Tag: 新闻稿

11/10/2021 – Joyful Dharma Reading Club
Topic: Buddha-Dharma: Pure & Simple—Understanding Generosity
A total of 35 readers joined the reading club facilitated by Venerable Ru Xing.
According to Venerable Master Hsing Yun, giving should be done in accordance with the Buddha-Dharma. It should not bring suffering or affliction to oneself. However, Venerable Ru Xing pointed out that sometimes we may do things that are not right or unwholesome, therefore we need to understand how to actualise the act of true ‘generosity’ based on the Buddha-Dharma.
Based on discussion and understanding of the readers, true generosity means giving without expecting returns, without notions or non-attachment, simply encapsulated with ‘joy’; the joy of giving by the giver and the joy of receiving by the receiver. The giver also possess a heart of gratitude and thankfulness that the receiver presents an opportunity for him to perform this act of giving.
Venerable Ru Xing agrees with the readers’ view points and she extracted a teaching from the ‘Paramita of Generosity’ which illustrates the three stages of Bodhisattva’s path to attain Buddhahood:
The first stage—perspective of the ‘Giver’. The Giver must perceive the whole act of giving to fulfil his merit to attain Buddhahood.
Second stage—the Giver needs to understand the things that he is keeping is temporary only; the person he is giving to is claiming back the things.
Third stage—in terms of the Receiver, he must have the thoughts of the Giver as his good and knowledgeable Teacher, one who teaches him how to give in an appropriate way and in accordance with the Buddha-dharma.
With these three thoughts in mind, we can cultivate the perfection of generosity by recognising there are no givers, no receivers and no gifts. This is also in accordance with the teachings in the Diamond Sutra.
Among the many examples of generosity in Buddhist sutras, there were ancient stories of the Buddha’s previous lives sacrificing his body and flesh to feed tigers and eagles. A few readers opined that while these acts are unrealistic and significantly difficult to emulate, but we can still practice these virtues by donating our blood or pledge to donate organs after death. These virtuous acts exemplify the highest state of generosity and according to Master, in actuality, accomplishing the first part of the saying—the “wish for all beings to be relieved from suffering” — is sufficient enough.
Some readers shared examples of activities they had done in actualising the giving of weath, giving of Dharma and the giving of fearlessness. An advice to take back from this article is that, in the course of every individual’s practice, there is no cultivation which is done in vain, everything has its causes and effects; all wholesome deeds have favorable outcomes. What is important is our understanding of the Buddha’s teachings—the Buddha expounded the Dharma to inspire, teach and benefit all beings and with this, we hope this Dharma session has enlightened everyone with joy and equanimity. The session ended with ‘A Prayer to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva for Safety and Protection’ and transference of merit.
May all beings live with peace and happiness!

Meditation with 🍵 tea
Yesterday afternoon we gathered online for our Meditation with Tea, organized by Dharmapala – Spritual & Cultivation sub-group. In total there were 23 participants who attended the session.
It was guided by FGS SS3 PJ Centre’s meditation guidance monastic, Venerable Miao Dao.
Venerable Miao Dao started off the session, with a brief run-down of the items required for this tea meditation session such as tea vessel, tea cups, tea leaves, and hot water flask.
Also requested was to have some sour plums or raisins for this session, which plays a part in the tea meditation.
Venerable reiterated that this is a Tea Meditation session and is not about Tea Art.
Therefore, we do not need to be too particular about having a full tea set with all the accessories or specific type of tea cups. As in meditation, there are many forms of meditation which include sitting, walking, standing so even drinking tea can be a form of meditation.
Venerable then guided us step-by-step of relaxing every part of our body from head to toe, and then into the counting of our breath technique.
The class then sat in meditation for about 5 minutes, quietly counting our own breathing.
After which, we were again guided on how to “wake up” from meditation with the warming- up movements on parts of our body.
We then moved on to the next process of meditation – with Tea.
Venerable explained the process from putting the tea leaves into the tea vessel, pouring hot water into it, pouring the simmered tea into tea cups and drinking it.
Each of the step is a meditation process in itself, as we are to observe the appearance and sound of the tea leaves, when in dry form and after hot water is poured over it.
Feel the warmth of the tea cup in our hand, smell the aroma of the tea and the taste of the tea in our mouth. Through these processes aside from using our eyes, ears, nose and mouth…we should also contemplate on the origins of the tea leaves which will help us to raise up our grateful/compassionate heart.
Then we were to put either the sour plum or raisin into our mouth and to savour the texture and taste from not chewing on it till the time we chew on it. Just as in the process of brewing tea, we should learn to contemplate the different stages.
Venerable further explained that through these processes we learn to focus, be more observant, and appreciate everything we have and do in our daily life. Using this practice or mind set, it will definitely help us as BLIA members in carrying out our tasks/duties.
Everyone enjoyed the session and we ended with a sharing of personal feedback/experience from each participant around the table whilst learning the process of tea meditation.

Topic: Buddha-dharma: Pure & Simple — Letting Go
A total of 41 participants joined this reading session facilitated by Bro. Andy Ooi. Tonight, we are honoured to have Ven. You Zong as our guest. The class started off with a 5-min meditation lead by Ven. You Zong, to allow participants to relax and focus a moment to calm our mind.
As quoted by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, letting go does not mean we end up having nothing. On the contrary, only by letting go can one be at ease and liberated. Master also opines that people nowadays find it hard to let go of even a comment or a person—all due to lack of inner strength.
The facilitator raised a question to the room — how do we manage a relationship between letting go and giving up. Some readers shared their views that couples should consider to compromise and maintain family harmony and especially if they have children, they should not give up but, let go of their ego or stubborn behaviours to accommodate each other. From Ven. Ru Xing’s perspective, it is not a matter of letting go or giving up but rather, their attitude towards love. A very subtle monastic view indeed! Venerable recommended a book titled “The Road Less Traveled” written by a psychologist, M. Scott Peck, as reference how to apply the psychology of love and spiritual values to manage a relationship. Venerable described her definition of letting go is “a way of accepting and adapting, and progress for the better from that moment onwards”.
From the Buddhist perspective, attachment is craving, which leads to “clinging” and pursuing of worldly materials. From the sharing of readers, in order to detach ourselves from such cravings, one should apply and practice the Buddha’s teachings and reflect on the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination as a guide.
On another discussion how we look at life and death with detachment, some readers shared that we should cherish quality relationships with family members so that when impermanence happens, the family members will be able to reflect on happy moments spent together and use it as a source of strength and inspiration to move on. A reader also shared some stories to exemplify how we can detach from attachment by letting go of the burden that we carry on our backs and follow the Middle Path. Venerable Ru Xing reminded everyone to contemplate and recite the Amitabha Buddha’s name so that we can aspire to be reborn in the Pure Land.
Venerable You Zong was invited to share her experience about “letting go”. Before coming back to Malaysia, she had affinities to serve at the Buddha Museum in Taiwan and New York. In spite of her vast experiences and having served at well-established temples, she had a desire to serve the communities in India and willing to give up the comfort of her present environment. Unfortunately she was unable to realise her dreams due to unfavorable conditions in India at the moment. Instead, she was advised by Chief Abbess Venerable Jue Cheng that although she cannot go to India to serve physically, she could still do great things to help them by gathering resources from Malaysia and send it to those needy there. This is exemplary of letting go and picking up with ease so that one can still achieve great things, as long as one has a magnanimous mind.
We hope all readers are inspired and constantly reflect on the Buddha’s teachings and learn to let go of our sack to truly experience a carefree life. The session ended with ‘A Prayer Before Retiring for the Day’, followed by transference of merit.

Topic: 04/10/2021 Buddha-Dharma: Pure and Simple — Four Advices from Four Sutras
A total of 32 participants attended this reading session facilitated by Sister Lillian Chang.
In this article, Venerable Master Hsing Yun particularly extracted four advices from four sutras for us to use as reference for interpersonal and social interactions that are worthy of reflection and practice.
1. Never forget one’s initial aspirations (Avatamsaka Sutra)
Master highlighted this phrase to serve as encouragement for one not to lose confidence in the face of adversity and instead, one should reflect on his initial vows and aspirations and strive to move forward with perseverance and strength until the goals are achieved. And this is also an important attitude in our practice to remind us of our initial aspirations to cultivate our bodhi mind.
2. Be an unexpected friend (Vimalakirti sutra)
The Vimalakirthi Sutra emphasise the teaching of non-duality and interconnectedness. Hence, Master advise us to learn from this sutra to “be a friend who offers support without being expected” and give causes and conditions to the world whenever one has the capability. This, in turn helps one to develop broad affinities and create helpful causes and conditions which can be timely support that comes along in our cultivation path.
3. Never hold an old grudge (Sutra on the Eight Realizations of a Bodhisattva)
The core concept of humanistic Buddhism is loving-kindness and compassion. This is particularly why Master Hsing Yun picked this phrase from the sutra to remind us to be virtuous people—remember and repay the kindness from others and not to hold any grudges or hatred towards anyone. To purify our mind, one should generously forgive, since one may also offend others.
4. Remain unchanging in following conditions (Sastra on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana)
Master Hsing Yun picked this quote from the sastra, which emphasised the essentials of Mahayana, to remind us to do “what is appropriate”. Although “following conditions” means to go along with causes and conditions present, but Master reminded that we should be mindful not to forego our principles or rules, otherwise it will become an attachment and hinders one’s future development.
In summary, we can reflect on these four advices and use it as references in our daily life to develop wisdom and be more flexible in dealing with interpersonal relationships. To wrap up this session, each reader took turns to share their thoughts and take back from this article and inspire each other with their experiences so that we can all work together to continuously improve ourselves.
The session ended with Transference of Merit and may we all find joy and make peace with every encounter in our life.

27/09/21 – Joyful Dharma Reading Club Report
Topic: Buddha-Dharma: Pure & Simple — Four Reliances
A total of 33 participants joined this session facilitated by Venerable You Deng.
In this passage, Venerable Master Hsing Yun advised that as true Buddhists, we should not abide in the Six Sense Objects nor the Five Desires as these would cloud our intrinsic nature. Instead, we should follow the guidelines taught by the Buddha, i.e. by abiding in the Four Reliances, which are:

1. Rely on the Dharma, not on individual teachers,
2. Rely on wisdom, not on consciousness,
3. Rely on meaning, not on the words,
4. Rely on ultimate truth, not on relative truth.
   Venerable You Deng lead the class through an interesting discussion and shared some insights how to approach the Dharma based on these four reliances.
   Firstly, the Buddha teaches us to rely in the Dharma to understand the Truth instead of relying on individual teachers. Venerable You Deng explained that some teachers may learn the wrong concepts and mis-apply their learnings. Therefore, by abiding in the Dharma, we will not follow the wrong teachings and make mistakes. The Buddha has always emphasised that we should rely on ourself, rely on the Dharma and rely on nothing else, to attain proper understanding of the truth.
   Secondly, the Buddha taught us that wisdom already lies within us and therefore, when we study the Dharma, we must be aware of this inherent wisdom and not rely on the consciousness, namely the six sense organs — eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind, as well as the manas consciousness and alaya consciousness. Seeing the truth is wisdom; knowing about the truth is knowledge. However, knowledge alone cannot help us break our delusions. But by relying on wisdom, we see the true reflection of our Buddha nature.
   As for relying on meaning and not on words, Venerable You Deng pointed out that although the Dharma is prescribed by words but, we we should apply our wisdom to understand the true meaning of the Dharma. Language is just a tool and although different Schools use different languages and dialects, the meaning of the Dharma is still the same—there is only one truth. By following the meaning, we will remain free from the boundaries of languages.
   Lastly, by relying on ultimate truth instead of relative truth, we will devoid from understanding the shallow meaning of the Dharma. The Buddha has always adopted expedient means to spark interest in teaching the Dharma to benefit sentient beings. Venerable You Deng defined ultimate truth as ‘definitive meaning’ and relative truth as ‘provisional meaning’. In this sense, expedient means are relative truth, which aims to bring joy, liberation and transcendance to life, but we should aim to follow the Buddha’s footsteps and elevate our spirit and magnanimity to that of the universe. ThIs is the ultimate truth that reveal the true path to liberation.
   As a reflection and take back from this topic, some readers shared their thoughts and views to inspire each other towards self-awakening. In a nutshell, learning Buddhism is about understanding the profound meaning of the Buddha-Dharma to provide us a clear direction of practicing Buddhism in our daily life. Hence, we should apply the Four Reliances as basic guidelines for us to practice and develop our faith. With that, we concluded the session with “A Prayer Before Retiring for the Day”, followed by Transference of Merit.

2021/09/19 下午2 -3pm, 大学园分会副住持如行法师带领大学园分会的三好学堂小组成员郑惠玲，李繡利，刘紫迎.黄媲婷和黄素贞为{菩提之家}的小朋友上第八堂线上道德课。这堂课的主题是{不吸毒}
首先副住持如行法师介绍各类“毒品”的包装，让小朋友知道“毒品”会被包装成五颜六色的“糖果”，诱人想尝的甜美“果汁”或“奶茶”。法师也告诉小朋友不小心吃了“毒品”的后果。法师要小朋友坚持对“毒品”说“NO”.
接下来，小朋友看一段视频{拒绝吸毒}。两小学生认识了一位“大哥”，被诱惑染上了“毒瘾”。还好有好朋友察觉，把他们从“毒枭”手中解救出来。
如行法师给小朋友看一张非常震撼的照片。一位吸毒者躺在肮脏的地上，骨瘦如柴。法师再次强调千万不能碰“毒品”。媲婷老师用PPT 再次解析“毒品”对人的危害。
结束前，紫迎老师给小朋友讲星雲大师如何向观世音菩萨（求聪明，拜智慧 ）；接着教小朋友唱{悉发菩提心}，也复习{三好歌}，开心的结束了一小时的道德课。