful activity together. Besides the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful environment of the park; the families are also generating tremendous merits by liberating lives on Wesak Day and thus dedicating the merits collected to their loved ones, who may be ill or have passed away.

Find out more about our monthly event here:
http://www.kechara.com/support/programmes/animal-liberation/

It was drizzling and yet the participants’ spirit of Wesak was high

Pastor Chia leading the prayers

Dato' Ruby and the soup kitchen committee joined our Wesak Day Animal Liberation with the intention to dedicate to Rinpoche’s long life, how sweet of them.

Seniors reciting prayers with focus

Children as young as 4 years old came with their parents for the event. It really is wonderful for these children to be exposed to the act of showing kindness to animals and Dharma at such a young age.

Victor Choi, a regular volunteer of Kechara is seen here scooping water into the pail to provide sufficient water and oxygen for the fishes

4 years old Janelle Choi, daughter of Victor Choi is wondering what her father is doing with the scoop

Jan Yong is a regular at Kechara Animal Liberation together with her 3 children. This is a family that has never once missed the event. Kudos to them!

Kim and his family are also regulars at the event. Not long ago, it was diagnosed that Kim’s daughter had a brain tumor, but through the Animal Liberation sessions that they participated in and with Rinpoche's prayers and advice, they have been dedicating the merits for Kim’s daughter swift recovery and good health. Fortunately, Kim’s daughter is now a healthy little girl! Her health improvement over just one year is amazing

Freedom awaits these 85 birds

Everyone lines up to take turns to blow mantras into the pail of fishes to bless them. This also plantss the seeds of Dharma in their mindstream.

1, 2, 3!!! There go the fishies into the lake of liberation!!

Taking in the joy in Julia's expression, we'd say everyone (including the animals) had a jolly good Wesak Day

The Shanghai Study group came to join the event in the morning

Many enjoyed the Q&A and Testimonial sessions over some tea and snacks. With Kechara House Vice President Liaison Henry Ooi present, the English session’s sharing time particularly was filled with fun and knowledge! Pastor Kok Yek Yee who led the Chinese session also shared some inspiring stories as usual…

Did you miss March’s Orientation Week? Don’t worry, there will be another session in May 2012. For more information about Orientation Week or the Kechara organization, please contact Cynthia Ng at +6012 232 0884.

Sock Wan began by listening to His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche‘s teachings, which she found made tremendous sense to her, and answered all of the questions she had been asking.

What inspired her the most was watching Kechara staff always being there to help others. Combining such a practical example together with the teachings she received from Rinpoche, Sock Wan realised that we are the only people who can change our lives for the better, and putting others before ourselves is a large part of it. Motivated by such a thought, Sock Wan left her high-paying information technology job to work full-time for Kechara.

Sock Wan says that it was a struggle at first, because her family did not approve of her decision and many of her friends and acquaintances were shocked to hear that she gave up her high-paying job. Undeterred, Sock Wan says, “Working for the Dharma is very satisfying. Everyone here has one common goal – to help and benefit others. This is one way for me to repay the kindness to my family and friends, by being a better self. What is more satisfying than that?”

The Kechara team are very excited to welcome Sock Wan into our Dharma family, and bid her congratulations on her newfound path!

Always keen to reward hard work and commitment, and foster a sense of togetherness, Rinpoche often sponsors outings for his students, just like the movie outing he sponsored yesterday.

Organised by the Kechara Care team, the outing was a chance for the youth and Kechara Care volunteers to relax and watch the newly-released Thor. 41 attendees gathered at the cinema to travel from earth into the mystical realm of Asgard, fueled by plenty of popcorn and soft drink.

On behalf of everyone, thank you Rinpoche for this fun get-together! Great movie and great friends…and all-round great time!

Some of the youth gathered for dinner beforehand

Teacher Gim Lee chats with some of her students from the Manjushri Kids' Class

Volunteers and friends got a chance to bond over one of the summer's blockbusters

Angel from Elixir introducing skin care products

The demonstration was held at Kechara Care Lounge, and began with a talk from a Maria Galland representative who gave advice on how to take good care of our skin and how to bring radiance to our skin.

Representative from Maria Galland giving a talk on skin care

Their appetites for a beautiful afternoon suitably whetted, Kok Yek Yee of Kechara Care then stepped up to be the model for the make-up session. Before joining Kechara, Bryan Ho was a highly sought-after make-up artist who travelled all over southeast Asia to work with A-List celebrities. After experiencing Bryan Ho’s magical touch, the final result mesmerised everyone – as Bryan so eloquently described, “An uncarved jade is transformed into emerald.”

Bryan (left) with his model of the day, Yek Yee

At Kechara, not only is care taken for the well-being of one’s mind but a person’s outer beauty is also cared for, hence this event. Having had a good response from participants, Kechara Care will soon be organising another workshop on skin care and make-up so ladies and gents, watch this space!

The song says, keep me searching for a heart of gold, and I’m growing old.

The journey that led me to Buddhism began in my 30′s. After years of struggle, I finally had what may be considered a good life. A successful job in entertainment in LA yet…something was missing.

My spirituality was null which I felt the cause for “void” in my life. I began researching various paths; living in Hollywood; even the famous Tom Cruise endorsed Scientology. Nothing sank in and always left me asking, what is this precious human life for? Then I happened upon a book so basic it could have been titled “Buddhism 101″ and it resonated! I became enthralled absorbing everything I could thereby dubbing myself the “Bookstore Buddhist”.

In 2004, I moved to New Orleans where I continued my readings, concluding in order to progress, I needed a teacher. I began looking for Dharma Centres with no luck. I retreated back to my books and prayer room. I wanted to find a teacher though seemed I was destined to remain “searching for a heart of gold”.

In Rinpoche and in Malaysia, Dawnene found her heart of gold

Fast forward to Fall 2010. Things changed drastically during my years in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina, we lost everything (a great lesson in impermanence and grasping!). My daughter, now 22 moved out and my beloved dog passed away. I was truly alone…for the first time.

I decided I must go see what Kechara was about.

Turning to the Internet, one night I happened upon a young charismatic Guru who immediately won me over with his straightforward talks and no-nonsense approach to Buddhist wisdom. This remarkable man was Tsem Rinpoche, His Eminence. I discovered he had lived in the USA before going to India then Malaysia. Thrilled by the immediate connection I felt with His Eminence, I probably watched 100 YouTube videos and discovered his blog; which was more addicting than chocolate! I lost hours of sleep staying up late reading his teachings and posts reflecting on his abusive childhood, years of struggling in Hollywood, a young man trying to discover his own path to become an actor or a monk. Upon the advice of his Guru, he departed for India, eventually settling in Malaysia and establishing Kechara, where his accomplishments were truly amazing.

I decided I must go see what Kechara was about. After communicating with his liaisons, some who coincidentally were in the US working on a documentary about His Eminence, I departed for Malaysia. I was met by Sharon Saw, who graciously acted as chauffeur, tour guide and best buddy for the duration of my visit.

Rinpoche was warm and loving, he genuinely radiates kindness and compassion.

Homebase was Kechara Guest House. Doing a “cram course” in Kechara, my days and nights were filled visiting Kechara Departments, Kechara Paradise stores, Kechara Soup Kitchen who feeds the homeless, attending Kechara Sunday Talks, roadshows, Kechara Care Lounge’s flea market, etc.

A great highlight was Sharon taking me to see the future home of Kechara World Peace Centre. I also had the privilege of meeting many of Rinpoche’s key liaisons and students, all so welcoming and kind. On my final day, I was invited for lunch at Ladrang, the residence of His Eminence. Afterwards, JP informed me that he had a surprise for me – I would be having audience with His Eminence!!!! I nearly passed out from shock. Having no previous anticipation of audience with Rinpoche (he rarely grants private audience) I didn’t have questions prepared, I felt nervous and foolish but Sharon assured me to just be myself.

I feel even though I’m living in the United States, I’m a Kecharian.

I fumbled my way into the audience room, very poorly performed my prostrations. Rinpoche was warm and loving, he genuinely radiates kindness and compassion. We spoke about what I had seen during my time in Malaysia, my interest in Buddhism, he then gave me some advice and gifts for my daughter and dogs. I was completely awestruck by the graciousness and generous heart of His Eminence. It happened fast but so much happened.

Sitting on the plane departing beautiful Malaysia, I began humming a tune…Heart of Gold. I crossed the Ocean for a Heart of Gold and I found it!

I can’t wait to return for a longer stay to learn more about Kechara World Peace Centre, Animal Sanctuary and other Kechara departments. I barely scratched the surface during my stay however; I feel I’ve found that home I’d been searching for. It is a wonderful feeling that I can summarise by stating that I’m no longer a “Bookstore Buddhist” I feel even though I’m living in the United States, I’m a Kecharian.