Since November 1, in response to Venerable Master Chin Kung’s compassionate entreaty, and with the assistance of Venerable Wu Shin and other venerables some of them are from the Pure Land Learning College in Australia, the library has been involved in several retreats that included Buddhaname chanting and the Thrice Yearning Ceremony:

1. At the beginning of November, the library hosted a retreat
2. In mid-November, the library helped the Tzong Kuan Temple in Sao Paulo, Brazil host its first Pure Land school Thrice Yearning Ceremony
3. In late November, the library assisted the Pure Land Association in Argentina to host a retreat
4. Also in late November, the library participated in the retreat hosted by the Amitabha Buddhist Society of Houston

In the retreat held by the library, we hosted six venerables: Venerable Wu Shin, Venerable Wu Yung, Venerable Wu Sheng, Venerable Wu Yue, Venerable Wu Shing, and Venerable Di Heng. Having this many venerables at our retreat was unprecedented. Although Venerable Wu Shin has visited the library many times, it was the first visit for others.

The practice, singing, and lectures of the six venerables were all excellent. They earned the respect from the local Dharma friends. After the retreat, Venerable Wu Shin left for San Jose on the second day while the others stayed for two more days. This provided us with additional opportunities to interact with them. Venerable Wu Yung is warmly approachable and is like a big brother. The other four younger venerables are also sincere, straightforward, and respectfully easy to approach. We developed very good affinities over the few days. Since November 4 was Election Day, we took the five venerables to a voting station Naperville to experience an American election. We believe this was a memorable event for them on this trip.

This retreat was not in the library’s planned events. It was held to support Venerable Master Chin Kung’s compassionate entreaty for the reduction of potential disasters by the accrued merit from the retreats. The event was possible because Venerable Wu Shin helped to invite the venerables from the Pure Land Learning College. The decision was quickly made. The library did not have enough volunteers and is especially lacking in experience to perform the Thrice Yearning Ceremony. Consequently, we had to rely on other Pure Land organizations to perform the ceremony. Therefore, the preparation was very stressful. We want to especially thank Ms. Chen and Mr. Tan from the Amitabha Buddhist Society of Houston as well as the two Ms. Chen’s from the Amitabha Buddhist Society of Philadelphia. With their help and with the effort of the library’s volunteers, we were able to hold the unprecedented retreat and the Thrice Yearning Ceremony.

A few days after the retreat, Ms. Chen and Mr. Tan from Houston and the two Ms. Chen's from Philadelphia without adequate rest, two other friends from Houston plus Venerable Zhao Xu and two others from the Prajna Temple in Canada, together with Venerable Wu He and myself flew to Brazil. There we helped the Tzong Kuan Temple host a Thrice Yearning Ceremony. All of us were busy traveling for the Dharma!

We would like to thank Venverable Yin Tze, the Abbott of the Tzong Kuan Temple, and the other three resident venerables who so willingly offered their temple as well as the local friends for their support. There were many first-time experiences to many Thrice Yearning Ceremony participants:

1. This was the first time for the Buddhists in Sao Paulo to participate in the Pure Land school's Thrice Yearning Ceremony
2. This was the first time for the resident venerables in Tzong Kuan Temple to participate in the complete ceremony sitting in the designated seats for venerables
3. This was the first time for Mr. Tan to lead the ceremony in the majestic main hall of a major temple
4. For me, it was the first time I served as the ceremony mentor for the entire ceremony.

The second day after the retreat in Sao Paulo, the friends from Houston and from Philadelphia returned home. The others continued the journey to Argentina, with a stop-over at Chen Tien Temple, Brazil.

Chen Tien Temple is located in Foz Do, Iguacu, very close to the borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. The temple and its architecture are majestic. It was a stunning surprise to see such a splendid Buddhist temple in a distant small village.

To stay long term in a distant border city to establish a temple and help people practice Buddhism requires a mind great compassion and determination mind. More importantly it requires openmindedness and patience—a calm mind. I personally highly praise Venerable Dao Jung, the Abbott, and his student Venerable Fa Kung. I hope they will continue to uphold and carry forward their great vow to let the Dharma indiscriminately shower the local friends.

While at Foz Do, we also toured the famous the Iguacu Fall. This was my second visit since 1999. Although the personnel have been changed greatly over the nine years, the beauty of the falls remain unchanged. We were very fortunate as not only was the weather beautiful, but also I heard that the water level was at a record high of the past ten years. At the Devils Throat, the huge waterfall created dense fog, and many swallows bravely flew through the waterfall over to the other side without any fear. The tour guide, Ms. Miao-Hui Chen, said that these swallows nested behind the waterfall, therefore, they are used to zigzagging through the waterfall. Actually, if we reflect on ourselves, we zigzag between fame, money, and livelihood everyday, and take it as happiness. Aren’t we just like these swallows or as pitiful as they are?

We continued our journey after saying good-bye to Iguacu. It was almost ten o’clock at night when we arrived at Buenos Aires, Argentina. Many friends already waited outside of the exit without having had their dinner yet. They picked us up and treated us to a feast. It was close to midnight when we finished eating.

The farewell banquet in Sao Paulo and the enthusiasm of the Brazilian friends there opened the eyes of many first-time visitors like Venerable Zhao Xu and Mr. Tan. The welcome they received from the friends in Argentina brought us all to another level of experience of the enthusiasm of the Dharma friends in South America. But as impressive as their enthusiasm was, their deep concentration and dedication in Buddha-name chanting was even more impressive.

The Pure Land Association in Argentina is located in an older area of Buenos Aires. The cultivation center is not too large and the number of Dharma friends is good. But their minds are very focused when doing Buddha-name chanting. Several senior friends chanted non-stop for four hours. We took turns playing the ground bell to offer them a good chanting rhythm. One friend told me that the ground bell sound produced by me was unique. I guess the sound presented itself uniquely because of the special chanting atmosphere.

Soon after I returned from the South America, Co-director Bert flew to Houston and represented the library by participating in the retreat held by the Amitabha Buddhist Society of Houston. The retreat had two days of Buddha-name chanting and a three-day Thrice Yearning Ceremony. Bert’s attendance was to repay just a little the kindness and support from Mr. Tan and other friends in Houston. In the meantime, on behalf of the library Bert also learned how to play instruments for the Thrice Yearning Ceremony.

When Bert returned, he was informed that his months-long security clearance process had been approved. Therefore, after a few days, he was able to visit one of the maximum security correctional centers in Illinois to discuss the possibility of offering Buddhism classes, by either lay people or by venerables, to the inmates on a periodic basis. This was in response to repeated requests from an inmate who has been there for more than thirty years. For several years, the library has been sending Buddhism books to the inmates in many correctional centers in the United States. This can be considered as a continuation or an extension of such service.

I listened to Bert talking about the extreme conditions and restrictions the inmates have to live with and felt very sad for them. Patriarch Shan Dao said that one’s conditions determine which of the nine grades in the Pure Land one could be reborn in. In fact, don’t one’s conditions determine how one’s life differs from others’? The Buddha told us about the leading karmas and the fruition karmas. These inmates committed serious crimes essentially because they had bad environments and conditions and they did not have good friends to provide good advice. This is just as the imperial teacher Venerable Zhong-Feng said: “Because the views of those who are enlightened and the views of those who are deluded are different, the present will be conceived differently by them.” Fortunately, Buddhists often say: “As soon as one can drop the butcher’s knife, one can immediately become a Buddha.” As long as a person on the wrong path has a thought to return from it, this person can be helped. “All dharmas are the reflections of one’s mind, and all conditions are the reflections of one’s Buddha nature. Fundamentally there are no enlightened ones or deluded ones as soon as the true mind is realized.” Now that we have the affinity to meet these inmates, we should do our best to help them.

Lately, the weather in the Chicago area has been severe. This makes me feel missed the beautiful weather in South America. However, the friends in Brazil hesitate to go out in evenings due to security concerns, and the friends in Argentina have lost the confidence in their future due to the administration corruptions and the nearly stagnant economy. Think! Is there a paradise? “Originally, the Land of Ultimate Bliss is everywhere.” Think again! If one’s mind can be settled on the present, then one can be settled physically, too. If one’s mind is pure, then one’s environment will be pure, too. In this regard, isn’t there a place not a Pure Land?

The purpose of advocating and holding the Thrice Yearning Ceremony is to advise and urge the participants and the deceased to chant Buddha Amitabha’s name and to seek rebirth in the Pure Land. When chanting, one’s mind should always be on Buddha Amitabha thought after thought, moment after moment, and not just in the three sections of the ceremony. Buddhists who chant should follow the teaching of Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva in the “Chapter of Perfect and Complete Realization of Buddha-name Chanting: “Perfectly control the six senses and let one’s pure thoughts continue one after another.” One’s mind is not separate from the Buddha and the Buddha is always in one’s mind.

While in Chen Tien Temple, Venerable Dao Jung and his student not only enthusiastically took care of us, but also generously gave us the card imprinted with the image of Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and the text of the Chapter of Perfect and Complete Realization of Buddha-name Chanting. Venerable Dao Jung gave us the cards to be distributed to our friends here. Indeed, if our mind is not good, it will manifest into disasters. We are now in the Dharma ending age and a turbulent world. If we don’t chant the name of Buddha Amitabha, how can we save ourselves? When reciting the text of the Thrice Yearning Ceremony, we should alert ourselves: If we cannot save ourselves, how can we help others? Let us return to sincere and genuine chanting! Amituofo!