100 Million Manis

In the course of browsing browsing browsing (Hey, what else should I be doing? It's not like I have brain surgery scheduled for the next day or two...) I found the Buddhist blog Awakening the Buddha In Us. The blog is written by Colin, a Buddhist practitioner in Singapore. His latest post is a plea for people to sign a petition to request that a monastery there continue with its annual retreat during which 100 Million Om Mani Padme Hums would be recited. It seems that the driving force behind this event, Drubwang Rinpoche arrived in Singapore for the 2007 event and passed away the day before it was to begin. And this year, they're considering not holding it.

Drubwang Rinpoche at a previous retreat

100 million manis. That's one heck of a peace offering. I'll do some myself (altho not in Singapore) if they continue with it. Apparently, the plea is just to continue. Colin's not asking for donations, just a signing of the petition to demonstrate that people around the world think this is of value. You can find the petition here.