Pindapata (almsround) update

Dear Devotees,

Please be informed that there will be no Pindapata (almsround) on:

18 October 2024 (Friday) at Blk 511 Bedok North Street 3 Food Centre & 20 October 2024 (Sunday) at Blk 58 Upper Changi Road

as the temple will be holding the Devorohana Day and Kathina celebrations.

You and your family are welcome to attend the ceremonies.

Please see our website for more details:

https://palelaibuddhisttemple.org/upcoming-events/devoday24

https://palelaibuddhisttemple.org/upcoming.../kathina2024

Sadhu anumodana

The Phra Nirantarai "Freedom from Danger"

The above amulet is specially commissioned to raise funds in support the re-building of our Main Shrine Hall. It is a limited edition of just 3,000 pieces – 1,000 pieces each of gold, silver and brass colour. Each piece has a unique serial number engraved on the reverse side.

On the front side of the amulet is a specially designed image of the Phra Nirantarai Buddha image, one of the most revered images of Thailand. The original image was cast in pure gold, measuring 3 inches in lap span and weighed 241.8gms. It was found buried in the ground in Sri Maha Bodhi forest in Prachin Buri and was presented to King Rama IV. The King kept it in Sathiantham Parit Hall together with a Phra Kring Image. Robbers broke in and stole the Phra Kring image but the Phra Nirantarai image was not stolen.

The King pondered over the fact that the image escaped calamity on both occasions. First, when it was unearthed, it could have been sold into private possession or it could have been melted down for its gold. Second, was that the robbers could have stolen it and melted it down too. He therefore decided to name it Phra Nirantarai (freedom from danger) and decided to cast a larger image in the same style to cover up the original image. However, he designed it to be in line with the way the monks of the Dhammayuttika sect (established by him) wore their robes (information abstracted from “The sacred Buddha images of Thailand by Waranun Chutchawantipakorn).

On the reverse side of the image is the Yant Kropetch (Diamond Shield yantra), a famous yantra which was discovered inside a chedi by Luang Phor Parn of Thailand, in 1915. This yantra comprises the full text of the chant for the recollection of the qualities of the Buddha – commonly known as the “Iti Piso” chant. It is written in ancient Khmer script and is known to be very efficacious at giving protection from all dangers to the person carrying it with him/her. Within this yantra is also the “Eight Directions” yantra, to give protection to the wearer in whichever direction the person is located/travelling to.

Other than recording the name of our project to re-build our Main Shrine Hall, the Vihara Buddha Jinaraj, this amulet also carries the wish “Nibbānam paccayo hotu anāgate kāle” (may this be a support for attaining Nibbāna in future). This is perhaps the single most important wish of every Buddhist: the attainment of Nibbana, total release from wandering on in samsara - going through endless cycles of birth and death, suffering ageing, illness and death. It is our wish that by supporting the re-building of our Vihara Buddha Jinaraj, we create the condition for the future attainment of Nibbana.

Sadhu Anumodana !

上述佛牌是为募集善款重建本佛寺大殿而特别委托制作的。限量发行共3,000 枚，金色、银色和黄铜色各 1,000 枚。每个佛牌的背面都刻有独特的序号。

佛牌的正面是专门设计的尼兰达莱佛像，这是泰国最受尊敬的佛像之一。最初被发现的佛像由纯金铸造，周长 3 英寸，重 241.8 克。它是被埋藏在巴真武里的圣摩诃菩提森林的地下，后献给拉玛四世国王。国王将它与Phra Kring 佛像一起保存在Sathiantham Parit 大殿内。强盗闯入并偷走了Phra Kring佛像，但尼兰达莱佛像并未被盗。

国王深思此事 - 这尊佛像两次都幸免于难。首先，当它被发现出土时，它可能被出售给私人所有，或者被熔化以获取黄金。其次，可能被强盗偷走它并把它也熔化掉。因此，国王决定将其命名为“尼兰达莱佛”（免于灾难），并决定以相同的风格铸造一个更大的图像来取代原始图像。然而，他的设计也是为了符合他创立的法宗派比丘穿着袈裟的方式（以上信息是摘自Waranun Chutchawantipakorn的《泰国神圣佛像》）。

佛牌的背面是 Yant Kropetch（金刚盾符牌），这是一种著名的符牌，由泰国的 Luang Phor Parn 于 1915 年在佛塔内发现。这个 符牌 包含了忆念佛陀德行的念诵全文——通常被称为“Iti Piso”念诵。它是用古代高棉文字书写的，被公认可以非常有效地保护携带它的人免受所有危险。在这个 符牌中还含有“八个方位”的符牌，为佩戴者提供保护，无论该人位于/前往哪个方向。

这除了记录我们重建大殿的项目名称 Vihara Buddha Jinaraj帕清拉纳佛大殿 之外，这个佛牌还承载着“Nibbānam paccayo hotu anāgate kāle”的愿望（愿这是将来证得涅槃的资粮）。这也许是每个佛教徒最重要的愿望：证得涅槃，从老病死之苦的无尽生死轮回中彻底解脱出来。我们希望通过支持重建我们的帕清拉纳佛大殿，为未来证得涅槃创造条件。

随喜功德！

Vesak Lanterns and Bodhi Leaves

Dedicate merits to your loved ones by hanging their names in the Main Shrine Hall, where the monks conduct morning and evening chanting daily. This will be one of the last opportunities before the Main Shrine Hall is torn down for the construction of the new building.

Warning About Bogus Monks Soliciting for Money/Red Packets

Warning About Bogus Monks Soliciting for Money/Red Packets

The Sangha and Management Committee of Palelai Buddhist Temple wishes you, your family, and friends a Very Happy, Healthy and Successful New Year ahead!

Chinese New Year is a period when the Chinese community traditionally presents red packets as a form of conveying well wishes, blessings and gratitude to each other. It was reported in the Shin Min Daily News on 13 February 2024 that a group of “monks” went to the Waterloo Street Guanyin temple area to solicit monetary donations from members of the public. From the report, they were behaving in ways which were very unbecoming of monks and were very aggressive - to the point of snatching money from the hands of donors. Their greed was in full display for all to see and is a disgrace to the monks’ robes that they were wearing. We can only conclude that they are bogus monks as their behaviour soils the Dignity and Nobility of the Buddhist monastic community.

We write to clarify that the Theravada Buddhist monastic code does not allow monks to solicit for donations of any sort. Monks rely on the lay community for support in only four ways: food, robes, lodging and medicine. These are to be offered by the laity voluntarily and there is no solicitation or coercion involved. The donor approaches the monk to request to donate to him. If a donor wishes to offer monetary support, the funds are managed by appointed lay stewards and not handled by the monks themselves. Moreover, the monks and stewards are informed of the intended purpose of the donation e.g. for medication or a temple’s building project.

It can therefore be seen from the above that the offering of money to monks are not in keeping with the Buddhist Monastic Code.

The monks’ alms bowl is part and parcel of the Theravada Buddhist monks’ insignia of the Buddhist holy life. Should any monk approach you with an alms bowl, the only appropriate gift that you can offer him is food. One of the four ways the lay community supports monks is by offering them physical sustenance (food) and in return, monks provide the laity with the gift of the Dhamma (Buddhist teachings). This is how the “Buddhist economy” is sustained - through an exchange of gifts, freely given. There is no money, coercion or solicitation involved at all.

Members and devotees are advised against giving cash or red packets to such bogus monks as it will only perpetuate wrong livelihood and will contribute to the demise of true Buddhist monastic practice.

Please help to maintain the dignity of the Noble Sangha by sharing this clarification with your family and friends.  Should you wish to learn more about the practice of alms collection or Dhamma in general, please visit our website at palelaibuddhisttemple.org or Dhammatalks.org.

May you be well and happy.

With best wishes,

The Sangha and Management Committee,

Palelai Buddhist Temple,

Singapore.

 

警告：假和尚索取金钱/红包 

巴礼莱佛寺僧伽及管理委员会恭祝您、您的家人和朋友新年快乐！在新的一年里，身体健康、万事如意！ 

农历新年是华人互赠红包的传统节日，以此表达美好祝愿、祝福和感激之情。据《新明日报》2024年2月13日报道，一群“和尚”前往滑铁卢街（俗称四马路）观音庙一带向市民募捐。据报道，他们的行为与出家僧人非常不相称，而且具有攻击性，甚至从捐助者手中抢钱。他们的贪婪充分地展现在所有人面前，这对他们所穿着的僧侣袈裟来说是一种耻辱。我们只能断定他们是假和尚，因为他们的行为玷污了佛教僧团的尊严和圣洁。

我们在此澄清，上座部佛教寺院戒律是不允许僧人募集任何形式的捐赠。僧人仅在四方面依赖在家人的支持：食物、袈裟、住宿和药物。这些都是由信徒们自愿提供的，不涉及招揽或强迫。施主通常会主动向僧人提出要求捐赠供品。如果捐赠者希望提供金钱支持，资金将由指定的（净人）在家管理员，而不是由僧人自己处理。此外，僧人和在家管理员（净人）会被告知捐赠的目的，例如： 用于药物或寺庙建筑项目等。

由此可见，向僧人供养金钱是不符合佛教戒律的。

佛教上座部僧人的钵是比丘梵行标志的重要组成部分。如果有任何僧人拿着钵来向你走过来，你能供养他的唯一合适的礼物就是食物。在家众支持僧人的四种方式之一是为他们提供物质支持（食物），而僧人会向在家众开示佛法（佛教教义）作为回报。这就是“佛教经济”的运作方式——通过免费赠送的礼物交换。 根本不涉及金钱、胁迫或招揽。

我们建议会员和信徒们不要给这些假和尚现金或红包，因为这只会延续他们的错误生活方式，并导致真正的佛教戒律与修行的灭亡。

请与您的家人和朋友分享此澄清，以帮助维护圣洁僧团的尊严。如果您想了解更多有关布施或一般佛法的信息，请访问我们的网站：palailaibuddhisttemple.org 或 Dhammatalks.org。

愿您一切安好，幸福快乐！

呈上对您最好的祝福！

新加坡巴礼莱佛寺

僧伽和管理委员会敬上

Lunar New Year Merit Lantern

Merit Lanterns and Bodhi Leaves are now available for donation at the Main Shrine.

All proceeds will go towards the reconstruction of the Main Shrine.

Collections will end on 24 February, after which they can be collected from the donation counter until 9 March 2024. Sādhu anumodana! 🙏

Adult Dhamma Class with Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA)

YMBA Dhamma Class 2023 TO 2024 Syllabus

Details

  • All are welcome, free-of-charge

  • Every Sunday 9.50am to 11.00am

  • Chedi Building, 2nd Level, Rooms 2 & 3

  • Contact Person Kanya @ 96397548

Syllabus

September - October 2023

  • Abhidhamma: Understanding 52 Mental states (Pali& English) accompanied by Suttas Explanation

November to December 2023

  • Abhidhamma: Sense doors (with Suttas Explanation), understanding consciousness

January to February 2024

  • Dhamma / History of Buddhism

March to April 2024

  • Paramis/ Kamma

60th Anniversary Buddha Rupa Tokens of Appreciation

 
 

Dear Members and Devotees,

There are 80 pieces remaining of the 60th Anniversary "Lord Buddha's Return from Tāvatiṃsa Heaven" tokens of appreciation (for donations exceeding $888). All proceeds will be directed towards the construction of the new Main Shrine building.

If interested, please enquire personally at the donation counter inside the Main Shrine between 9am - 4.30pm, on any day of the week except Wednesdays and public holidays. Sādhu anumodanā 🙏