Page 1

ha

Upcoming Events

27 February 2016

Patrons and Volunteers Gathering

28 February 2016

Free English Meditation Introduction

6 March 2016

Clean Up Australia Day

6 March 2016

Clean Up Australia Day

13 March 2016

Free English Meditation Introduction

26 March 2016

Great Compassion Repentance Service

26 March 2016

BLIAQ Committee Seminar

26 March 2016

BLIAQ Director cum Elder Advisors

Committee Meeting

26 March 2016

Commemoration of Avalokitesvara

Bodhisattva’s Birthday

2 April 2016

Ching Ming Compassionate Samadhi

Water Repentance Chanting

Chung Tian Buddhist Temple

1034 Underwood Road

Priestdale QLD 4127, Australia

Website: www.chungtian.org.au

Email: ibaq@chungtian.org.au

Ph: 3841 3511 Fax: 3841 3522 Buddha’s Light International Association of Queensland, Australia

Chinese New Year Greetings from Australian Prime Minister & Sponsor from Logan City Council

BLIAQ Newsletter

Edition 111 February 2016

The sound of firecrackers welcomed the arrival of the New Year. On 7th

February, Chinese New Year’s Eve Celebrations sponsored by Logan City Council and jointly organised by Chung Tian Temple and BLIAQ was kicked off with Light Offering Blessing Ceremony, Golden Monkey greetings, Three Goodness wishes, multicultural performances, vegetarian food fair, lion dance, ringing the Blessing Bell etc., attracting more than 4,000 local people to the event.

At 11.30 a.m. in the Main Hall, Light Offering Blessing Service was held. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan and other Venerables led VIPs and the public to offer light and read Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s ‘Prayer for New Year’s Eve’ to pray for the blessing of the coming year. There were 72 VIPs including Cr. Russell Lutton and Councillors representing Mayor of Logan, Mayor of Brisbane Cr. Graham Quirk and his wife and Councillors, Hon. Mick De Brenni MP and Federal Members representing Premier of Queensland, Dr. Jim Chalmers MP, Mr. Graham Perrett MP, Police Commissioner Ian Stewart and Police officers, Director of Taipei Economic & Cultural Office (Brisbane) Mr. Lai Wei-Chung and his wife, Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Martin Betts, Taiwan Woman’s League of Queensland, Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce, World Arts & Multi-Culture Inc., Global Federation of Chinese Business Women and major sponsors of Buddha Birthday Festival. They all participated in the light offering to welcome the Year of the Monkey and exchanged greetings with each other.

Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan in her speech thanked Logan City Council for sponsoring this cultural festival activity, and the vigorous promotion in television, newspapers, magazines and internet. “When we offer light to welcome the New Year, we also pray for the victims in the large earthquake in southern Taiwan, and that the recent turmoil and conflict in the world could be eliminated as soon as possible. Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Foguangshan Founding Master used his calligraphy of ‘Be smart and agile’ as the New Year greetings to encourage everyone to develop the power of one’s self nature so as to generate its potential agility and cleverness like monkeys, leading to courtesy, success, peace and harmony.”

Deputy Mayor of Logan Cr. Russell Lutton on behalf of Mayor Cr. Pam Parker acknowledged the contribution of Chung Tian Temple in the promotion of arts and culture in Logan city. The organization of Chinese New Year activities further enriched the multiculturalism of Logan. He was happy that the Logan government sponsored this activity which allowed local people to share the festive characteristics of Chinese New Year

Federal Member Dr. Jim Chalmers MP on behalf of the Prime Minister Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP read out the New Year message: “All Australians, including Chinese Australians, should enter the New Year with a confidence in our abilities and an enormous optimism about what lies ahead. The Year of the Monkey highlights the value of agility, confidence, inventiveness and leadership. These values will help us make the 21

st century our greatest yet and it is up to each of us, including the

Page 2

Message from the Prime Minister of Australia

almost one million Australians of Chinese descent, to commit to making it so. The Australian-Chinese community can be proud of its direct and invaluable contribution to this nation, and of our burgeoning relationship with China. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement lays a historic foundation for the next phase of our economic relationship with China, offering new opportunities for Australian business. Let’s make the Year of the Monkey a great one for Australia.”

Minister Hon. Mick De Brenni MP on behalf of Premier of Queensland Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk greeted everyone Happy New Year in Chinese. He paid tribute to all those who worked to maintain safety and health of communities. “According to Chinese culture, the Year of the Monkey represents improvement and innovation as monkeys stand for vitality and dexterity. This will lead Queensland to enter a new year. This year, we shall continue to strive to build a community of compassion, prosperity and success. We shall work with our partners and communities to accomplish this goal. Queensland government will continue its efforts to promote multiculturalism. I wish you all a Happy Year of the Monkey.” Brisbane Mayor Cr. Graham Quirk in his speech greeted people with ‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’. He thanked Chung Tian Temple and BLIAQ for their practical actions in bringing happiness and harmony to the Brisbane community. Personally, he expressed his sympathy to the victims of the earthquake in southern Taiwan, and hoped that the Year of the Monkey could bring them luck. He wished everyone a Happy New Year.

Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan, BLIAQ President Kim Wu and Loving Care Group Leader Wang Shuang-Rong on behalf made charitable donations to Logan City Special School and Daisy Hill Koala Park, received by representative from Daisy Hill Conservation Park and Ms. Janet Martin of Logan City Special School. The audience gave a warm applause. Finally, President Kim Wu thanked everyone for their participation, and encouraged them to implement the ‘Three acts of goodness’ in the coming new year. With Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan, they presented Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s calligraphy of the New Year greetings ‘Be Smart and agile’ to the VIPs. They invited the guests to enjoy the lion dance and have lunch in the VIP Dining Room. Everybody was happy to welcome the Year of the Monkey. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

PRIME MINISTER

MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER

BUDDHA’S LIGHT INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

QUEENSLAND

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2016

All Australians, including Chinese Australians, should enter the New Year with a

confidence in our abilities and an enormous optimism about what lies ahead.

The Year of Monkey highlights the value of agility, confidence, inventiveness and

leadership.

These values will help us make the 21st century our greatest yet and it is up to

each of us, including the almost one million Australians of Chinese descent, to

commit to making it so.

The Australian-Chinese community can be proud of its direct and invaluable

contribution to this nation, and of our burgeoning relationship with China.

The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement lays a historic foundation for the next

phase of our economic relationship with China, offering new opportunities for

Australian business.

Let’s make the Year of the Monkey a great one for Australia.

The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP

Prime Minister of Australia

27 January 2015

Page 3

In the afternoon of 7th

February which was Chinese New Year’s Eve, Chung Tian Temple held Food and Fun Fair. The Fair was kicked off by the singing of ‘Ode to Chung Tian’ by Chung Tian Choir. 30 exciting multicultural performances such as Chinese orchestra, Peking opera singing, Chinese and Thai folk dances, Australian folk songs, lion dance etc. attracted a crowd of more than a thousand. The food stalls along the corridor was even more bustling with people. Logan Branch, West Branch and the Choir provided hot food and cold drinks – bowl pudding and oil rice, pearl milk tea, vegetarian takoyaki, Lasa spicy noodles, pancakes and other traditional snacks. People were allowed to enjoy the different tastes and feel the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year. Red lanterns were hanged; the ‘Three Goodness’ wishing area and New Year wishing tree were covered with people’s wishes. At 8.00 p.m., the Light Offering Blessing Service was held in the Main Hall. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan and other Venerables led everyone to offer light with reverence, and piously read out Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s ‘Prayer for the New Year’s Eve’ in English. After paying traditional year-end respect to Venerable Master Hsing Yun FGS’s Founding Master, Most Venerable Hsin Bao Chief Abbot of FGS, and Venerable Man Ko Chief Abbess of FGS Australia New Zealand, red packets were distributed with exchanges of New Year greetings. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan in her discourse said that Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s New Year greetings of ‘Be smart and agile’ was to wish everyone to develop the power of the self nature so as to generate its potential agility which could lead us to courtesy, success, peace and harmony. The New Year Morning Chanting started at 11.00 p.m., praying for the blessing in the coming year. When it was 12.00 midnight, Venerable Chueh Shan led everyone to countdown and ring the Blessing Bell, hoping everyone to be ‘Smart and Agile’ with fulfilled wishes. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Chinese New Year’s Eve Celebration

Page 4

At 2.00 p.m. on 7th

February which was the Chinese New Year’s Eve, the Opening Ceremony for ‘Trans-Mind’ Art Exhibition was held in Chung Tian Art Gallery, with YAD Chen Shao-Yun serving as the Master of Ceremony. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan and artists Wu Zhi-Peng, Chen Bao-Long and Ren Hong led VIPS Dr. Jim Chalmers MP, Cr. Russell Lutton representing Mayor of Logan, Hon. Mick De Brenni MP representing Premier of Queensland, Police Commissioner Ian Stewart AMP, Kim Marx representing Mayor of Brisbane, Lai Wei Zhong Director of Taipei Economic & Cultural Office (Brisbane) and BLIAQ President Kim Wu to cut the ribbon for the opening. 250 people including government officials, community representatives, BLIAQ members and the public participated in the ceremony.

Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan welcomed the distinguished guests for coming to the Opening Ceremony. Venerable Master Hsing Yun has established around the world Art Galleries which act as platforms for the exchange of Eastern and Western art and culture. Chung Tian Art Gallery enables artists to express their ideas and creativity through the display of cultural arts, whereas people could comprehend the underlying meaning of their art work. Venerable Chueh Shan specially thanked the artists for sharing their works, and wished everyone smart and agile in the Year of the Monkey.

Cr. Russell Lutton on behalf of the Mayor of Logan City said that he liked to attend Exhibition Opening Ceremony very much in Chung Tian Temple, and he often participated in Exhibition Opening Ceremony in every Chinese New Year. He congratulated the success of the event in attracting many people to come to the temple, and wished everyone a Happy New Year. Hon. Mick De Brenni MP on behalf of Premier of Queensland Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk MP welcomed the distinguished guests, and mentioned about the planting of the Bodhi tree in Queensland Gallery of Modern Art that linked the Queensland government with Chung Tian Temple. He hoped that in future, interaction and cooperation with Chung Tian Temple could be enhanced through arts creation. He thanked Chung Tian Temple for sharing such rich cultural and artistic works with the public community.

Cr. Kim Marx on behalf of the Mayor of Brisbane praised the works of display in a beautiful layout. Police Commissioner Mr. Ian Stewart APM congratulated the artists for their exhibition, and he thanked Chung Tian Temple and BLIAQ for their effort in promoting arts and culture.

Artists Wu Zhi-Peng and on behalf of artists Chen Bao-Long and Ren Hong, thanked the distinguished guests and everyone for their support in the Opening Ceremony of ‘Trans-Mind’ Exhibition. He introduced the background and style of artistic creation of the artists in the joint exhibition. Art is an ideology, a spiritual yearning and pursuit. Painting, calligraphy and Chinese ink abstract painting are works of art, produced from the painstaking efforts of artists. It was hoped that this joint exhibition could bring new artistic inspiration, and allow people to understand Chinese traditional and contemporary art. The event attracted many people in the community to watch, implementing the Venerable Master’s concept of ‘Propagating Dharma through cultural activities’. Finally, the artists presented their picture albums to the guests. They posed for a group photo to mark this memorable occasion. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Art Exhibition of ‘Trans-Mind’ at Chung Tian Art Gallery to celebrate the Chinese New Year

Page 5

BLIAQ Year-end Members & Volunteers Lunch Fellowship Gathering

On 6th

February at noon, BLIAQ held the Year-end Members and Volunteers Lunch Fellowship Gathering in the Dining Hall to thank members for their hard work in the past year. YAD David Pham and Louie Chen served as the Masters of Ceremony. There were 160 participants including Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan, other Venerables, President Kim Wu, Vice President Stephen Chang, Elder Advisors Even Chang and Andy Hsueh, Directors, Supervisors, members and volunteers.

First, President Kim Wu thanked all the members for their support to BLIAQ and enthusiasm to serve others as volunteers. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan in her speech explained Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s New Year greetings of “Be smart and agile”, and encouraged everyone to be mindful of one’s self nature, abide by precepts, be patient and often practise the ‘Three acts of goodness’ and ‘Four offerings’. Though in love, there must be respect; though in anger, there must be mutual understanding; though in weariness, there must be hope; though suffering from ageing, there must be vitality.

They gathered to enjoy friendship exchange while watching a video played by BLIAQ about various kinds of work in assisting the temple. Also activities such as riddles, lucky draw and performance by artist Jiang Hai-Chun were arranged, bringing a lot of joy to the lunch gathering.

This year, the Dining Hall was packed as many people participated. They cherished the opportunity to be together at the end of the year, and exchanged greetings with each other for the coming New Year.

Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Chung Tian Temple attended the Chinese New Year Celebration at Parliamentary Annexe

With the increase of Chinese in Australia, the Queensland government recognized the contribution of Chinese people in local economy and cultural promotion. On 16

th February in the Speaker’s Green Parliamentary Annexe, the

celebration of Chinese New Year was held. The Premier of Queensland Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk invited Chung Tian Temple. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan, Venerable Miao Yi and Venerable Miao Xin, a total of 12 people went to attend. 500 people gathered together including Cabinet Ministers, State Members, representatives from the City Councils of Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan and Cairns, and delegates from Chinese communities. The Minister of Multicultural Affairs Ms. Grace Grace MP welcomed the guests and said that the Queensland Government Multicultural Department was honoured to have so many community representatives to come and participate in this event, and support enthusiastically the promotion of multiculturalism. She said that people born in the year of Monkey were usually smart, agile and dexterous.

The Consul General of China in Brisbane Chao Yong-Chen in his speech thanked the Premier and State Government for organizing the Lunar New Year reception for Chinese people over the years. He praised that Queensland had provided Chinese people the capacity for the development of multiculturalism, fair business environment for Chinese enterprises, favourable learning conditions for Chinese students and travelling convenience to Chinese tourists. He encouraged Queensland Chinese to work hard in their business venture to strive for greater success and distinction.

Premier Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the Queensland government recognised the contribution of Chinese people to the local economy and society, and highly acknowledged the outstanding contribution of Chinese culture to Queensland’s multiculturalism. She said that she got the benefit from the multicultural policy & would continue to firmly pursue its development. The Queensland government develops reasonable policy & gains the support of people from all walks of life, providing great potential for economic development in Queensland. Lion dance & dragon dance were arranged, bringing the celebration of the New Year to a climax. They all posed for pictures with the Premier & the event was successfully completed. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Page 6

Cultural Open Day at Chung Tian Temple

To enhance the interaction with the Australian community, Chung Tian Temple organized a Cultural Open Day, sponsored by Logan City Council on 14

th February, launching from 9.30 in the morning. Chung Tian Temple and

BLIAQ carefully planned a series of exciting programs which had the educational function of Humanistic Buddhism in reminding people to practise the ‘Three acts of goodness’ and ‘Four offerings’. With the assistance of the Marketing Department of Logan City Council, the event was vigorously promoted through TV Channel 7 Great South East, Albert Logan News, Southern Star, newspapers, radios and Facebook of Visiting Brisbane and Visiting Logan, attracting nearly 6,000 people from the community to participate in this cultural carnival. Venerables and members of BLIAQ Branches, Diamond Men’s Group and YAD were almost taken by surprise as people already flocked in at nine o’ clock in the morning. They quickly stationed themselves in designated areas, and started the series of cultural activities such as Buddhist talks, meditation introduction, Tea Ceremony demonstration, light offering for blessing, origami of monkey, face painting, Bodhi wishes, balloon modelling and Buddhist movies, and the vegetarian food fair. While watching the wonderful performances of lion dance, Tai-chi, Chinese orchestra and Shaolin Kung Fu, they also enjoyed vegetarian food and snacks. Through the food culture and arts activities, mutual interaction of people in the community could be enhanced. This time on the Cultural Open Day, Venerable Hui Feng, Deputy Abbot of Foguangshan was invited to deliver a talk of ‘Compassion and Wisdom – Humanistic Ethics for Modern Society’ in Chung Tian Temple to induce people to learn Buddhism. The painting exhibition of ‘Trans-Mind’ and calligraphy activity of ‘Hundred monkeys receiving blessing’ allowed visitors to appreciate the beauty of oriental art. Everyone was happy to participate in the praying for blessings to Australia. They put the praying cards on the Australian map and transferred the merit, hoping that Australia would have good weather, peace and prosperity. At 2.30 p.m., the performance of lion dance brought the day to a climax. The visiting people were pleased to participate in various activities with cultural characteristics. Some registered in Buddhist and Meditation Classes. Some prepared to bring relatives and friends to visit the temple again. The jolly and peaceful atmosphere of the temple and the effort to widely make good affinities with people demonstrated the approachability and rapport of Humanistic Buddhism. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Page 7

Buddhist Talk by Ven Dr Hui Feng, Deputy Abbot of Foguangshan during Open Day

On 14th February at 1.00 p.m., Venerable Dr. Hui Feng, Deputy Abbot of

Foguangshan gave a talk on ‘Compassion & Wisdom – Humanistic Ethics for Modern Society’ in Chung Tian Temple. Nearly 80 BLIAQ staff members and local people attended.

Venerable Dr. Hui Feng first introduced “What are ethics?” He explained the moral ethics of modern Australian society which was generally based on the Christian belief. He spoke about the development of moral ethics in Western society, from the influence of God, the Creator and the ancient Greek culture to the moral values of modern society, such as human relationships in Western society, moral ethics of the two sexes, respect for discipline and abiding by law, protection of environment and conservation of nature.

Venerable Dr. Hui Feng said that scientific research could not prove human morality, but it helps people to make choices and decisions on ethics. Religion plays a role in giving an approved set of moral life guidelines that in the practice of them could produce divine experience. Thus, religion guides people’s thinking in moral and ethics, and deepens their practice of morality.

Venerable Dr. Hui Feng explored with the audience about humanistic ethics in simple terms, and combined Buddhist philosophy of compassion and wisdom in morality. He answered questions raised by the audience -- “What is the ethical standard of monastics?” &“How to purify one’s mind?” Everybody was benefited by his teaching. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Multi-faith Prayer led by Venerable Hui Feng at Chung Tian Temple

On 14th

February at 11.00 a.m., the ‘Multi-faith Prayer’ jointly organized by Chung Tian Temple and BLIAQ commenced. Venerable Hui Feng, Deputy Abbot of Foguangshan was invited to lead religious representatives to pray for world peace. Elder in Logan Aunt Peggy Tidyman, Hindu representative Surendra Prasad OAM, Judaism representative Mr. Ariel Heber, Muslim representative Janeth Deen, Baha’i representative Mr. Justin Handley and Ms. Susan Handley joined in the light offering and prayed for the New Year. 300 local Australians participated in the event. Venerable Hui Feng piously read out Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s ‘Prayer for world peace’, praying that “The world has no hatred but only harmony, no greed but only generosity, and no harm but only achievement. Let people of different gender and ages live in harmony. Let people of different social status have mutual respect. Let people of different professions work in cooperation. Let people of different religions practice with tolerance. Great compassionate Buddha, we need to learn from you the wisdom to close the distance between self and others. We need to learn from you the selflessness to eliminate all of our attachments. We need to learn from you the truth to resolve the confrontations between races.” He then led the religious representatives to offer light for the blessing of world peace, hoping that the Year of the Monkey could bring everybody joyful mind, happy family, mutual respect, social harmony and world peace. BLIAQ President Kim Wu thanked the religious representatives for their participation, and hoped that the power of prayers would bring world peace and social harmony. He encouraged everyone to practise the ‘Three acts of goodness’ by taking good actions, saying good words and thinking good thoughts to promote good human relationships which would lead to a better world. Venerable Hui Feng was invited to present Certificates of Appreciation to thank the religious representatives. Such activity could enhance interaction between religions. Finally, they posed for pictures together, marking the end of the event. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Page 8

On 14th February at 2.00 p.m., Chung Tian Temple in celebrating the Chinese

New Year, held a Baby Blessing Ceremony for the heritage of Buddhist faith. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan with Venerables Jue Tang, Miao Lai and Miao Xin led 200 young parents of various occupations like interior designers, engineers, nurses, pharmacists, managers, accountants, lawyers etc. and their relatives to pray for Buddha’s blessings for 50 babies.

Everybody sang ‘Ode to Triple Gem’ in English, and amidst the chanting of ‘Great Compassion Mantra’, purification was performed for babies and toddlers like Isabelle Danford, Ari Oldrisloll, Kanukura Hape, Maximus Chan-Vasil etc.. Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s ‘Prayer for the new-born’ was piously read, praying that under the Buddha’s blessing, babies could be healthy in body and mind, and endowed with bliss and wisdom.

In the sound of blessing from parents and relatives, Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan presented Baby Blessing Certificates, chanting beads and red-packets to the kids, wishing them to be healthy, and in the process of growth, to have sufficient confidence, courage and wisdom to face trials of life and be Buddhists supporting the Triple Gem.

After the Ceremony, they posed for pictures, and families enjoyed a happy time in lion dance, face painting, jumping castle and all kinds of New Year activities.

Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Baby Blessing Ceremony in Chinese New Year

On 28th

of January, photographer Josh Wondan of Australia Quest Newspapers (Southern Star) came to Chung Tian Temple to shoot for the publicity of Chinese New Year activities.

News Corporation correspondent Leah Kidd was going to write a report to promote the Cultural Open Day on 14

th of February in Chung Tian Temple. This

would be published in Quest Newspapers (Southern Star) next week.

This day, photographer Josh Wondan mainly came to shoot Tea Ceremony. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan, tea practitioners Chen Shu-Hui and Cai Ying, and BLIAQ Marketing Director Ralph Smith took part in the shooting. Ralph Smith would contact Leah Kidd the next day to provide detailed information used for reporting. He would also contact Albert and Logan News about the promotion of the New Year activities.

Since Logan City Council Tourism Marketing has liaised with the media of local communities, recently different newspapers reporters and photographers came to Chung Tian Temple to shoot, helping to promote the multicultural activities of Chinese New Year Celebrations, aiming to enhance interactive exchanges in communities and promote the integration of diverse cultures. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Quest Newspapers publicised Chinese New Year Celebrations of Chung Tian Temple

Page 9

The Australian Citizenship Ceremony hosted by Lions Clubs of Brisbane MacGregor, Brisbane Chinese and Kuraby was held on 26

th of January, the

Australia Day at R.S.L. Sunnybank in Brisbane and Kuraby State School. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan, BLIAQ Directors Ralph Smith and Meng Yoke Hong were invited on behalf of Chung Tian Temple to attend the Ceremony. In the Citizenship Ceremony, the Mayor of Brisbane Cr. Graham Quirk presided over the formal oath taking. 400 immigrants from more than 130 countries were witnessed to become new citizens in the presence of Mr. Graham Perret MP, Peter Susso MP, Cr. Kim Marx, Cr. Steven Huang and representatives from religious and social communities. The organizer introduced The Lions Clubs of Brisbane MacGregors, Brisbane Chinese and Kuraby as organisations providing multiple services to society in Australia and in other countries of the world.

Graham Perret MP on behalf of the Minister of Immigration the Hon Peter Dutton MP read out his greetings, saying that Australia was proud to be praised by the world as a country protecting the fundamental rights, values and obligations of its people. Australia welcomes new immigrants to join and become part of the Australian society. We should unite together to defend democracy and freedom in Australia. As Australian citizens, we are equal to perform our obligations.

Lord Mayor Cr. Graham Quirk said that to be Australian citizens did not mean to give up one’s native culture, but could incorporate new cultural elements to Australia, a multicultural country. Everyone could use their talents and skills to enrich the multicultural colour of Australia. He congratulated each new citizen and hoped that they would establish a happy and healthy new life. The new immigrants were guided to swear the naturalization oath and were announced to become Australian citizens, awarded with Citizenship Certificates. Everybody sang the Australian national anthem, the resounding melody of which united the hearts of the people there, jointly dedicating themselves to love this beautiful land. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Chung Tian Temple invited to attend Australia Day Citizenship Ceremony

Temple Visit by Queensland Police Service Senior Police Officers

On 3rd

of February, Superintendent Paul Ziebarth of Police Service Brisbane South together with Inspector Michael Sawrey and Meng visited Chung Tian Temple. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan and BBDF Marketing Manager Ralph Smith welcomed them and guided them to visit the Main Hall, Museum, Heavenly Pagoda etc..

Superintendent Paul Ziebarth recently took office and would like to be familiar with the development and security situations of communities in neighbouring areas. Because of QPS Staff member Meng, he came to visit Chung Tian Temple to know how he could cooperate and interact with the temple and BLIAQ to maintain safety and security of the community.

Superintendent Paul Ziebarth and Inspector Michael Sawrey particularly liked the forest green environment of the temple with the quiet atmosphere, and the display of its cultural arts. They hoped that in future, meetings of the subordinates could be arranged to take place there so as to allow them to know about a different culture. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan invited them to enjoy a vegetarian meal in the Water Drop Teahouse. She presented to them Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s ‘365 Days for Travellers’ and welcomed them to come to participate in the Chinese New Year’s Eve celebrations. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Page 10

Venerable Ji Jing led a group from China to visit Chung Tian Temple

Since Venerable Ji Jing, the Head Abbot of Nanshan Temple in Huazhou, Guangdong Province of China admired Venerable Master Hsing Yun in propagating Dharma and establishing Foguang temples in the five continents around the world, he specially led 205 members from Kongpingzi (Empty Bottles) International Cultural Transmission Co. Ltd. to visit Chung Tian Temple. They were welcomed by Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan, other Venerables, BLIA Director David Yang, Elder Advisors Even Chang and Andy Hsueh, Vice President Stephen Chang, Directors, Supervisors, Branch Presidents, Group and Division Leaders, a total of 50 people. They were first guided to the Main Hall to offer incense and pay homage to the Buddha. They have already organized several study tours going abroad, visiting Foguangshan in Delhi, London and Malaysia. This time, the visiting group came from Buddhist families around China, including 89 parents, 89 children and 9 staffs. Eighteen of them were 18 to 25 years old.

Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan welcomed Venerable Ji Jing and the group coming from afar. She briefly introduced Venerable Master Hsing Yun in establishing more than 200 branch temples over the world in the five continents to propagate Humanistic Buddhism, and the background of building Chung Tian Temple. Chung Tian Temple based on the four main objectives of education, culture, charity and cultivation, has been promoting different cultural and educational activities. She cited Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s “Ten Thousand Things in the Human World – Shining Light”, saying that through the practice of the ‘Three Acts of Goodness’, the six roots of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind would be like Buddha, illuminating light. Thus we should emphasize on the practice of Humanistic Buddhism. She presented Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s calligraphy for the New Year ‘Be Smart and Agile’ and books ‘The Wisdom of Hsing Yun’, ‘Hear Me Out – Messages from a Humble Monk’ and ‘Hsing Yun’s Theory and Practice’ to them as gifts.

They were then divided into four groups, guided by BLIAQ Elder Advisors and Vice Presidents to visit the Museum, Art Gallery and Heavenly Pagoda, appreciate Tea Ceremony and ring the Blessing Bell for the New Year. They were led to the Dining Room and Dining Hall to enjoy the vegetarian meal well prepared by the kitchen.

Venerable Ji Jing praised the beautiful environment of Chung Tian Temple and thanked the Venerables and BLIAQ members for their warm hospitality to make them feel at home and enjoy a delicious meal. He also took the opportunity to wish the Venerables good health and be able to live long to benefit all beings. Finally, Venerable Chueh Shan and BLIAQ members said farewell to them and welcomed them to visit the temple again in future. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

New Year Memorial Service

On 30th of January at 9.00 a.m., Memorial Service for Ancestors and Deceased

for the New Year was held in the Main Hall at Chung Tian Temple. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan with other Venerables led 200 devotees to piously chant ‘Ksitigarbha Sutra’ and transfer merits to ancestors and those in the three evil realms to be reborn to the human and heavenly realms, free from suffering. Let those in the human and heavenly realms take refuge in the Triple Gem and never retrogress. May Buddha bless them to know about the karmic cause and effect, and the way to eliminate their unwholesome karma. May their consciousness be purified and be reborn to the good realms.

Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan in her discourse explained about the mutual benefits of both the living and the dead in the Dharma service. Apart from helping deceased relatives and friends to have a better rebirth, we should also have a grateful mind, & more importantly, be aware of the significance of developing our compassionate mind. Further, we should learn and appreciate the great vows of the Bodhisattva in delivering all sentient beings patiently according to their root and capacity. Buddha said in Ksitigarbha Sutra, “…Samantavipula, with your miraculous power, you should exhort these descendants dreaming their past relatives, to recite this Sutra with sincere resolve before the images of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas either three or seven times, or request others to recite for them. When the Sutra has been read the number of times, relatives in the evil realms will gain liberation and never again appear in the dreams of the living.” She explained that reciting Ksitigarbha Sutra could eliminate karmic obstacles and had 28 kinds of merits. She said that it was a misconception since some people thought that Ksitigarbha Sutra could not be recited at home as it was a Sutra to deliver ghost spirits. She encouraged everyone to recite the Sutra with absolute sincerity as the merits & benefits were inconceivable. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Page 11

On 19th

February, Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan, BLIAQ President Kim Wu, Elder Advisor Andy Hsueh and Marketing Manager Ralph Smith with their wives, and Director Meng Yoke Hong, invited by Logan City Council went to attend the Farewell Party of Logan Mayor Cr. Pam Parker at Logan Entertainment Centre. Nearly 500 guests participated in the event including Federal Members, Queensland State Members, Logan Council Councillors, Commissioners and representatives from all sectors of society. The farewell dinner named ‘Happy Days’ was in the theme of 1950s’ rock and roll style, from the setting of the scene to the attire of the guests. That night, the colleagues of Mayor Cr. Pam Parker and community volunteers also shared their unforgettable experience with the Mayor over the past eight years. The event also invited the imitator of the rock and roll king Elvis to perform, resulting in a touching atmosphere. Logan City has a population of over 250,000. It is the third largest city in Queensland, close to Brisbane. Cr. Pam Parker was the first female Mayor of Logan City and had served for eight years. She made a lot of effort in the development of community construction and charitable organization, and has made significant contribution to Logan City’s reform and development. Cr. Pam Parker, during her tenure was very concerned about the construction and future of Chung Tian Temple, and gave a lot of support. This year in the Chinese New Year celebration, Logan City Council was the main sponsor and helped greatly in the publicity of the event, attracting large crowd of people to come. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan thanked Mayor Cr. Pam Parker for her strong support of Chung Tian Temple in the past years, and wished her peace, success and happiness in her future life. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Logan City Council Mayor Pam Parker’s Farewell

BLIAQ Humanistic Buddhist Preachers Training

On 30th of January at 1.30 p.m., BLIAQ Humanistic Buddhist Preachers Training

Course was held for the first time in the Conference Room, hosted by Dharma teacher Andy Hsueh. 40 people participated including BLIAQ President Kim Wu, Dharma teachers David Yang and Lee Jian-Lin, and representatives from different Branches. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan attended to give guidance.

President Kim Wu thanked the Branches for sending representatives to attend the training course which helped people to overcome the fear of standing on stage, and through studying the Venerable Master’s articles, to preach and promote Humanistic Buddhism.

Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan explained the technique of being a Humanistic Buddhist preacher. The ‘secret’ is the ‘Three-stage’ lecture method: 1) What does the article say? 2) How does the article relate to me? 3) What is the final effect? Among Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s seven articles such as ‘Practice of giving’ and ‘Contemplation of being at ease’ in the “Ten Thousand Tasks in the Human World”, they chose their favourite articles and talked about their experience following the ‘Three-stage’ method. Dharma teacher Andy Hsueh demonstrated the three-stage lecture approach. Based on the topics of ‘Practice of giving’ and ‘Contemplation of being at ease’, Long You-Lin, Lin Shu-Zhu and Su Yu-Hua separately used the three-stage way to practise presenting each article and citing their personal experience as testimony in a clear and systematic way to the audience. Everyone observed and encouraged each other to learn.

Finally, Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan in her discourse said that the Venerable Master’s articles had positive energy and hoped that the Humanistic Buddhist preachers of different Branches could make use of group studies or Branch meetings to study the Master’s articles and practice speaking.

Last year, Venerable Man Qian, President of FGS Overseas Executive Council specially gave guidance for the training course of Humanistic Buddhist preachers. The ‘three-stage’ method is mainly to guide people in listening, thinking and practising. When we have confidence and direction, we will have power, hope and future.

The Abbess hoped that in future, everyone would continue participating in the second and third terms of the training course, helping to spread out the idea of Humanistic Buddhism. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Page 12

BLIAQ Monthly Meeting

On 23rd

of January at 1.30 p.m., BLIAQ held its Monthly Meeting in the Conference Room, hosted by Vice President Arthur Liu. 27 members participated including Vice President Stephen Chang, Elder Advisor Andy Hsueh, Directors, Supervisors, Branch Presidents, Group Leaders and YAD Leaders. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan attended as advisor. After the reports given by the Branches, motions were discussed: 1) Preparation of Chinese New Year’s Eve Celebrations on 7 February, and Cultural Open Day on 14 February during which at 1.00 p.m., Venerable Hui Feng, Deputy Abbot of Foguangshan would be invited to give a Dharma talk; 2) Members and Volunteers Fellowship Gathering on 6 February; 3) 2016 Humanistic Buddhism Preachers Workshop on 28 February (Sunday) at 1.30 p.m., inviting Venerable Man Qian, President of FGS Overseas Executive Council to give guidance; 4) To promote the reading of ‘Hear Me Out – Messages from a Humble Monk’ and ‘365 Days for Travellers’, and book donation; 5) To associate all Branches in the Clean Australia Day on 6 March; 6) Lecture given by Jian Jing-Hui, President of Hong’s Foundation for Education & Culture on 1 March; 7) BLIAQ Executive Training Seminar and Executive Fellowship Party on 26 March; 8) Planning and preparation for the 20

th anniversary Buddha Birthday Festival 2016; 9)

Participating in 2016 Global Million Concert co-hosted by BLIA and Foguangshan for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of

Foguangshan; 10) Photo Competition jointly organised with Mt. Gravatt Photography Society on ‘Beauty of Chung Tian and Buddha Birthday Festival’ to be tentatively held in April; 11) Youth Conference of ‘BLIA YAD 20

th Anniversary – Encounter with the

Buddha’ jointly organized by BLIA YAD Headquarters and BLIA R.O.C. (Taiwan) to be held at Foguangshan Monastery, Kaohsiung from 9-14 July 2016, please enthusiastically recommend outstanding young people to register; 12) The Commonwealth Day Observance of the British Commonwealth Association of Queensland, Australia will be held again this year in Chung Tian Temple. Abbess Venerable Chueh Shan in her discourse said that among all kinds of offerings, the foremost is the offering of Dharma. We should propagate the Dharma by committing ourselves to attend the Humanistic Buddhism Preachers Training. Through the reading of books such as ‘Hear Me Out – Messages from a Humble Monk’, personal cultivation and interesting explanation with sincerity, people would be able to understand more about the Venerable Master’s concept of Humanistic Buddhism. We should incorporate cultivation in our everyday life, and seek the Dharma in our living. Doing voluntary work enables us to experience the practice of Dharma in life, broaden our mind like the sea accommodating hundreds of rivers, and enhance our wisdom. What matters most is the effort we make rather than the number of people participating. We should encourage members, relatives and friends to come to attend Buddhist classes and training courses. Branches could organize activities such as outings for three generations and Tea Ch’an Study Groups. Through these Dharma propagation activities, we would be able to go out to widely spread the seeds of Humanistic Buddhism. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Group Study of Tea Chan organised by BLIAQ Logan Branch

On 31 January 2016 at 1.30 p.m., BLIAQ Logan Branch held a group study of ‘Tea Ch’an’ in Tearoom of Chung Tian Temple, conducted by Tea Master Sunny Fang and about 25 people participated in this event. Tea Master Sunny Fang shared his experience and knowledge in tea and explained the different kind and type of teas. The tea processing method in which the leaves from the tea plant transformed into the dried leaves for brewing tea.

He also explained in depth the categories of tea and the processing the tea undergo and in its most general form, tea processing involves different manners and degree of oxidation of the leaves, stopping the oxidation, forming the tea and drying. The appreciation of tea led to how to make good tea and the combination with Chan and etc.

The President of Logan Branch Kwang Hooi thanks Tea Master Sunny Fang for sharing his valuable experience with Logan Branch members. He also thanks the Logan Branch members that came and support this group study and also took the opportunity to brief the members regarding upcoming Chinese New Year and Open Day activities held at Chung Tian Temple. It was a great day and the study was concluded in the atmosphere of cultural literacy. Meng

Page 13

Chung Tian Chinese School Annual Teachers’ Report Meeting

On 31st of January at 2.00 p.m., Chung Tian Chinese School 2016 Annual

Teachers’ Report Meeting was held in the Tea Ceremony Room. 35 people attended including Principal Venerable Chueh Shan, Vice Principal Cai Jing-Jin of the Main Campus, Vice Principal Xu Xiu-Mei of Gold Coast Campus, School Affairs Committee David Yang, and teachers Liao Jin-Cheng, Chen Jun-Ji and Lin Yi-Ying. Principal Venerable Chueh Shan in her speech thanked the teachers for their hard-working and effective teaching in the past year. She praised teachers Liao Jin-Cheng and Lin Yi-Ying for guiding students to participate in FGS’s 2015 ‘Three Goodness in the Human World’ Chinese Essay Competition, winning outstanding award and international high school group award. Apart from language teaching, she encouraged teachers to stress more on moral education and cultural heritage by integrating stories of the ‘Three goodness’ to teachings, guiding students to practise the Three Goodness and Four Offerings, and promoting Campus of Three Goodness. BLIAQ President Kim Wu also came to encourage teachers and praise them for their enthusiasm and dedication in teaching. Principal Venerable Chueh Shan presented letters of appointment and gifts to the teachers and staff. Following this, David Yang led everyone to study ‘Life of Three Hundred Years Old’ in “Hear Me Out – Messages from a Humble Monk”. Venerable Yi Lai, President of Charity Yuan of FGS commended Venerable Master Hsing Yun that his contributions to Buddhism and his teachings by words and actions have far exceeded a life of three hundred years. A life of ‘three hundred years old’ is a life beyond time and space. David Yang also shared his feeling and gratitude to the Venerable Master, saying that he followed ‘one master one way’ in his study of Buddhism. He played several roles in BLIA and Chung Tian School for the sake of promoting Humanistic Buddhism. School report was given by Vice Principal Cai Jing-Jin: 1) Explaining the events taken in 2016; 2) Buddha Birthday Festival from 29 April to 1 May 2016; 3) Planning cultural teaching activities in Buddha Birthday Festival; 4) Moral education: meditation, music appreciation and children’s stories of the Three Goodness (10 minutes before the second lesson). Teacher Lin Yi-Ying explained the Department of Education Module. They divided into groups in tea time. Tea culture teachers Xu Yu-Pei, Cai Shu-Man, Huang Xue-Ling and Tu Yi prepared the tea. The meeting was held in the style of a tea gathering, unknowingly spending the whole afternoon. Finally, teachers and staff of Chung Tian School together shot a New Year video clip to Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and the meeting was successfully concluded. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

BLIAQ YAD Preparatory Meeting for New Year Activities

On 31 January in the afternoon, YAD held its Preparatory Meeting for New Year activities in the Wisdom Room. Ten people attended including YAD I Leader David Pham, YAD II Leader Louise Chen, and staff members Winston Boon, Angela Chang and Kally Chen. Venerable Miao Xin attended as advisor. Motions discussed: 1) Matters arising from Chinese New Year’s Eve charity sale, assignment of young volunteers, and assistance in Light Offering Blessing Dharma Service; 2) Cultural Open Day activities and job allocation; 3) YAD Orientation to be held on 28 February in Chung Tian Temple; 4) Preparation of High Tea Fundraising for the temple’s stage II development. YAD staffs brought their own hand-made monkey lanterns and recorded a New Year greeting video to the Venerable Master, wishing him “Happy New Year”. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

Page 14

Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Blessing for the folks of Tainan affected by the earthquake

“Tomorrow is the New Year. Today we are able to gather here showing that we have deep affinity. It is unfortunate that before the New Year’s Day, the earthquake happened in Tainan. I hope that everybody can turn grief into strength, and establish hope from the tragedy, believing that better days will come.” On 7

th of

February during the 2016 Chinese New Year’s Eve Hotpot Dinner, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Founding Master of Foguangshan encouraged Tainan folks who were affected by the earthquake. Abbess Venerable Miao Qin of Foguangshan Nantai Temple in Tainan, Yang Zheng-Da President of BLIA ROC South District together with nearly ten Tainan folks living in Nantai Temple went to Foguangshan to the Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner. Venerable Master Hsing Yun explained to the people there about the meaning of ‘year’. Legend said that ‘year’ was a ferocious beast which only came out on New Year’s Eve to eat people and do evil, and people were scared of it. It was said that the year beast was afraid of noise and fire, and thus on New Year’s Eve, people would have burning stoves and make a lot of noise to frighten it away. Next day when it was the New Year’s Day, everybody would congratulate each other for escaping the misfortune. Venerable Master Hsing Yun led everyone to recite “Namo Amitabha Buddha of the Western Pure Land”, praying that under the great and compassionate Amitabha Buddha, the unfortunate victims who died in the earthquake could be received to the Western Pure Land, whereas the ones who survived were able to turn grief into strength, and had hope for the future. “Amitabha Buddha, thank you!” Tainan folks of the earthquake clenched Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s hands, hoping that he would compassionately help them to resolve fear and eliminate their sorrow. The Venerable Master promised to give them full support, and wished them to have peace and health, free from disasters. Chung Tian Admin Translated by Elaine Pun

My Views on Life and Death by Venerable Yi Lai

The Pure Land School of Buddhism considers death as ‘to be reborn’. Rebirth is like travelling or moving houses. So isn’t death a welcoming thing? Death is just a stage of transition and the beginning of life in another body. Thus, there is no need to fear death. When facing death, we should take it easy and go accord with it.

In Buddhism, many Buddhist masters thought that one should live happily and die happily. Coming and going, living and dying, there is no end to it. Life is eternal as if burning firewood lights up another piece of wood before extinguishing. One after another, though the firewood differs from each other which represent various stages of life, the fire of life is burning continuously. It is also like chanting beads, from the first bead, second bead … to the 108

th and be back again. The same is true for

life. Stage after stage is like bead after bead of a rosary. This is the meaning of rebirth cycle in the six realms. Thus, we should consider death as something ordinary. Some elderly people feel that their ‘machine’ is getting old and useless and need to be replaced, thus wanting to die. Old clothes have to be renewed. Broken houses need to be rebuilt. Death is like the changing of clothes and building of houses. What matters most is whether we have enough bliss and merit to change to a healthy body like a sturdily constructed house, and be reborn in places with Dharma. In Buddhism, it is said, “Before attaining Buddhahood, it is important to make good affinities with people.” With more acquaintances, human relationship will be good, and this is very important for our future as it helps us to cultivate bliss and forms the source of merit. A person with little affinity will encounter a lot of inconvenience everywhere. Buddhism talks about ‘Causes and Conditions’ and ‘Dependent Origination’. Everything is operated within ‘Dependent Origination’, i.e. existence depends on the concurrence of right conditions, and extinction is due to their break-up. The key to life and death is also due to ‘conditions’. Since ancient to modern, death has been a mysterious thing because we do not know where we would go after death. In fact, Buddhism tells us, “If you want to know the causes you created in past lives, see what you encounter in your present life. If you want to know what will be your future life, see what you have done in your present life.” The important thing is that we cannot change the past, but fortunately we can cultivate bliss and merit to create a better future. The three prerequisites of faith, vow and practice help our rebirth. Vow is to guide our next life to achieve perfection.

In Buddhism, where is the Land of Ultimate Bliss yearned for by people reciting the Buddha? Buddhism says, “The mind is pure land; self nature is Amitabha.” The Venerable Master mentioned that people reciting Buddha’s name might be reborn to this world because this world also had pure land. Even for those who practise meditation and attain enlightenment, their intelligence, knowledge and perception also help them to be reborn to this world after death. Would this be the good reward of reciting Buddha’s name or meditation in this life? It is said, “Everybody cultivates in his/her own way.” Whatever way you practise, you will definitely obtain what you deserve. Venerable Ci Hang said, “Dharma nature is originally empty but cause and effect always exist. You reap what you sow and nobody can replace you.” This is the truth.

With gratitude, I had the experience of two surgeries and deeply felt that death was so close. This made me cherish my life and grasp every moment to perform my duty as a monastic to propagate Buddhism. As the Venerable Master said, “In human life, to live long or short is unimportant, but rather leading a meaningful life is more important.” Let us encourage ourselves. Life News Agency Translated by Elaine Pun

Page 15

Venerable Master Hsing Yun # 366 Days with Wisdom

Giving others confidence, giving others joy, giving others hope, giving others convenience: giving, is of infinite magical effect. Knowing all-encompassing, knowing peace, knowing modesty, knowing respect: knowing is of limitless intelligence.

People who give freely and generously are the richest people in the world. People who always seek from others are the poorest people in the world. For most people, giving to oneself is easy, but giving to others is difficult. So how can we harvest without cultivation? How can we have a wealthy life without giving? Giving is the most beautiful thing in the world. Give others some good words, give others a smile, show others our sincerity, and render services to others. These kind giving acts beautify our lives and purify our mind. Giving maintains harmonious relationships within our society.

Although it is wise to beware of the negative acts of giving: giving others worries, giving others sadness, giving others embarrassment, and giving others problems. The Sutra in Forty-two Sections stated, “One who raises his head and spits to the sky, the spittle falls back on him. The same goes with someone who throws dust against the wind. Instead of going somewhere else, the dust returns to defile his body.”

Before we give something bad to others, we would do well to heed the Chinese proverb, “What you don’t want, don’t give to others”. When we give good things to others, the value also differs according to the contents of giving. Donating money is easier than praise and speaking good words to others. Though simply giving money seems easier than praise and speaking good words to others, Buddhist teachings, universal truths, confidence, fearlessness, safety and freedom are the best things we can ever give to others. Self-discovery arises after self-awareness. Self-confidence arises after self-discovery. Self-empowerment arises after self-confidence. Self-independence arises after self-empowerment.

There’s a saying that “When climbing a mountain, one has to focus on the environment. When visiting a family, one has to pay attention to people’s expression.” So whenever we meet others, we know how they feel from their expressions or body language. Before visiting a country, we can do some research in order to obtain relevant information. Only when we are confident of the situation, we can visit the country and complete a given task. Thus knowledge in advance of any endeavour in any context is important to us.

When working with others, we have to understand more about ourselves: our skills and market value. We need to ask ourselves who our partner can be. If I accept someone’s offer, will it benefit us in the future? Is it safe to travel to some places? Since it is important to know the conditions in every context, we have to keep these things in mind, especially our own market value. Are we worth a hundred thousand New Taiwan dollars (NTD) a month? Twenty thousand? Perhaps we are only able to earn ten thousand a month. We really have to estimate our value in accordance to our morals, knowledge, experience, working skills, interpersonal skills, achievements, and family and educational background. All these correspond to our own conditions. If we don’t know ourselves, we will end up without any value.

Sometimes we have to depend on our knowledge and skills to boost our conditions. Sometimes, external packaging is necessary. If we want to improve our conditions, then we have to enrich ourselves. Beautiful packaging can be captivating but it is superficial. If we are prepared to work hard and be realistic, accumulate experience and wisdom step by step, our market value will definitely appreciate accordingly. Overcoming adversity, one increases capacity. Standing the tests, one can take on great responsibility.

Life expands through endurance of many different adversities. Whenever adversity enters our life, the time has come to learn to be strong. Mencius once said that, “Before one is able to shoulder great responsibility, one would have experienced suffering, hunger, poverty, and exhaustion of body and mind. As such, one’s willpower and capabilities are polished.” This shows that an adverse circumstance can be the cause of favourable one. Even if we were to ask the Buddha: How did you attain enlightenment? The Buddha would definitely reply that He endured through adversities and hardships before He discovered the truth of the universe. Hence, we should learn not only to be unmoved by adverse situations but also to grow with them.

In contrast, young people nowadays seem unable to accept setbacks and adversity. They choose to escape or retreat while some even forget their initial ambitions or change their goals. They are incapable of dealing with hardship and therefore find it quite impossible to attain great achievement in the future. Thus, only those who keep on trying can finally gain success.

Be grateful to everything in the world. Be hard-working and live a simple life.Be satisfied with our material things. Be happy when giving charity.

in our mind is more precious than our treasures. In fact, our “mind” is our real treasure. If there are people in our mind, then the people are our treasure. If there is a world in our mind, then the world is our treasure. If there is morality and compassion in our mind, then those virtues are our treasure. Even if we are penniless and powerless, the “nothingness” is still the treasure of our mind. The treasure of our mind is always there as long as we have the Buddha, Dharma and sangha in our mind. If we have no greed, no hatred, no delusion, no attachment of love, then everything is limitless and borderless. This is a treasure of the mind too!

There was a man called Yang Zhen in the Han Dynasty. He was a government official. In the night, someone sent him lots of gold in return for favours. However, Yang Zhen refused to accept the gold. The person then said, “That’s fine, nobody will know about the gold.” Yang Zhen said, “How can you say nobody knows when the heaven, the earth, you and I all know about it?”

A greedy mind can never be satisfied. There is a saying that, “though we have bought a thousand acres of good land, we are still powerless and bullied by government officials. Once we become a government official, we will find that a local official is nothing when compared to the ministers. Once we become the prime minister, we are envious of the king. Once we become the king, we want to live forever.” All the money and material in the world are limited, but the desires are limitless! No matter how rich a greedy person is, he is still a “poor” rich man. Only those who understand the true meaning of satisfaction can have a happy life. Only when we live simply and get back to nature can we be considered rich.

So greed is poverty. Only those who are not greedy have rich treasures in their minds.

Page 16

2016 Term 1 - Meditation, Buddhist & Tai Chi Classes held at Chung Tian Temple

Basic Buddhist & Meditation Class Level: Level 1 Day: Every Sunday Date: 21 Feb 2016 to 27 Mar 2016 Time: 9:00am - 10:00am (Meditation) 10:10am - 11:00am (Buddhist talk) Cost: $20 per term - Booking is required

Intermediate Buddhist & Meditation Class Level: Level 2 Day: Every Sunday Date: 21 Feb 2016 to 27 Mar 2016 Time: 10:00am - 11:00am(Buddhist talk) 11:10am - 12:00pm (Meditation) Cost: $20 per term - Booking is required

Buddhist Book Study & Meditation Class

Level: Level 3 Day: Every Sunday Date: 21 Feb 2016 to 27 Mar 2016 Time: 10:00am - 11:00am (Meditation) 11:10am - 12:00pm (Buddhist talk)

Cost: $20 per term-Booking is required

Advanced Buddhist Study & Meditation Class

Level: Level 4(Free for BLIAQ members) Day: Every Sunday Date: 21 Feb 2016 to 27 Mar 2016 Time: 10:00am -11:00am (Meditation)

11:10am - 12:00pm(Buddhist talk) Cost: $20 per term – booking is required

Tai Chi Class

Day: Every Wednesday Time: 9.30am – 11.00am Where: Chung Tian Temple Cost: Free donation

Discussion Classes

Day: Every Sunday Date: 21 Feb 2016 to 27 Mar 2016 Time: 11.00am – 12.00pm Where: Chung Tian Temple Cost: Free

To book for the Buddhist classes, an application form must be

completed and returned to the Chung Tian Temple’s reception

together with full payment at least a week prior to the course

commence date.

For all enquiry please contact 3841 3511 on Tuesday to Sunday, or email: ibaq@chungtian.org.auor

www.chungtian.org.au Thank you.

Tai Chi Class

Day: Every Saturday Time: 9.00am – 10.30am Where: Chung Tian Temple Cost: Free donation

Tai Chi Class

Day: Every Sunday Time: 8.30am – 10.00am Where: Chung Tian Temple Cost: Free donation

Bodhi Class For Children

Ages: 3 - 12 years

Sunday: 10.00am - 11.00am

Date: 21 Feb 2016 to 27 Mar 2016

Cost: $20 per term

Every 2nd & 4th child from the same family will be free.

Children are taught Buddhist morals and ethics in a nurturing environment. Lessons are backed by fun activities which include: simple meditation, children’s tai chi, Buddhist stories and virtues, craft activities and team-building games.

Teenager’s Buddhist Class

Ages: 13 - 19 years

Sunday: 10.00am - 11.00am

Date: 21 Feb 2016 to 27 Mar 2016

Cost: $20 per term Every 2nd & 4th child from the same family will be free.

The intermediate Dharma class builds on and expands the basic foundations of Buddhist learning, aiming for a practical approach and solutions to challenges issues faced by young people today.

Date Day Time Program

27 February 16 Saturday 10:30am Light Offering Service & Completion of the Lantern Festival

1:30pm Patrons and Volunteers Gathering

28 February 16 Sunday 2.00pm – 3.30pm Free English Meditation Introduction

1 March 16 Tuesday 10.30am Talk on ‘The New concepts & Methodology of how to lead group studies’ (In Mandarin)

1.30pm Talk on ‘How to age well gracefully and successfully’ (In Mandarin)

6 March 16 Sunday Australia Clean Up Day

9 March 16 Wednesday 11.00am Bright Light Dharma Service (1st of Lunar Calendar) (In Mandarin)

12 March 16 Saturday 10:30am Buddhist Service – Chanting Diamond Sutra (In Mandarin)

13 March 16 Sunday 2.00pm – 3.30pm Free English Meditation Introduction

23 March 16 Wednesday 11.00am Bright Light Dharma Service (15th

of Lunar Calendar) (In Mandarin)

26 March 16 Saturday 9.30am Great Compassion Repentance Service

1.30pm Committee Seminar

4.00pm BLIAQ Director and Elder Advisors Committee Meeting

27 March 16 Sunday 11.00am Commemoration of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva’s Birthday (In Mandarin)

2 April 16 Saturday 9.00am ~ 5.00pm Ching Ming

Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance Chanting (In Mandarin)

3 April 16 Sunday 9.00am ~ 3.00pm English One Day Meditation Retreat

9 April 16 Saturday 10:30am Buddhist Service – Chanting Diamond Sutra (In Mandarin)

Every Sunday 9.00am ~ 9.40am English Buddhist Chanting

Every Saturday 10.30am ~ 12.00noon Buddhist Service (in Mandarin)