Medicine Buddha Empowerment and Retreat Date: 24-26 October 2003 Location: Taipei Youth Activity Center Reservation required. Medicine Buddha - Brief Introduction: According to Buddhism, health and sanity is inherent to all sentient life. Inevitably, within the confused condition of samsara, sentient beings experience many conditions that are detrimental to the experience of this basic nature, but however strong these conditions of suffering and imbalance may be, the underlying nature of our being's purity remains indestructible. As the conditions of our physical body are inextricably linked to our mind, our physical health and well-being can be balanced and purified with the practice of meditation, and by invoking our inherent and basic health as embodied in the Medcine Buddha. In the Buddhist scriptures the Buddha tells of the great bodhisattva who prior to becoming enlightened as the Buddha of Medicine, vowed to liberate others from confusion and suffering, specifically physical and mental illness. While the Buddhist teachings do not speak of external saviours, it does teach that when the strong prayers of a great being such as the Medicine Buddha are joined with the devotion of those who invoke their compassion, the conditions for balance and healing are established. Thus there is an ancient and highly revered tradition in Buddhism of invoking and supplicating the Medicine Buddha. Schedule Empowerment: 24 October (Friday)  19:30–21:30. Retreat: 25-26 October (Saturday-Sunday) 10:00–12:00, 14:30–16:30. Fees Empowerment: Free Retreat: $2,000NT* for two days (includes text, insurance, and lunch) * Ordained members of the Sangha and full time students – half price.  Payment 1. Friends resident in Taiwan: Please check the Chinese web page (http://www.siddharthasintent.org/chinese/) for payment details. 2. Overseas friends: Payment can be made at the check-in desk on arrival. Please ensure that you arrive at least 20 to 30 minutes before commencement. Registration Please inform Jim Lo at siddwish@yahoo.com.tw of your name and the number of seats required. The final date for registration is October 20. No registration is required for the empowerment. Requirements 1. A strict vegetarian diet must be maintained for the full three days from October 24 to 26. 2. Receiving the empowerment on October 24 is a prerequisite to attending the retreat. Those who have not received the empowerment will not be admitted to any part of the retreat. 3. Punctuality. No one will be admitted to the auditorium once the empowerment and teaching has commenced. Venue Address Taipei Youth Activity Center, 4 floor, 17 Ren-Ai Road, section 1, Taipei. Tel: 2343 2388 (Venue is located on the corner of Ren-Ai Road sec.1 and Lin-Sen South Road) Empowerment/Retreat Registration Form Please register before October 20, 2003 by e-mailing the following information to siddwish@yahoo.com.tw: Full Name Gender E-mail address Fax number (including country and area code) Passport number/Nationality (for insurance purposes)