Celebration of Ven Shangpa Rinpoche's 48th Birthday

This year we have organised two events to celebrate Rinpoche's upcoming 48th Birthday: A Family Day at East Coast Park, and Prayers and Offerings at the Karma Kagyud Buddhist Centre in Singapore.

Family day at East Coast Park, Singapore - 09 Sept 2007

As part of the celebrations of the birthday of Ven. Shangpa Rinpoche, a special family day at East Coast, Singapore will be organised. Unlike other picnics, this family day picnic will be meritorious and joyous!

The main excitement of this special family day picnic at East Coast is to pray for the longevity of Ven. Shangpa Rinpoche and to liberate all sentient beings with the dedication of the merits generated by the making of 100,000 sand Tsa Tsas.

Tsa Tsas are a form of traditional Buddhist art that flourished for centuries in remote Himalayan Buddhist kingdoms, most notably Tibet. On that day, Tsa Tsas of the Buddhist Stupa will be made with sand blessed with scared items bless by Ven Shangpa Rinpoche. The creation of these Tsa Tsas is a practice said to result in the generation of great merits for the practitioner. The making of Tsa Tsas is an extremely powerful way of purification and the collection and generation of merits.

There are special benefits from making Tsa Tsas:

• 1. Achieving a perfect rebirth - with perfect body, senses, limbs, and so on.
• 2. Attaining a perfect environment to fulfill all wishes in benefiting other beings. An environment harmonious with your mind and people around you who support your practice.
• 3. Actualising purity in moral conduct.
• 4. Devotion towards the Guru and the Buddhas.
• 5. Courage and perseverance to pursue and conduct meritorious activities.
• 6. Rebirth in the human or deva (god) realm to benefit others.
• 7. Attainment of the bodhisattva arya's path of accumulation.
• 8. Attainment of the bodhisattva arya's path of seeing, where delusions and defilements cease. Creation of karma ceases and one is freed from delusion and karma, from cyclic existence and rebirth. In tantra, the arya's path means one has attained the wisdom of direct perception of emptiness.
• 9. Achieving the path of meditation.
• 10. Achieving the path of no more learning, where one is totally freed from the sufferings of Samsara and attains a spiritual body. One will achieve the actualization of the body, speech and mind of enlightenment.

In this life, one will experience better health, enjoyments will increase, and attain longevity and a good reputation. It is one of the best and most effective methods to betray death. Making Tsa Tsas purifies obstacles, bad conditions, accidents, and sudden diseases like heart attacks and paralysis. By making Tsa Tsas you pacify enemies, interferers, and harms. You accumulate all merit, purify all obscurations, and achieve the resultant three kayas in future life.

As mentioned above, the Tsa Tsas we will be making are that of stupas. There will be 108 stupas in one Tsa Tsa and stupas represent the mind of the Buddha while Dharma represents the speech and statues represent the Body of the Buddha. Offering stupas generate immense merits:

• 1. Elimination of obstacles.
• 2. Fulfillment of wishes.
• 3. Elimination of karmic debts.
• 4. One will enjoy longevity.
• 5. One will attain the perfect 5 senses.
• 6. Liberation of unseen sentient beings.
• 7. Liberation of oneself from Samsara.

Offering of Tsa Tsas in the form of fire, water, sand or wind, to the Enlightened Ones or for the liberation of unseen sentient beings, we should bear in mind:

• 1. The 3 Roots - Guru, Yidam and Dakini. Offerings are made to them and accepted by them only for the fulfillment and generation of merits .
• 2. The Triple Gems and our protectors - Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Offerings are made to them for the elimination of obstacles on our path of practice.
• 3. All mother sentient beings in the six realms of existence that they may be liberated from Samsara.

Wind will carry the sand from the Tsa Tsas. The sand has been blessed by Ven Shangpa Rinpoche with sacred items and all sentient beings in the path of the sand carried by the wind will bring immense merits and benefits.

48th Birthday Celebrations of Ven Shangpa Rinpoche at Karma Kagyud Buddhist Centre, Singapore

12 September 2007 - 7.30pm

You are invited to the 48th Birthday Celebrations of Ven Shangpa Rinpoche at the Karma Kagyud Buddhist Centre. Vegetarian dinner will be served after which there will be special auspicious prayers recited for the longevity of Ven Shangpa Rinpoche.

Schedule for Rinpoche's Birthday Celebrations, 12 Sept 2007

Time	Activity
8 pm	Konchog Chidu (The Guru Rinpoche Longevity Prayer) and Longevity Prayers recited by the Lamas for Ven Shangpa Rinpoche
	Offering Lamps
9 pm	Offerings of Body, Speech and Mind by KKBC Committee Members
	Blessing from Ven Shangpa Rinpoche
	Cake cutting Ceremony