By Jennifer Chang
To welcome in the new year, the Mid-America Buddhist Association, (MABA) located in Augusta, Missouri, hosted a Dharma Blessing Assembly Retreat that began on Sunday morning, December 30th and ended after a vegetarian buffet on Tuesday, January 1st. Activities included chanting of the Diamond and Heart Sutras, sitting and walking meditation, Qi-Gong classes, and two Buddhist-related movies. Master Ji Ru, Abbot of the Temple, talked on the subject of Karma, and transcending worldly views. Although the temperature was very cold, at midnight on New Year's eve, participants held a candlelight procession around the temple's ten-foot tall bronze statue of the Buddha.
The Mid-America Buddhist Association was established in 1995 to promote Buddhism in the West, and to provide a peaceful setting for monks and nuns to practice the teachings of the religion. Services are held each Sunday morning beginning at 9:30. A workshop/retreat will be held the weekend of February 15th which will culminate in a celebration of Chinese New Year on Sunday, the 17th. Call 636-482-4037 for more information.
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