SUCCESSFUL LAUNCHING OF LIFE AND BEYOND & BRASS BUDDHA STATUE

Over a hundred Filipinos jam-packed the 100-seater theater of the Universal Wisdom Foundation Inc. - a Buddhist educational center in Gilmore Quezon City last February 27, 2010 as they witnessed the launching of the 10 year-long project of the book LIFE AND BEYOND, a book envisioned by the Founder to help make a change in the lives of Filipino people. The program started with a Dharma talk delivered by a Filipino Buddhist monk Venerable Vincent Taguinod. Most of the audience complimented the Venerable as one of the best speaker to have talked about the Dharma, in a very humble way. His talks are very practical, full of wisdom, easy to comprehend, and most of all, very Filipino. The Venerable, with his short stay with the Foundation, have helped many Filipinos understand life better after listening to his series of Dharma talks. Most of these audiences even anticipate his next schedule of Dharma talk and wishes that he can stay in the Philippines for good because they know he can impart a big help to the Filipino people. The foundation was very fortunate to have a Filipino Buddhist to grace the launching of the book Life and Beyond. One interesting fact is that the Venerable was inspired to attain monk hood because of a Dharma book that he got for free at the old Universal Wisdom Foundation Center way back 2000-2001, the year when the book Life and Beyond was set in motion. 10 years after, the Venerable return to the Foundation, a full pledged monk, when the book Life and Beyond is launched.


The Founder himself humbly delivered a speech paying tribute to all those who have helped in the completion of the book with the special mention to the contributors: “Dr. Carlos Aureus for the touching “Last Will and Testament”, Dr. Raj Mansukhani for “The Eightfold Path”, Dr. Mark Anson Yupitun writing “Modern Science and Buddhism” and Prof. Caguisano for the over-all restructuring and final editing. Likewise, to Thomas Seifert , Sam Salter, Jeanette Bucao and Shiela Casis who have journeyed with the completion of the book. We believed that this book will contribute a lot in the lives of many Filipino people.


A day after the launching, the Foundation have been receiving a lot of good feedback on the book and many have been asking for additional copies to be shared with their loved ones. Some organizations and schools have also requested for bulk orders to be given to their staff and students. Even at the UWF Tagaytay Center at THE LAKE HOTEL TAGAYTAY, many guests showed interest in getting a copy of the book which is made available for FREE in each room. Most readers were amazed by the MODERN SCIENCE AND BUDDHISM chapter as it proves that Buddhism is not a religion per se but a Science and Psychology. The author made a perfect comparative analysis between what the Buddha taught 2,500 years ago to the present scientific findings. Another topic of the book that served as an eye opener to most readers is the chapter on RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS DEATH. Many readers are very interested to read and learn about the Buddhist way on how to handle death and passing away of loved ones. This chapter of the book has a lot to say and impart about death and dying that most of us never heard or read before. There are many interesting lines that will make you read the whole chapter up to the last sentence. What one of the reader said that caught his attention is this line from this chapter: “Death does not only refer literally to the “end” of a particular existence caused by an accident or a pathological illness. The Buddhist perspective is that it actually occurs in our everyday lives…”
 Another highlight of the event is the FREE DISTRIBUTION and launching of the brass Buddha Statue sculptured order from Tibet. It is the vision of the foundation that every Filipino who have an affinity with the Buddha and every family who wants to welcome the Buddha to their home be graced with at least 1 Buddha statue. The Buddha statue is to help convey the calm feelings that reflect ones proper mental discipline as having the control over the negative emotions of fear and greed. This Buddha statue is in a Lotus position. This position of meditation symbolizes perfect balance of thought and tranquility. The lotus represents the Buddha Mind because, though growing in mire, it puts forth beautiful, immaculate flowers. This Buddha mind, with the help of what the Buddha statue symbolizes, is what the foundation envision to impart to every Filipino, starting with the basic unit of the society which is every FAMILY with a dream that in the future, our young generation in the country, will be like the lotus, putting forth beautiful and immaculate flowers and help establish a more peaceful and progressive society.

“The gift of Dharma excels all other gifts.”