Sangha Newsletter

         Dear friends and fellow practitioners,

        Thanks to the generosity, material and spiritual supports of our kind-hearted friends and fellow Buddhist practitioners, the Buddha Hall of An Lac Temple is now more solemn and spacious. We no longer have to squeeze into a cramped space for Sunday service, endure severe the cold in winter and the extreme heat of summer when we host the ceremonies at the temple. Instead, we now have a spacious, climate-controlled hall which can comfortably accommodate three hundred people.
 
         Dear friends, thus far we have paid off three quarters of the construction loan, but we now have to cope with the increased maintenance expenses of our newer and better furnished building. To meet with these demands and complete our loan payments, we must ask for your ongoing contributions or for your long-term no- interest loan of at least five hundred dollars. With your alms offerings and generous donations, the sangha of An Lac temple will be able to fulfill their duty to preserve the tradition and culture that have been transmitted to us through many generations.

         Dear friends, although we cannot prepare for or celebrate Tet as completely as we would in Vietnam, the warm and welcoming spirits of the New Year permeate our temple. The winter snows may cover our grounds, but inside the temple, we hear the sounds, smell the smells, and taste the tastes of Tet. While we are busily preparing traditional rice cakes "banh chung" and cooking Vietnamese dishes, the venerables and devout practitioners put up decorations of "mai" flowers and plum blossoms.
 
         Dear venerables, friends and fellow practitioners, we respectfully invite you to An Lac Temple to enjoy with the community the traditional Vietnamese New Year “Tet”

          
          On the coming of Vietnamese New Year Tet, An Lac Temple community would like to wish all our friends and fellow practitioners a happy new year. May your new year be peaceful, prosperous and full of achievement in the Dharma. We also invite you join us in the celebration of Lunar New Year at An Lac Temple for the traditional Vietnamese ceremonies, the recitation of great Buddhist scriptures, offerings of prayers and the dedication of merits to our ancestors, parents, and all beings in all world.

PROGRAM

           END OF THE YEAR EVENT

• Saturday, Jan. 26 2009 ( 29/12 nam Mau Ty - Lunar Calendar)

10:00 a.m:   -  Mid-day Meal Offerings Ceremony, the Ceremonial                          Offering to the ancestor and the departed ones who                          are memorialized at An Lac Temple.
                      - Complementary vegetarian lunch offering (at Sangha                          House)
12:00 p.m:    End of the Year Party (held at Buddha Hall) including:
                      - Dharma Talks (approx. 20 minutes)
                      - Financial Annual Reports (approx. 10 minutes)
                      - Entertainment (approx. 3 1/2 hours !)
04:00 p.m:    The ceremony for feeding of the Hungry Ghosts.

           NEW YEAR'S EVE DAY

• Sunday, Jan. 25 2009 ( 30/12 nam Mau Ty - Lunar Calendar )

10:00 a.m:    Dharma Talk.
11:00 a.m:    Mid-day Meal Offering Ceremony, Repentance                        Ceremony, and Ceremonial Offering Ceremony to                        Ancestors
12:00 p.m:  - Meal Offering Ceremony to Departed Ancestors at                        the temple.

                     - Formal Vegetarian Luncheon

           NEW YEAR EVE

08:00 p.m:    Farewell the old year and Welcome the New Year, Fun                        and Games!
10:00 p.m:    New Year's Eve Ceremony (followed by the Opening                        Ceremony of the 15-day Recitation Session of The                        Scripture of Medicine Buddha for the health and                        peace in the coming year).

11:00 p.m:    New Year's Best Wishes.

          NEW YEAR 1ST DAY

• Monday, Jan. 26 2009 ( 01/01 nam Ky Suu - Lunar Calendar )

10:00 a.m:    The anniversary of Maitreya Buddha and New Year's                        prayers.
11:30 a.m:    - Mid-day Meal Offering Ceremony.

                      - Formal Vegetarian Lunch.
08:00 p.m:    Recitation of the Scripture of Medicine Buddha

                       (7 table, each table seating 7 people).

• The Mid-day Meal Offering Ceremony to the Departed Ones and Dedication before the Rebirth Plaques Altar and Memorials will be held continuously for the first three days of the New Year. An Lac Temple welcomes and invites the whole community to join us.
• The Recitation of the Scripture of Medicine Buddha will be held from the 1st day of New Year to the fifteen day of January at 8:00 p.m daily. The recitation is a prayer for the health and peace of all people throughout the coming year. If you live too far away to attend, please send your copy of the prayer-request form to the temple beforehand, so that we can include it in our preparations.
• If you would like to sit in prayer at one of the 7 tables for the recitation session, please be sure to come every night at 7:50 p.m sharp.

                                             Homage to Amitabha Buddha