|
The Amitabha Buddhist Library in Chicago, which was conceived of by Director Li-Su L.
Tan, was established in 2003. She was very moved when she first listened to a Pure
Land Buddhism lecture given by Master Venerable Chin Kung on a television channel
she unintentionally tuned in to. From that moment, the deep affinity she had with
Buddha Amitabha and the Western Pure Land began to grow stronger.
In the beginning, Li-Su requested some audio tapes, CDs, and sutras for her own use
from Pure Land associations on the East and West Coasts of the United States. Dharma
friends on the two coasts generously kept sending her Dharma materials that were more
than adequate for her personal use. Therefore, she began to distribute these materials
freely. As more Dharma items continued to arrive, the 2000 sq. ft. basement of Li-Su’s
home was not able to hold all of these materials. Li-su and Bert Tan conceived the idea of
establishing a library and a cultivation center to make the Dharma items publicly available,
and to provide a cultivation place for Dharma friends in this area.
In addition to the general library services, the library also provides free distribution
and circulation of Dharma materials of all kinds, including Dharma lectures on CD, cassette
tapes, and DVDs, as well as printed sutras, chanting machines, chanting beads, Buddha image
posters and cards, and more. In addition, since December 2002, the library has acted on behalf
of the Pure Land Learning College in Australia to assist the Corporate Body of Buddha Education
Foundation in Taiwan to donate copies of the Qianlong Great Buddhist Canon and other Dharma
teaching materials. The Canon, and other materials that are in various languages, including
Chinese, English, and Pali, are donated to research institutes, national libraries, and
university libraries worldwide. This is a continuing effort. More details can be found at the
“Donation” link in the library’s home page at http://www.amitabhalibrary.org.
The library is equipped with computers, satellite television, and broadband Internet access.
It is open from 12:00–5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 12:00–3:00 p.m.
on Sunday. Sunday morning chanting is from 10:00–11:30 a.m. and is followed by a
vegetarian lunch. All services are provided free of charge.
In addition, the following free programs are offered on a regular basis.
-
Sunday Dharma Talk. The talk is given by Director Li-Su L. Tan every Sunday after lunch unless
otherwise announced. Co-Director Bert Tan provides the simultaneous translation.
-
Introduction to Buddhism. The class, which is given by Bert Tan, covers eleven subjects in
nineteen sessions. Session schedules are coordinated with school calendars and are held
every other Sunday PM.
The children’s class is taught by Ms. Hui-Chuan Weng, and the adolescent’s class by
Shinfan Stephanie Chang. These are both new offerings in our schedule. The classes will be
coordinated with school calendars, and will be held every other Saturday morning.
The library is operated solely by volunteers who are led by two senior friends Mr. and Mrs. Yen Hu.
Li-Su L. Tan serves as the Director, Bert Tan as the Co-Director, Chi-Fang Duong and Hui-Chuan Weng
are in charge of cataloging, Feng-Miao Lin and Yvonne Yeh are in charge of general affairs, Eleanor
Wang is in charge of Public Relations, and Eugene Gao is in charge of Supportive Buddha-name Chanting
for the Dying. There is also a dedicated team whose members staff the library daily, and an instrument
team that supports the Sunday morning chanting session. We always need support from volunteers and
would like to take this opportunity to invite those who are interested in community service and in
the distribution of Dharma materials to join the team and experience the joy received from serving others.
And in closing, although the library does not conduct fund raising of any kind, voluntary contributions
are always welcome.
Amitabha Buddha.
|