During the third day of the Lunar New Year, Penang’s Than Hsiang Temple organized a New Year Family Pūjā activity.
Before the activity started, Venerable Zhen Ru gave a Dharma talk in the Great Compassion Hall. The Venerable expounded on "Namo Shakyamuni Buddha," which represents taking refuge in Shakyamuni Buddha, and emphasized the importance of remembering his teachings. For example, the "Heart Sutra" recited during the New Year's family pūjā, although only 260 characters long, contains the essence of Buddhist teachings and guidelines for spiritual cultivation. By cultivating wisdom according to these teachings, one can be liberated from Saṃsāra.
Subsequently, the Venerable explained the abstract of the "Heart Sūtra." "Mahāprajñāpāramitā" is the general title of the "Prajñā Sūtras." "Mahā" means vastness of mind, and everyone inherently possesses the Buddha-nature. "Prajñā" is formless wisdom-mind. When the mind clings to the realm, there is birth and death, and one is on the shore of the cycle of suffering; when the mind transcends the realm, there is no birth and death, and one reaches the other shore of nibbana, which is "pāramitā." Ordinary people, due to the "view of self," are greedy, create karma, mistake "having gain" for reality, and thus are trapped in the cycle of reincarnation; Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, knowing that there is "no gain," do not cling to delusions and attain wonderful fruits. The difference between sentient beings and Buddhas lies in "having gain" and "no gain." The "Heart Sūtra" states that all dharmas (the five aggregates) are "empty forms" and "without gain" and teaches people not to cling or be greedy. This is the method to release from suffering, so it is called the " The Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra."
The Venerable also specifically mentioned that the state of prajñā is profound and unfathomable. Not everyone can easily reach it, and only those with higher spiritual roots can have some understanding. Therefore, the Venerable suggested that we might as well start from the aspect of "existence," such as beginning with the Western Pure Land and Amitabha Buddha. Pray for the continuous blessing of the Buddha, cultivate right mindfulness by focusing on the Three Jewels, and gradually move towards the realm of prajñā liberation.
Finally, the master shared an interesting conversation between Venerable Wen Jian and a Muslim about the use of prayer beads. At that time, both held a string of prayer beads in their hands. The Muslim asked Venerable Wen Jian, "What do you recite with the prayer beads?" Venerable Wen Jian then asked back: "What do you recite?" The Muslim recited, "POWER, POWER, POWER." Venerable Wen Jian recited, "LET GO, LET GO, LET GO."

These three levels of "Let Go" are closely related to the last sentence of the "Heart Sutra," "Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā." The first "Let Go - Gate gate" means to stay away from evil deeds and practice good deeds; the second "Let Go – pāragate" refers to release from the six realms of reincarnation and practicing the path of liberation (cultivating precepts, concentration, and wisdom, and eliminating the view of self); the third "Let Go - pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā" is to practice the six pāramitās, cultivate the great wisdom of "no gain" of the Buddha, and break through the attachment to the self and dharmas.
After the Dharma talk concluded, the Venerable led everyone to a dedication ceremony, praying that everyone would have a joyful and healthy new year, with increased wisdom and blessings, and be filled with the joy of Dharma. Then, the Youth Group went to the female monastic community to pay New Year respects to all the nuns. Besides that, they visited the old folk's home at Wan Ching Yuan. Afterwards, the Youth Group proceeded to visit eleven families in their homes to offer New Year greetings and gifts of fruit, distribute Buddhist scriptures, chant blessings, and share auspicious wishes, taking photos with each family.
In conclusion, this New Year Family Pūjā activity conveyed warm New Year wishes. Through the Venerable’s Dharma talk, everyone gained a deeper understanding of Buddhism and took a further step on their path of spiritual practice. This was not only a religious activity but also a purification and transmission of the mind, continuing the wisdom of Buddhism and inspiring everyone to practice it, pursuing inner liberation.

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More photos: https://thanhsiang.org/ch/node/6372
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