Wednesday, June 22, 2011

BATW: Buddhism in Malaysia


Our seventh installment comes from Malaysia. You;ve probabl heard of the teacher this person studies under, but this article is great and gives a perspective on Malaysian Buddhism that we are hoping opens readers eyes to their culture leanings. Thank you Tenzin for this.

I am a Buddhist blogger from Malaysia. Although Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, there is freedom of religion and non-Muslims can choose to practice whatever religion they want. Currently, approximately 20% of Malaysians practice Buddhism.

In Malaysia, we have many Buddhist Traditions such as the Theravada, Mahayana and the Vajrayana. Because of the colourful and broad religious mix of Malaysia, there will be a Theravadan temple on one street, and a Mahayan temple on another, next to a Christian church and a Hindu temple.

I belong to the Kechara Buddhist organisation which is of the Vajrayana school. I began learning about Buddhism since I met my teacher, the Tibetan Master, H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, when I was about seven years old. I do my best to incorporate the teachings of the Buddhas into my daily life. Tsem Tulku is an avid blogger too and his blog covers a very wide range of topics (http://blog.tsemtulku.com).

When learning Buddhism in the Kechara organisation, we get to practice kindness and compassion wherever we go. For example, there is the Kechara Soup Kitchen where we can feed the homeless and we also help them find jobs because that is what helps the homeless in the long term. There is also going to be an animal shelter where we can take care of animals in the future.

Kechara also has the first Himalayan Arts Studio in Southeast Asia (Kechara Saraswati Arts) where people can roll mantras and paint statues or do brocading for thangkas; a publishing house (Kechara Media & Publications) which publishes Buddhist books; two vegetarian restaurants (Kechara Oasis) to encourage compassionate eating; a film production house (Kechara InMotion) which produces documentaries and
TV shows; a travel consultancy and statue maker (Kechara Discovery) and a range of retail shops (Kechara Paradise) which makes Buddhist images, artefacts and prayer items easily accessible to all.

I have written a blog where I show people how my life goes by with Buddhism applied in every corner. (http://tenzinkhenchen.blogspot.com)

It would be nice to be able to interact with other Buddhists all over the world and the Blogisattva awards seems to be the best place to introduce Buddhist blogs to other interested Buddhists everywhere. Malaysia is a country in South East Asia and one of the main languages we speak in Malaysia is English. I am sure that the many Buddhist blogs worldwide will find many Malaysians interested in them.

An ocean of prayers and with folded hands,

Tenzin Khenchen

11 comments:

Roni said...

Great to hear about Malaysia!

Greetings,

Roni
BuddhaPest Blog

Anonymous said...

This is a great initiative by Blogisattva Awards to promote Buddhism around the world. We all come from different schools and traditions but we all are students of the Buddhist teachings. I love it!

Disclaimer: i'm a bit partial to this article because it was written by my son :)

Victoria Rainone said...

Sean, you are going to be and already are quite a successful person. Congratulations on both your Blogisattva article and blog. Excellent!

Victoria
Texas, USA

Kyle said...

Sean, excellent article. Thank you so much for your submission, it has been read quite a bit already!

Vajrayogini Devotee said...

Congratulation Sean... I am so happy and very proud of you... I am not too surprise as I always so impressed with your writings and as of matter of facts I do learn from you too. So, keep on writing and use your talent to benefit others. Take care and a big hug.

Connie Bach

Susan said...

Well done Sean. I'm proud of you and the efforts you put in to developing your talent as a writer. It is very refreshing to read your blog post.

Kechara must have provided you a conducive environment to learn so much and your love for your teacher and buddhist organization shows thru your writings.

I am sure many people will enjoy reading your article and learn something new about a perspective of Buddhism in Malaysia!

Caine Das said...

Excellent article. Thank you for you writing. May your merit increase and the Buddha bless you.

Anonymous said...

well done Sean!! Keep up the writing and sharing of Buddhism

flights to manila said...

I would like to visit the Buddhist temples in Malaysia. It accounts for a soulful journey.

Billy S. said...

Though I am raised a Christian, I still admire the teachings of Buddhism greatly and even follow some of their practices. I fin those Buddhists in Malaysia very interesting people.

pimalai resort & spa koh lanta

Unknown said...

WAJARKAH GELARAN PHRA KHRU DIGUGUR?
Justeru itu adalah amat wajar gelaran Phra Khru yang disandang oleh Phra Khru Udomthammavites (Phien Saccavaro) Wat Uttamayanmuni digugurkan atau patus ditarik balik segara. Perbuatan Phra Khru-Udomthammavites (Phien Saccavaro) merupakan satu penghinaan keatas gelaran PHRA KHRU!. Amat memalukan seorang yang bergelar Phra Khru membuat kerja kotor sebegini!!. Ia satu kesalahan jenayah (sombong, tipu, fitnah). Mana mungkin seorang bergelar Phra Khru terlibat dengan jenayah!!
Umat Buddhisme supaya tidak mudah diperbodoh-bodoh dengan lakonan agama kotor dalam Buddhisme untuk mengaibkan individu tertentu. “Kita dijadikan ‘penonton bodoh’ yang seakan-akan merelakan apa sahaja watak yang mereka lakonkan”.
“Agama kita memerlukan nafas baru dan dibersihkan dari golongan yang jijik dan kotor ini! Kita perlukan Buddhisme idea, bagaimana dan cara membangunkan umat dan rakyat agar hidup berdisiplin, bermaruah dan bertamadun.
“Buddhisme melarang didedahkan aib peribadi yang tidak membabitkan kezaliman terhadap orang lain seperti zina, minum arak, berjudi dan seumpamanya (Five precepts) hendaklah ditutup semampu mungkin.
“Tiada keperluan menubuhkan suruhanjaya khas bagi kes-kes maksiat peribadi. Ini hanya akan membazirkan Agama Buddha,” katanya