FO GUANG SHAN (SINGAPORE)

Transcription

1 FO GUANG SHAN (SINGAPORE) 2 nd BUDDHIST YOUTH FORUM BUDDHIST On Sep, FGS (Singapore) organized the 2nd Buddhist Youth Forum which was attended by some 150 presenters and observers from Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, India, mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore. The forum aimed to encourage young Buddhist scholars from around the world to explore methods of promoting Humanistic Buddhism in the younger generation, enhancing their understanding and practice of the threefold training of precepts, meditation and wisdom, as well as studying their effect on solving contemporary social issues. Minister Khaw Boon Wan was present as the guest-of-honour for the opening ceremony held on Sep 26 morning, while Venerable Dr. Chang Qing, Venerable Miao Guang, Venerable Jue Fang, Prof. Cheng Gong Rang and Prof. Yap Kheng Guan formed the panel of judges for the various presentations at the youth forum. Conducted in both English and Mandarin with nine presenters each, the forum comprised presentations, workshops and panel discussions, one of which was attended by Venerable Miao Guang, Venerable Jue Fang and Venerable Zhi Yue on the dais and facilitated by Dr. Leonard Lim, vice president of Yong Adult Division of the Buddha s Light Association (Singapore), who was also one of the organizers of the forum. During the forum, on Sep 26 evening, Prof. Cheng Gong Rang of Nanjing University in China delivered a public talk on the ten great contributions of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, founder of Fo Guang Shan, towards the development of Buddhism as a whole. And the overseas participants were also brought on a tour around the island. A YOUNG MONK FROM ONCE GLORIOUS BUDDHIST LAND Among the nine English presenters at the 2nd Buddhist Youth Forum was a prominent young monk,venerable Andhra Analayo, who came from Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India, which in ancient times was an area of great Buddhist civilization that produced eminent scholarly masters of Mahayana Buddhism, the foremost being Nagarjuna in the second century AD. Venerable Andhra Analayo was born to a non-buddhist family in 1982 in West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, about 250 km from the famous Buddhist archaeological site of Nagarjunakonda. Before monkhood, he obtained a masters degree in chemistry and worked as a chemist. His journey into the dispensation started in 2004 when he chanced upon a monk while working in Bangalore and learnt from him Buddhism. This encounter immensely impressed him about the Dharma and soon after he joined a 10-day noviciate program conducted at the Mahabodhi Monastery in Chennai. After that, his inner calling to spread the Dharma for the wellbeing of the many became so strong that in 2007 he decided to be ordained under Venerable M. Ratanajothy Mahathero of the Sri Saranankaramaya Temple in southern Sri Lanka. That marked a momentous turning point in his life. Then in 2007, he entered University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka to study Buddhism and the following year, he obtained a masters degree in Buddhist Studies. But the venerable was not contented in his academic pursuit, and some years later, in 2012, he went to study at the University of Hong Kong and obtained another masters degree in the same subject. Venerable Andhra Analayo met Venerable Chueh Men, director of BLIA branch in Colombo in That started his association with Fo Guang Shan and also explained why he was present at the forum as a presenter. Moreover, it is through such a close association that he was greatly inspired by Venerable Master Hsing Yun and aspired to spread the master s humanistic form of Buddhism in his homeland. As an initial move, he started building a Buddhist centre in his hometown on a piece of land that belonged to his parents. The Buddhist centre, supposedly the first in Andhra Pradesh after more than a millennium, is scheduled for completion in 2016, but its construction is still in need of funds. If you are generous to contribute, please call Sumitta Sim on

2 THE BUDDHIST COLLEGE OF SINGAPORE CONSECRATION CEREMONY AND OPEN HOUSE After more than two years of intensive construction, the $30 million modern and majestic-looking building complex of the Buddhist College of Singapore was recently completed. Subsequently, a consecration ceremony was conducted on 4 Oct by the abbot of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery cum rector of BCS, Venerable Kwang Sheng, along with an open house held from 12pm to 2pm on the same day. The consecration ceremony started at 10am sharp on that morning soon after Venerable Kwang Sheng was led into the shrine hall of BCS by an entourage of monks. Then, in the midst mass recitation of verses of praise to the Triple Gem by some 1,000 monks, nuns and devotees, he prostrated and made offering of incense to the Buddha. After that, he joined in the chanting of the Maha Karuna Dharani, while standing reverentially in front of the Buddha with a bowl of water in his palms. Some time later, he began the blessing of the premises by sprinkling water with a flower, preceded by a procession of monks and nuns. He first blessed the shrine hall and the surrounding compound and then every floor of the building, from the roof-top downwards. After returning to the shrine hall, he led the crowd in another session of chanting and finally concluded the consecration ceremony by performing a transference of merits. Thereafter, he gave a short speech in which he said, the BCS building project took a rather long time to conceptualise, plan and construct. He thanked all donors for their generosity, all devotees and workers for their support and hard work. He wished that with this well-equipped building, the 10-year-old BCS could contribute more to the promotion of Buddhist education as well as the nurturing of Sangha members so as to pass on the torch of the Dharma. He added further that BCS has plans to build a meditation centre and living quarters for nuns in the future. BCS was initiated by Venerable Kwang Sheng and was formally established in 2005 with the vision of becoming an internationally recognised institution that nurtures outstanding Buddhist leaders of the future to meet the needs of the Buddhist community as well as to serve all mankind. It took in the first batch of students in August the following year. The prime principle of the college is to groom bilingual Sangha members grounded in right view and knowledge through education so as to contribute to the continual development of Chinese Buddhism and its spread in the English-speaking world. Its teaching philosophy is based on adherence to the tenets of Chinese Buddhism but with respect for unity in harmony. Hence, the teachings of other Buddhist lineages are also incorporated, though the curriculum specialises in Chinese Buddhism, The college s motto is Mind abiding in ultimate virtue; Acting according to precepts; Understanding and practising; Benefitting all sentient beings. This brand new 6-storey multi-purpose BCS building complex occupies a land area of 12,618 m 2, just next to the Hall of Great Compassion. It comprises two adjoining blocks housing the office and dormitory. The office block has fourteen classrooms of varying sizes, one computer laboratory, one language laboratory, one meditation room, five meeting rooms, two function rooms, one administration office, one academic affairs office, one monastic training office, eight management staff rooms, twenty lecturers offices, two staff common rooms, one student activity room, three badminton courts cum basketball court as well as one fitness room. The dormitory block consists of bedrooms throughout the first to the sixth storey and they can accommodate up to 150 resident students. 56

3 PHOR KARK SEE MONASTERY BUDDHISM & SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM V A/Prof. John Wong Prof. Kua Ee Heok Venerable Kwang Sheng Venerable Dr. Somaloka Dr. B. Alan Wallace Dr. Ng Kang Kee performing for the audience Buddhism & Science Symposium is a series of public forums initiated by the Buddhist community in Singapore. The symposiums explore the relationship between Buddhism, science and contemporary society and offer a unique platform for Sangha members and scientists to present their thoughts on a range of human issues. This year, the symposium, the fifth in the series, was held from 8.30am to 12.30pm on 3 Oct at Phor Kark See Monastery and attended by around 1,000 participants. It focused on the theme, The Mind: The Window to Our Well- Being, with Venerable Dr. Somaloka, Dr. B. Alan Wallace, A/ Prof. John Wong and Prof. Kua Ee Heok as the panel speakers. On that morning, the symposium proper was preceded by a song presentation on the guitar by Dr. Ng Kang Kee, a research scientist by profession and a song composer and music arranger in his pastimes. Soon after, Venerable Kwang Sheng, abbot of PKSM, was invited on stage to deliver his welcome address. And following immediately after that was the presentation of the first speaker, A/Prof. John Wong Chee Meng, who is the head of the Department of Psychological Medicine at NUS. He spoke on the subject, The Growing Mind of Adolescents - A Window of Opportunities and Challenges, with a number of interesting revelations, such as the human brain does not stop changing after adolescence, but continues to change throughout life instead. However, he stressed, it is in adolescence that a critical phase occurs of cognitive and emotional growth in one s life trajectory and it coincides with his many physical, hormonal and relationship changes, and more importantly, with his psychological needs. He also pointed out that recent studies of brain science and neuro-cognition have provided new insights to the understanding of adolescent growth. Panel Chairperson Ms Tracey Woon on extreme left Prof. Kua Ee Heok, who is with the Department of Psychological Medicine at NUS, was the next speaker to be invited to present his field study on The Science of Mindfulness in the Jurong Ageing Study for Dementia and Depression Prevention. The report of this study has been published in a world acclaimed medical journal. During his talk, Prof. Kua elaborated how the two groups of elderly people in Jurong were randomly selected and controlled under the mindfulness practice group and the health education group, with the study results assessed by neuro-psychological tests and biological markers. He also revealed to the impressed audience that he is now embarking on another similar field study with the help of a dozen of volunteers from PKSM. The only monastic in the symposium, Venerable Dr. Somaloka, founder of Mindfulness Meditation and Counselling Centre in Sydney, spoke on the practice of mindfulness. Although he appreciated that mindfulness has now become a mainstream therapeutic technique for clients who are diagnosed with mental disorders, but he reminded mental healthcare professionals to gain a broader and deeper understanding of mindfulness as taught by the Buddha before recommending this technique. A scholar and practitioner of Buddhism since 1970, Dr. B Alan Wallace touched on the subject, Transforming An Unruly Mind: A Budhist Approach. He started his talk by defining the term wellbeing and he categorised it into hedonia and eudaimonia. The former is mundane and associated with sensory pursuits, consumption and acquisition, while the latter involves the cultivation of the mind, especially through mindfulness. The former can bring one temporary pleasure, while the latter lasting happiness and peace. He also wanted the audience to not just have IQ, but to also have cognitive, attentive and emotional intelligences as well. The cognitive intelligence enables one to be aware of his own desires, the attentive intelligence to tame his mind and the emotional intelligence to develop lofty virtues, such as loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity. The symposium was concluded with a panel discussion and a Q&A session chaired by Ms Tracey Woon before a short thankyou speech by Mr Choo Heng Thong, chairman of the symposium organising committee. 57

4 BUDDHIST KARMA KAGYUD BUDDHIST CENTRE CHARITY SALES FAIR & FUNDRAISING CONCERT Chorus singing by Sri Lankaramaya Temple youths The charity sales fair was held from 3pm to 7pm on 11 Oct at Foo Chow Building and it was followed by the fundraising concert that started at 7.30pm. The concert was staged by Mr Jackie Goh, former Mediacorp artiste and founder of Jack Singing Training & Musical Centre, along with his students and two invited artistes. Some youths from Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple were also present to perform a traditional festival dance and a song. Mr Goh himself was the focus of attention on that night and Jackie Goh (left) with guest artiste Liu Yan Hua he presented three opera songs in a very innovative way, bagging $37,000 on-the-spot donations, amidst thunderous applause. It is learnt that KKBC has managed to raise about half a million dollars over the last few months through a number of major events. However, another $3 million is still needed to complete its rebuilding project. If you would like to contribute to its building fund, please call KWAN YIN CHAN LIN 25 th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS From Sep 23-27, KYCL Zen Meditation Centre celebrated its 25th anniversary with a multitude of activities including mass chanting, mass meditation, Dharma talks, an international Zen conference cum workshops, ending in a musical concert as the climax. Practically all the religious activities, Dharma talks, a vegetarian food fair along with an anniversary dinner were conducted in a tentage erected on the open field just in front of the Aljunied MRT station, while the conference and concert were held at Suntec City function rooms. Besides, KYCL also introduced its history of 25 years in a newly published journal and in a photo-exhibition held before the concert. The full-day international Zen conference was conducted on Sep 27 jointly by Venerable Chi Boon, abbot of KYCL, Venerable Ji Zhong from Malaysia, Zen Masters Dae Kwang and Ji Haeng from USA. Apart from the plenary session, there were also separate workshops in Mandarin and English for participants. In the evening, more than 300 people turned out in function rooms to attend an awesome musical concert staged by PKSM Zen Drum Ensemble, two musicians from Japan, Tsuyoki Fukui on the flute and Yumi Ogawa on the harp, the Music Tree singing group of PMTT with their three songs, as well as Zen Master Ji Haeng on musical instruments. Zen Master Dae Kwang Currently residing in Singapore at Kwan Yin Chan Lin, Master Dae Kwang was ordained in 1987 and received Dharma transmission in 1996 from the late Korean Zen Master, Seung Sahn, who founded the Providence Zen Centre, the first centre of the International Kwan Um School of Zen. Master Dae Kwang now serves as the head abbot of this Zen lineage and is also the guiding teacher of the Zen centre. He has travelled widely, leading retreats in many countries including Korea. Zen Master Ji Haeng An expert instrumental musician, Master Ji Haeng began formal study in the Kwan Um School of Zen in the late 1980 s and became a Dharma Teacher in He received inka (recognition) from the late Zen Master Seung Sahn in 2002 and transmission from Zen Master Wu Kwang in He founded the Zen Centre of Las Vegas in 1994 and is currently its abbot. He is also the guiding teacher of a number of other Zen centres. He has conducted kong-an practices in several countries. 58

5 PHOR KARK SEE MONASTERY Fundraising Musical Concert On Nov at 7.30pm at Esplanade Concert Hall, PKSM will be organizing a musical concert, titled Sound of Wisdom, by Imee Ooi, a distinguished music composer, arranger, producer and vocalist from Malaysia. This Dharma-based concert will be the Singapore stop of her world tour. She will be accompanied by an experienced team of stage art and technical professionals, vocalists and musical dancers. And adding colours to the concert, the abbot of PKSM, Venerable Kwang Sheng, will also be presenting a special performance. It is learnt that all proceeds from the concert will be in aid of Bright Hill Evergreen Home. For tickets, call SISTIC on or log on to: fans. Indeed, for the past 18 years, not only her serene and melodious voice but also her numerous compositions of spiritual inspiration have touched the hearts of many listeners. Bright Hill Evergreen Home Located in Punggol Field and overlooking the beautiful waterway, Bright Hill Evergreen Home is a 248-bedded, accredited non-profit nursing home, which is a member of National Council of Social Service and funded by the Ministry of Health. It is a voluntary welfare home providing quality health care and shelter for the disadvantaged and aged sick, regardless of race, language or religion, alleviating their hardships through holistic nursing and medical care. BHEH is fully committed to meeting the needs of each and every resident and addresses the medical and psychological needs of all residents with a spirit of excellence. It provides high quality round-the-clock nursing care to residents by professionally trained nurses, assistant nurses, nursing aides BUDDHIST and healthcare attendants. A general practitioner visits the home on a regular basis to provide consultation and medical treatment to all residents. Camp Awareness For Youth This camp for youth aged between 15 and 20 years old will be run from 4 to 6 Dec. It seeks to share the wisdom of the Buddha s teachings through interactive activities and sharing sessions. Participants will learn to live a fulfilling Buddhist life through experiential learning in a group. For participation and enquiry, call SRI LANKARAMAYA BUDDHIST TEMPLE Imee Ooi ( 黄慧音 ) was born in Taiping in the Perak state of West Malaysia to a musically inclined family. Multi-talented and effectively bilingual, she later studied at a prestigious musical college in Britain and became a classical pianist. A devout Buddhist, she established IMM Musicworks in 1997 to produce Buddhist albums of a unique genre, and to date, she has more than 50 albums in seven languages to her credit. Besides, she has also composed and directed three highly acclaimed stage musicals. And recently, she went on stage herself to premiere her very first live Dharmabased musical concert in Kuala Lumpur to a tremendous turnout of about 9,000 Building Project The temple will be embarking on a building project to enhance facilities for monks and devotees. This project will see a new 2-storey residence for monks, thus housing all of them under the same roof, as well as improvement of facilities at Buddha Jayanthi building that will include new lifts and toilet facilities for elderly and disabled devotees. The temple would like to appeal to you to make this endeavour a success. To contribute, call