Amitabha Buddhist Centre
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Mission Statement
Amitabha Buddhist Centre has been established as a non-profit Buddhist organisation in Singapore since 1989. We are associated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an international Buddhist organisation headquartered in the United States. In line with the FPMT mission, we provide integrated education through which people’s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility and service. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our vision of helping all beings live life meaningfully through the Dharma inspires our goals and activities that encompass education, prayer and community service.
About This Cause
Amitabha Buddhist Centre is a centre for the study and practice of Mahayana Buddhism, based on the Gelug tradition of the Tibetan master, Lama Tsong Khapa, following the lineage of Lama Thubten Yeshe and our Spiritual Director, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. Education: Out of boundless compassion and infinite wisdom, the Buddha is said to have given 84,000 teachings in his lifetime. He gave these vast and profound teachings so that sentient beings would be able to eradicate all suffering by travelling the path to enlightenment, the state of Buddhahood. Beyond the appearances of mere ritual and mystical worship, real Buddhist practice begins with reflective and analytical learning. At Amitabha Buddhist Centre, students benefit from our tradition that places emphasis on understanding the entire path of the Buddha’s teachings. From taking baby steps towards discovering Buddhism to exploring deeper levels of Buddhist concepts, we offer courses to suit varying levels of ability, interest and age groups. Our comprehensive study programme centres on imparting a proper understanding of the Buddha’s teachings through which anyone who practises can actively transform and enrich their lives. Prayers: The practice of prayer inspired by faith and devotion to the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, Sangha—is integral to our spiritual programme and is available in a variety of ways ranging from our elaborate annual festivals to weekly prayer sessions. These on-going events provide our members and benefactors with ample opportunity to pacify obstacles, purify obscurations, and collect extensive merit. Whether it is to obtain positive results in this life, such as good health, abundance and peace, or to aspire towards the high spiritual aim of liberation from cyclic existence, the scriptures are explicit on the importance and benefits of accumulating merit. In particular, the object of the offerings and prayers is the Buddha, who achieved enlightenment, the perfect state free from all suffering. The accomplishment of Buddhahood is imbued with Eight Powers, one of which is the power of prayer. It is due to the Buddha’s perfection of prayer that vast merits can result from paying homage to the Buddha or to any holy object. Therefore, with the Three Jewels as the merit field, the practices of making offerings, confessing negativities, prostrating, and reciting auspicious verses of homage and requests form a consistent theme in the prayer texts that we rely on for our pujas and recitations. Community: At the heart of Amitabha Buddhist Centre are the people who have come together out of their common interest and shared aspirations in the Dharma. Our spiritual programme extends beyond Dharma classes and prayer sessions into a range of group-oriented activities where our community of members and friends can connect in meaningful ways. These events include travelling abroad to holy Buddhist sites for teaching tours, pilgrimage and retreats. Closer to home, explore spiritually inspired music through our homegrown choir. Outreach: Since the Nineties, Amitabha Buddhist Centre has reached out to society at large with the wish to benefit others beyond the religious sphere. Visits were organised to nursing homes such as the SILRA Leprosy Home, and in 1999, we established Hospice Under the Care of Amitabha Buddha (HUCAB), a volunteer group that serves at the Dover Park Hospice. We also care for the very young through our nursery cum kindergarten, abc children’s place, in the Tampines district. Our most recent initiative in non-sectarian service for othersis JINPA for Our Community, a food distribution project where we fund and donate basic groceries to help needy households in Singapore. These secular programmes are in line with the Vast Visions of our Spiritual Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, to bring peace and happiness to people everywhere. Resources: We provide a variety of channels—both physical and virtual—through which our members, students and visitors can access Dharma-related information, teachings and advice, as well as designated facilities that are available to anyone who has an interest in Buddhist culture and practice.