The last week of the year 2004 must surely be remembered as one that filled us with mixed feelings.

On our first day of retreat, while we rejoiced that we had H.E Drubwang Rinpoche and HE Tritsab Rinpoche to lead us in the retreat, at the same time, it was heart-wrenching for many of us who had attended the 2003 retreat to see Drubwang Rinpoche lost so much weight with an apparently weaker physique within a space of one year. It was a feeling that I could not find the appropriate words to describe. At that moment, many of us probably thought that it could have been better for him to remain in Nepal and recuperate instead of coming to Singapore. Many of us might have this ‘guilty’ feeling of “over-stretching” the compassion of our gurus, requesting him to lead us in this retreat for our own “selfish needs”. . .

Exemplifying the true conduct of a great boddisattva, Drubwang Rinpoche said that, despite his poor health, he had to be in Singapore because he promised to be here or else he would be letting sentient beings down. His words & actions - so powerful and inspiring! Drubwang Rinpoche, out of his great kindness, has personified Boddicitta for us to emulate. That was the best gift that Rinpoche gave to us on our first meeting of the retreat. If having over-taxed our gurus and yet not doing our practice sincerely, that would be the biggest let down of all – the most selfish act that we would have committed.
We were determined never to let this happen, at all costs. Our thoughts were transformed from that moment – no more guilty feeling, just sincere practice with a pure heart to repay the kindness of the guru – and all sentient beings –

And 3 days into the retreat, the Tsunami disaster struck. Suddenly, recalling the words of Rinpoche stirred our hearts further – that we have all gathered together in this retreat for a reason – to benefit sentient beings. Rinpoche taught us that to dedicate the merits generated during this Om retreat is most beneficial for the victims of the Tsunami as well as ourselves. We could not let sentient beings down in these most difficult of times !

Due to the ripening of causes and conditions, Mani retreat 2004 turned out to become the first and biggest retreat group in Singapore to dedicate prayers for the Tsunami victims, consecutively for the next 5 days. It was probably the Mani group prayers that touched them first – the most crucial moments when help were needed by our brothers and sisters affected by the Tsunami.

Drubwang Rinpoche constantly reminded us to keep our motivation pure, our recitation focused, free from all distractions, with every syllable clearly pronounced. Everyone of us recited with great determination and effort, with loving kindness and great compassion – bringing countless sentient beings closer to liberation with every recitation. The atmosphere in the two halls reverberated with positive energy, improving by the day, hitting the pinnacle on the last day of retreat!

We achieved the target of 100 million mantras in this retreat, exceeding by 38 million counts! With the blessings and guidance from our precious gurus and Triple Gems and the collective effort of the full-time retreatants and the part-timers, the generosity of the sponsors who contributed to this beautiful monastery, the clean and natural green environment of the temple grounds, the translators who helped us to understand Rinpoche’s Dharma teachings, the volunteers who helped to support this event and the others too many to mentioned who have contributed in so many different ways demonstrated to us that in this world, we are all dependant on each other for peace and happiness. Our lives are more closely interconnected than we realized, be it among humanities or mother nature.

With the experience garnered from the Tsunami disaster, let us constantly remind ourselves of the impermanence of this fleeting life of ours, constantly remembering Rinpoche’s words of recalling the kindness of sentient beings and generating the great effort of repaying the kindness of others and most importantly, have the determination to practice the 6-syllabled mantra until we ourselves actualize the 84,000 teachings of the Buddha with this simple and yet profound method of liberation.

May we pray that HE Drubwang Rinpoche, HE Tritsab Gyabra Rinpoche & Rabsang Rinpoche and all pure masters of the Dharma have a long and healthy life and remain until samsara ends!