A special Memorial Prayer by Kechara
Dear friends,
Last night, Kechara House, under the leadership of Liaison Paul Yap and the pastors, held a Memorial Prayer for the late Mr Tan Kim Beng, the father of Joseph Tan.
Joseph is a good friend of Lew Kwan Leng who works in the e-division. Not too long ago, Joseph felt that he wanted to do more with his time by being involved in some community service work. He didn’t know where to start, but recalled that his friend worked full-time for Kechara. So he called up Lew and asked if there was any community work in Kechara that he could get involved in. Lew kindly introduced Joseph to Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK). Ever since then, Joseph has been volunteering in KSK consistently, so much so that he took some responsibilities for KSK’s Saturday midnight rounds and became a Team Leader.
On the 7th of September, Joseph’s father passed away… Joseph was lost, confused and grieving. Once again, he called up Lew to see if Kechara had any services to offer during times of grief. Lew gave him the support Joseph needed and also accurate information on how Kechara House can help with Joseph’s father funeral. After listening to Lew’s advice, Joseph decided to have Kechara House help out with his father’s funeral. Shows how much he trusts his good friend, Lew…
Kechara House went all out to assist and support Joseph and his family. Pastor Yek Yee accompanied Joseph’s family throughout their time of grief. I am very glad that the pastors in Kechara are working very hard to relief the sufferings and pains of others. It would be good for there to be more pastors in Kechara, so that we can serve the community more on many levels.
There were over 60 people who attended the memorial prayer for the late Mr Tan Kim Beng. Family and friends of the Tan family and many Kecharians and KSK volunteers were in attendance to recite prayers for the late Mr Tan Kim Beng. I was told that Joseph and his family are very grateful to Kechara for all the help and support they got during this dark period in their life. It is Kechara’s honour to be able to be there for Joseph and his family at their time of need.
I send my sincere condolences to Joseph and his family. I hope with this Memorial Prayer and the support of Kechara, the Tan family have found some solace.
Tsem Rinpoche
Notice of Mr Tan Kim Beng’s Memorial Prayer.
Snacks were also prepared before the event…
Lots of flowers and candle offered to the Three Jewels for the swift rebirth of Mr Tan Kim Beng.
Joseph Tan, son of Mr Tan Kim Beng giving a speech on behalf of his family…
The attendees comprising of Mr Tan’s family members, Kechara Soup Kitchen team and volunteers and Kechara House members.
A short video on the life of Mr Tan was also played in honour of him…
Kechara House puja team preparing for the Lama Chopa puja.
Everyone joined in to recite prayers for Mr Tan.
Joseph (left), Pastor Yek Yee and the Tan family.
The Tan family gathered in front of H.E Tsem Rinpoche throne and Lama Tsongkhapa’s statue to take a picture.
Joseph along with his KSK buddies, Justin Cheah (middle) and Victor Phang (right).
Joseph with Wai Queen (left) and Siong Woan (right).
Joseph sharing a light moment with his family and friends.
Joseph and family wrote a beautiful card to Pastor Yek Yee to thank her for all the help and support she provided during this critical period.
The Tan family also offered beautiful flowers, a card and a Green Tara statue to H.E Tsem Rinpoche.
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Dear Joseph, condolence for ur father and thanks for choosing Kechara to help u prepare for ur father Memorial Prayer.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this as it’s really good to know all the wonderful work the Pastors have been doing and is capable of. It also gives comfort to those who are connected to Kechara that in times of difficulties such as facing the death of loved ones, there are committed Kecharians who will go all the way out to help and assist.
By giving time and energy for others especially community service we help relief the sufferings and pains of those in need and create a good connection of ourselves with others. It builds our characters to be responsible, reliable, and have integrity. What parents want most of their children are they can be proud of their children benefiting societies. I believe your dad will be very proud of you because of what you did for others in Kechara Soup Kitchen.
To offer support, whether is words of advice or support in prayers in time, is always important for whoever facing difficult times like this. And it’s only possible with pastors with the support of whole Kechara team.
Hope Mr Tan Kim Beng has a good rebirth and wishes Joseph and his family well.
I believe for many of us who engage in spiritual practice we want to be able to help people in the best way possible and to support the in their hour of need. Not for the praise, but so that someone can have the support when they need it. The KH team really showed support to Joseph’s family when they needed it.
Each time I miss my father, I am also reminded of how Kecharians have helped my family during the critical time back then, and my heart instantly filled with gratitude. I was lost, grieving, confused and the emotion are mixed up when my father left us. But those feelings was halved immediately when Pastor Yek Yee spoke to me through Lew’s introduction. Siong Woan has already been there at the memorial service centre when I reached the place getting ready for the service. She’s the first person who came to see us. Seeing her further calmed me down. When Pastor Yek Yee and Wan Hong arrived and spoken to us, I have complete faith that my Dad is in good hand. I think it’s the genuine compassion and care from the Kecharians and their knowledge that gave me the comfort, I could feel them without much communication, they were just in the air. Lew is the bridge that connects me to Kechara, I owe it to him, he’s a great man. Thank you Rinpoche for building Kechara, thank you Kecharian for making this a better place in our country. You made a difference in our lives. Thank you…
Dear Joseph, condolence for ur father and thanks for choosing Kechara to help u prepare for ur father Memorial Prayer.
Thanks for all Kecharian efforts to make this memorial Prayer so successful, this service really let more peoples out of Kechara can connected to Kechara.
During moments of grief, loss and pains we need people with the right knowledge and capability to help us tide through the period.
It is very nice to see that Kechara has almost everything under one roof to give much consolation to anyone who needs them. In this case it is the passing of Mr Tan Kim Beng.
The puja team, the video, the memorial notice and down to the preparation of the snacks, things are very well organised indeed. These certainly give much comfort to the Tan’s family.
I wish a swift and good rebirth to Mr Tan Kim Beng.
I met Joseph once during a KSK outing. He was the team leader and driver for the team we joined. The way he spoke and interacted with the homeless shows that he is such a caring and kind person to them.
I remember there was a homeless who is an animal lover has some kittens with him. One of the kitten was sick. From my experience, I told them what can we do to help the kitten, to buy some cleanser and supplement. Joseph was the one who noted and promised the homeless will purchase the stuffs that the kitten needed and send to the homeless the next day (as we went in the middle of the night, most of the shops are closed)
He reminds me of other KSK’s staffs and regular helpers such as Kwok Wai, Julia, Justin, Karen, Poh Chu, Sean etc that care and love everyone with their actions. I hope Joseph will participate more and become one of the strong pillar to support KSK on ground works one day.
May Mr.Tan Kim Beng rest in peace, may the family be healthy and has spiritual grow.
Dear Joseph: my condolences on the demise of your beloved father. I am glad you have chosen to have a memorial service at Kechara. The note you wrote to Pastor Yek Yee is very touching. Yes, Pastor Yek Yee works very hard for others all the time. So glad she could help you and your family overcome this difficult time. Please take care.
仁波切为了让他的佛法知识能够让跟多的人受益，不惜劳苦的成了13个不同的部门来让社会各阶层的认识都能够有机会接触到佛法，这一次还把触角衍生到往生者的追思会和为患病病人提供法会，这不只是弘扬佛法的方法，它也是慈悲的表现，谢谢仁波切给予我们这么多的方法，让我们可以有利他利己的机会，以便累积更多的功德，让我们在修行的道路上，可以减少阻碍，坚持到底。
With the help from Liaisons Paul Yap and Pastor Yek Yee, Kechara House and its team were able to organise the Memorial Service prayers for Joseph and his family in such short notice and we are most blessed to be of assistance during this grieving period for them.
Dear Joseph, my hearty condolences for the passing of your father. Death is an inevitable part of life and I think Buddhism has a lot of teachings, pujas and rituals that can help to console, assist and relieve the sufferings of those left behind. We are indeed fortunate to be part of an organisation that cares and can perform funerary rituals for the deceased. Therefore, we hope the service was pleasant , moving befitting of the dignity of this solemn moment. Anyway, I am glad that you have decided to do it with Kechara House.