The abbot of Than Hsiang Temple, Venerable Wei Wu, had heard of His Eminence, Drubwang Konchok Norbu Rinpoche and called on Bro. Chooi Shee Hoong, President of Ratnashri Buddhist Centre in Petaling Jaya, to invite His Eminence to perform the 100 Million Mani Puja at Than Hsiang Temple to coincide with the opening ceremony of the Temple's Main Shrine Hall on 1 December 2002.

The Puja was very successful and the Buddhist fraternity in Penang was receptive of Drubwang Rinpoche's teachings. After that first Puja in Penang, Than Hsiang Temple had invited His Eminence to conduct the 100 Million Mani Recitation Retreat yearly at Than Hsiang. His Eminence had a high regard for Than Hsiang Temple and Venerable Wei Wu, so Drubwang Rinpoche would come whenever invited except for 2004 when His Eminence was too sick to come.

His Eminence Drubwang Konchok Norbu Rinpoche, born in 1921, had completed studies of thirteen major texts in the Tibetan Traditions and is an exponent of the Mind Only school and the Madhyamika School of philosophies. Drubwang Rinpoche has more than 30 years of meditation retreat experience and is an accomplished practitioner with high realization and a retreat master of Mahamudra. His Highness the 14 th Dalai Lama praised Drubwang Rinpoche as “a very powerful and accomplished practitioner” and had specially appointed Drubwang Rinpoche to propagate the Guanyin Practice to benefit all beings.

Drubwang Rinpoche had personally completed 12 x 100 million times of the Six-Syllable Mantra and had led the completion of tens of 100 Million Mani recitation retreats in Nepal and India. The core of the 100 Million Mani Recitation Retreat is the verbal recitation of the Six-Syllable Heart Mantra “OM MANI PADME HUNG”. This Heart Mantra of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva (Guanyin) is the essence of the Buddhas, embodies perfect compassion and is the core of the 84,000 Teachings of all the Buddhas.

According to the Karandaryuha Sutra, when one recites 100 Million Mani, Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) will bless all the myriad living organisms in one's body, and when one dies even the smoke from the cremation of one's corpse will have the power to protect whoever that inhales it from rebirth in the lower realms.

The merit generated by a single recitation of the Mani is so vast that even a Buddha capable of feats beyond the capacity of any other being, such as stating exactly how many drops of rain would fall during a rainstorm lasting twelve years, would not be able to fully describe it. On top of this, when one participates in a 100 Million Mani Recitation Retreat, the amount of merits one accumulates is the same as that accumulated by the entire group for the whole duration of the recitation retreat.

It is not often that the 100 Million Mani Recitation Retreat led by such an accomplished practitioner as His Eminence Drubwang Konchok Norbu Rinpoche is held in Than Hsiang Temple. Life being uncertain, every Buddhist in Penang and elsewhere in Malaysia should thus grasp this opportunity and participate in the 100 Million Mani Recitation Retreat. We should not let slip this golden opportunity to participate and develop within us the deepest qualities of mindfulness, compassion, peace, and a pure mind.