Buddhist Conference in Malaysia - November 2007

CONFERENCE / BUDDHISM; Malaysia hosts Buddhist event of the year
470 words
5 October 2007
Bangkok Post
R11
English
(c) 2007

Three leading Buddhist organisations, the Buddhist Missionary Society, Buddhist Gem Fellowship and the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia, will be organising an international Buddhist conference in Malaysia from November 17-18 at the Sunway Convention Centre, Petaling Jaya.

It will be the fifth in this series of conferences which began in 2000, and the second time that Malaysia will be playing host. More than 1,000 people, some from Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, have so far registered for the conference, which has been billed as the "Buddhist Event of the Year."

The theme of the conference is "Transforming the Mind -- How to Create Happiness in Our Lives." During the event, 10 well-known Buddhist scholars, including monks and nuns from Western countries, will present 16 papers discussing how they, as Buddhists, benefit from the Buddha's teachings that are directed towards training the mind in order to develop happiness in our everyday lives.

The conference has been structured so that not only scholars of Buddhism will benefit from the insights of the speakers as they explore the more profound aspects of Buddhist philosophy. Buddhists of all kinds will find practical advice on what steps they can take in order to be happy and lead peaceful, stress-free lives.

The speakers will include Malaysia's Venerable Mahinda from Malacca and Venerable Aggacitta from Penang. Venerable Ming Yi, known as "Asia's CEO monk" for opening the first Buddhist hospital in Singapore and remaining as its chief executive, will deliver a talk on the second day.

Western speakers at the conference include Venerable Dr Heng Sure and Venerable Robina Courtin from the USA, and Venerable Acharn Brahmavamso from Australia. Heng Sure is a disciple of the late master Hsuan Hua and an accomplished musician. His recordings of American Buddhist folk music will be featured during the conference.

Robina Courtin, a nun from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition who was the subject of the recent documentary, Chasing Buddha, will talk about her experiences teaching meditation to the inmates of US prisons.

From the Zen tradition, Dr Jan Chozen Bays, a paediatrician and Zen master, will speak on her work in helping abused children to find happiness.

The versatile and very popular Theravada monk from Perth, Acharn Brahm, has also confirmed his attendance at the conference.

Lay speakers will include Dr Tan Eng Kong, a well-known Sydney-based psychotherapist, Dr Thupten Jinpa, the official translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Danai Chanchaochai, CEO of Thailand's top media company in Bangkok, who will share his thoughts on meditation for stressed, busy executives in the corporate sector.

For more details of the conference, please visit www.bodhivision.net/gcb2007 , email ybam@streamyx.com or call 603-7804-9154/603-7804-9157.