The universal ``wheel of time`` rolls on incessantly and mercilessly through everything in its path; the year 2009 is now history. Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple in metropolitan Seattle of U.S.A. is welcoming the inception of the New Year 2010. A weekend group cultivation held on January 2nd of year 2010 was the very first group cultivation to start off the year. Afar had come a group of pilgrims from Panama as well as fellow devotees from other areas of the world. Everybody was cloaked in an aura of rejoice and complimenting one another with New Year`s greeting. Grand Master and Grand Madam, Shrmu also sincerely blessed everybody that they all have an auspiciously pleasant and fortunate new year ahead. Grand Master and Grand Madam also empowered and presided over the group cultivation which was led by Acharya Master Lian-Zu (蓮主金剛上師) featuring Yellow Jambhala Principal Deity Yoga Practice.

Before the group cultivation commenced, Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple cordially welcomed the presence of the president of AAT Television Corporation(全美電視台), Mr. Hong-Yi Zhuo (卓鴻儀), Taiwan Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission (台灣僑務委員會) Chairman Mr. and Mrs. Sien (賢伉儷) and the president of Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce(西雅圖台灣商會), Ms. Yia-Hua Huang (黃雅華). Mr. Hong-Yi Zhuo said in his address that he has been acquainted with Grand Master for 18 years, and that Grand Master had exhaustively effectuated the charity fund-raising effort for Taiwan`s August-8th Flood Disaster Relief which was organized and coordinated by Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, Sheng-Yen Lu Charity Fund Foundation and Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce whereof the result was a success. The president of Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Yia-Hua Huang also came along to deliver words of gratitude in earnest. She also offered a complimentary plaque honoring Grand Master for being the founder of True Buddha School bearing the following inscribed commendation: ``Supreme virtue is likened to being hidden under serene water; profound compassion and ethics shall be extended to sentient beings in the outer world`` (上善若水、厚德載物) .

Upon completion of the group cultivation, Assistant Abbot Xuan-ren (宣仁法師) congratulated everybody to have a healthy, auspiciously pleasant and fulfilling year. In his exposition, he mentioned the mannerism of Grand Master, be it speech or action, is never lacking of inkling suggestive of wisdom; the disciples should observe and draw inference from it.

Next, Acharya Master Lian-Zu (蓮主金剛上師) presented his dharma exposition close on the heels of Assistant Abbot Xuan-ren. He said that cultivating oneself in True Buddha School`s tantric practice can help improve one`s thought process and rectify one`s behavior. An arduous and diligent tantric practitioner can harness his or her destiny. He congratulated everybody wishing that all of us can relinquish all the daily grinds and mundane thoughts at the inception of the New Year, and appreciatively thanked Grand Master as the spiritual beacon. He further said that cultivation in tantric dharma (practice) diligently is the most valuable asset.
Thereafter, Grand Master continued on with His discourse on ``The Altar Sutra as Spoken by the Sixth Patriarch.`` The Sixth patriarch elaborated in the section on Prajna: ``Learned Audience, those who understand the way of `thoughtlessness` will know everything, will have the experience all Buddhas have had, and attain Buddhahood. In future, if an initiate of my School should make a vow in company with his fellow-disciples to devote his whole life without retrogression to the practice of the teachings of this `Sudden Enlightenment` School, in the same effort as that for serving Buddha, he would reach attainment without failure.`` Grand Master of great wisdom, expounded the passage: ``The so-called the `way of thoughtlessness` consists in relinquishing thoughts of the past; the thoughts that we harbor now, will also come to pass and become that of the past; future thoughts are still yet to come, so we can ignore them. It`s impossible for a person to completely empty out his or her mind of all thoughts. Whenever a thought rises, the practitioner should not implicate himself or herself (to be for or against the thought) so as not to be attached; one should just `think it over` without having to vex and brood oneself over the thought. Grand Master is pursuit-less in His life per se; His daily activities are in accord with nature and karmic affinity. Only the `pursuit-less` person can be free from the bondage of mind, and is thus called `Buddha.` Grand Master has taught us to empty ourselves of anxieties and vexing thoughts so as to reach the `undisturbed` state of mind and hence be happy. By eradicating all anxieties and vexations can one really discern one`s own quintessential mind and the primordial Buddha-nature within oneself which is the gist of reaching enlightenment as mentioned in `The Altar Sutra as Spoken by the Sixth Patriarch `.``

Lastly, the compassionate Grand Master bestowed Refuge empowerment on new initiates, blessed the Great Compassion Dharani water and sanctified the Buddha statues and effigies. The fellow devotees from remote places had taken the invaluable opportunity to receive blessings by kneeling down along both sides of a human aisle awaiting Grand Master`s personal blessings by palming. The blessings had signified an auspiciously pleasant, safe and fulfilling year ahead for the recipients!

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