Issue No.37 May 2014

Loving Words important between spouses, who should always speak loving words to please one another and to maintain a happy marriage, because loving words are the lubricant for constructive communication.

In reality, it is not always easy to say something that is appropriate for the occasion and acceptable to others. We take many exams in life, but oral tests seem to be the most important. Therefore, after babies are born, their parents teach them with utmost patience. If we want to succeed in life, in addition to speaking the truth when dealing with others, loving words are the key to success. Speech is a tool people use to communicate with one another. There are different kinds of speech. Humble Table, Wise Fare says, “Leave behind the Lies, harsh words, and idle or divisive talk all harm warm breeze of loving words, so that the whole people. Only loving words are like a spring breeze world can be filled with the warmth of respect.” and gentle showers, bringing life to earth. If every member of a family speaks loving words, the family gains harmony and happiness. When Loving words consist of caring and supportive each person within an organization uses loving speech. They are respectful, friendly, and helpful. words, the organization will be harmonious. If the They should help others by giving confidence, citizens of a country also speak loving words, unity support, and encouraging benevolent can be achieved. deeds. Everyone in the world likes loving speech. However, some are not using it well. In learning a language, we need to speak with the elegance of literature and the contemplation We can never speak enough loving words because of philosophy. Many people who do not read, “A loving word fills a room with fragrance.” Loving study, or self-reflect often use tasteless or vulgar words bring joy to everyone, like the perfume language. of flowers that permeates the air with its scent. It is like soft linen giving gentle care, or the sun Therefore, we need to improve our language by spreading its warmth in. reading, so that it can be filled with benevolence and kindness, giving joy to everyone. When parents teach their children, teachers instruct their students, and seniors guide the Some people only speak in order to shock. In younger generation, no matter what tone or words reality, if we do not know how to speak loving are used, they are all loving words. When senior words we are better off not saying anything! officers speak loving words, their subordinates will certainly follow with joy, and when employers do so, their workers are perfectly willing to (adapted from Seeking Happiness, Between Ignorance and cooperate. Among parents, children and siblings, Enlightenment VII, published by Buddha’s Light Publishing) loving words should never cease. It is especially

1 It’s Celebration Time!

My favourite time of the year has come -- the celebration of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and , also known as Day. It is a time of celebration and reflection for Buddhists around the world. Nan Tien held its celebration during the Easter weekend. In celebration, there was a vegetarian food fair, cultural stalls, a replication of the birth of Prince in Garden, and a children’s party for Buddha’s birthday. The highlight was watching the kids parade to the bodhi tree in the back hill of Nan Tien Temple and hanging their well wishes to the world on the tree. Teaching children to share and care starts well at a young age. It reminds me of how important it is to plant good seeds of caring, sharing, compassion in children at a young age. The future of the world lies in these little hands as well.

The heart of the celebrations is the ritual of bathing the Buddha. While bathing the statue of Prince Siddhartha with a scoop of water, Buddhists pray to rid themselves of the spiritual defilements of greed, hatred and ignorance; so that body, speech and mind may remain pure. It is a promise to take positive action in doing good deeds, saying good words, and thinking good thoughts.

It is a time to reflect what have been done, said, and thought of and what can be done to improve. A fresh start for all, also a “re-birth”.

Happy Re-birth Day!

By Ven. Miao Zhe

2 When was Buddha Born?

According to records, Buddha’s birthday or Vesak was entered parinirvana on a full moon of the fifth month. during Vaisakha, a full moon day of the fifth month. On In September 1967, representatives of the World the lunar calendar, it is celebrated on the 8th of April. Fellowship of Buddhists decided at a conference that Accordingly, the Buddha was born, enlightened, and Vesak Day be changed to Buddha Day.

3 Buddhist Camp Fun

Learning to mindfully eat.

Stacey Weng sharing her experiences with the youth.

YAD3 guiding Venerable Miao E.

YAD learning to mindfully stand in the present. Buddhist etiquette class.

Walking for Nan Tien Institute

Nan Tien Institute President Lin hitting the gong to start the walk.

Participants of the Nan Tien Institute Walkathon. We are walking for Nan Tien Institute. 4 The Journey Within… Self Development classes begin Sunday, May 18th

The Buddha is on Vulture Peak, but do not seek afar. and I can readily relate to most of what Humanistic A Vulture Peak is found within our minds. teaches about self-transformation, aimed Everyone has a Vulture Peak . at . In fact, Buddhism has had such an One should cultivate underneath this pagoda. impact on me that now I express my love to Lord Buddha in closing prayers to my gurus…“Help me At one point or another, we stop looking for answers to develop the right attitude in every situation” and outside and start searching within. At this stage in our also, “Help me to see all situations as coming from life’s journey, we may have tried many things to help you” - with lessons you know I need to learn.” “ us discover the wisdom within. In the Chan tradition, masters throw riddles and witty answers to students on Self Development Classes will be held on Sunday the journey of discovery. mornings from 10:30~11:30, commencing 18 May. You can register online, or call the temple on 4272- At Nan Tien Temple, self development classes are 0600. offered for those seeking to discover what lies within, and to learn the Buddhist tools to deal with everyday life. Each self development class begins with walking and sitting , as well as a brief talk by a temple venerable.

Robert Hellmund, who attended the February-March sessions said, “I have attended on Sundays since the 16th of February. Today’s talk at the Lotus Pond resonated with me, as I have been on a long journey of self-reflection, but have never really known anything about Buddhism till now. Master ’s books are easy to read,

Master Hsing Yun Honoured in Thailand

Venerable Master Hsing Yun has been presented with heart, that confrontation and antagonism between ‘The World Buddhist Outstanding Leader Award’, at a human beings can be defused. “Buddhists must draw special ceremony, at the Museum Auditorium of the on the strength of the Dharma in order to achieve National Office of Buddhism, Bangkok, on February world peace,” he said. 15th. Welcoming and congratulatory remarks from The World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth convened the international Buddhist leaders praised all recipients ceremony, which was attended by around 600 people. for their efforts in propagating Buddhism, and Former Abbot of , Venerable Hsin Pei expressed the hope that will accepted the honour on behalf of Master Hsing Yun, form part of everyone’s lives; while also appealing to who has devoted his life to promoting Humanistic participants to continue to spread the Dharma and Buddhism, and has long recognised the problems of promote Buddhism - including via social media such modern society - developing the practice of “Where as Facebook. there is the Dharma, there is a way”. The master has also immersed Buddhism into people’s daily lives, making it relevant to the needs of modern society; and committed efforts to the fields of culture, education, charity and personal cultivation.

A total of 178 award recipients from around the world included monastics, and lay people from various backgrounds including education, politics, art, literature and economics. Most Ven. Hsin Pei accepts the award on behalf of In presenting the awards, the Acting Supreme Patriarch Venerable Master Hsing Yun, at the first ‘World Buddhist of Thailand emphasised that it is only through treating Outstanding Leader Award’ ceremony in Bangkok. all worldly phenomena with equanimity and a pure

5 BBEP in Perth

As the ‘Buddha’s Birthday Education Project’ hits the of Master Hsing Yun seemed to quench their thirst road, Pamilla Gan reports on its first stop - Perth….. for guidance and wisdom; extinguishing the fires of greed, hatred and delusion in Perth’s sweltering heat. The city of Perth greeted the ‘Buddha’s Birthday Education Project’ (BBEP) with hot, sunny weather on Volunteers had worked tirelessly behind the scenes in the weekend of April 12th and 13th. both and Perth, to ensure the exhibition was ready to roll. The IT and graphic design teams also The project’s new multimedia presentation lived up worked throughout the night to make sure videos to expectations, as people crowded into the marquee; were delivered on time, and posters were ready for children, in particular, mesmerised as the wondrous 3D opening day. Venerable Jue Wei even got up at four in animation played. the morning to download the latest video, to beat any internet traffic congestion before sunrise! Others strolled through the informative exhibition; traveling with the ancient Chinese monk Faxian along As the weekend concluded, more volunteers carefully the Silk Road in his travelogue, walking the history packed up each of the exhibits; while helping prepare of Buddhism through the timeline and becoming the ‘Buddha’s Birthday Education Project’ for its next spectators at China’s first Vesak celebration, via the destination. Triptych. All of this gave visitors, young and young at heart, the opportunity to make sense of, and connect with the celebration of Buddha’s birth as it was re- enacted outside the marquee.

Meanwhile, Dharma cards quickly overtook T-Shirts as a best seller, thanks to the Abbess handing out some of the cards during alms round - the perfect promotion! As visitors drew a card from the sample deck, the words

6 Nan Tien Temple June ~ July 2014 Upcoming Events Date Time Activities Venue “The Beauty of Nan Tien” 21/5~21/7 Tues~Sun 9am~5pm Museum Photography Exhibition 04/05~22/06 Sun 2~4pm Sunday Children Fun Program* Nan Tien Temple 17/05~21/06 Sat 2~4pm Dunhuang Dance Class* Nan Tien Temple Liu Hun Huan Beauty of 20/05~20/07 Tues~Sun 9am~5pm Hai Hui Hall Oil Painting Exhibition Every From 18/05 10:30~11:30am Self Development & Cultivation* Nan Tien Temple Sunday 04/06~09/07 Wed 6:30~7:30pm Basic Buddhism* Nan Tien Temple 04/06~09/07 Wed 7:30~9:00pm Meditation (Beginners)* Nan Tien Temple 04/06~09/07 Wed 7:30~9:00pm Meditation (Intermediate)* Nan Tien Temple 06/06~11/07 Fri 5:30~6pm Introduction* Nan Tien Temple 14~15/06 Fri 4~5pm Tai Chi (continuation & refinement)* Nan Tien Temple Opening of One Stroke Calligraphy and 1pm Ikebana Exhibition 07/06 Sat Chatswood Power of the Mind** 2pm Concourse Civil by Ven. Yi Kong Pavilion Meditation in Daily Life** 08/06 Sun 1pm Dharma Talk by Ven. Yi Kong 21/06 Sat 9~4pm One Day Meditation Retreat* Nan Tien Temple 26/07 Australia & New Zealand 5~8/07 Sat~Tues all day Melbourne Buddhist Youth Conference* (ANZBYC) Enlightenment Day 12/07 Sat 11am Front Shrine Light Offering Dharma Service 2pm Baby Blessing Ceremony* Main Shrine 12~13/07 Sat~Sun Retreat* Nan Tien Temple 18~20/07 Fri~Sun Weekend Meditation Retreat* Nan Tien Temple 26/07 Sat 9~4pm One Day Meditation Retreat* Nan Tien Temple

*Requires registration, contact 4272-0600 or register online at www.nantien.org.au **Retrieve tickets to the Dharma talk at Nan Tien Temple and IBAA Sydney branches. 7 EDUCATING LEADERS OF TRANSFORMATION The road to an enlightened education Australia’s rst government-accredited tertiary institution grounded in Buddhist values and wisdom New Campus update Upcoming International Conference

NTI’s new Education , Education and Transformation Campus, Art Gallery and Conference Centre, Nan Tien Temple, , Australia Cultural Centre is on track for its Stage One completion in October 2014. After 4 years of design and construction work, the foundations are complete, the walls are The NTI Postgraduate Department of is holding its rst taking shape, and the roof International Conference – ‘Mindfulness, Education and Transformation’ is on schedule. – in partnership with the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Education, Designed by Woods Bagot – global architects with a breadth of design this September 5-7 2014. The key theme of this conference is the and consulting experience in the education sector around the world, application of mindfulness in education, focussing on both theoretical including the University of Sydney Business School, Deakin University and practical issues, as well as on the bene ts, outcomes and Building, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology – implications of the introduction of mindfulness in education. the architecturally innovative building will be a regional landmark which is expected to draw national and international visitors. NTI thanks all of its donors for their valuable support. NTI student applies her learning to help high school students www.nticonference2014.net Catherine Ramos is using her background as a Teacher, along with the Applied Buddhism Key upcoming dates and Research skills she has learnt while studying for her Master of Arts in Applied 12-16 May HSW SUBJECT – Buddhist Studies at NTI, to bene t high school Coaching and Counselling for Health and Wellbeing students and teachers. 26-20 May ABS SUBJECT – Research Methods of Religious Studies Catherine is conducting a research project for NTI – ‘Mindfulness in High Schools’ with the 9-13 June HSW SUBJECT – objective of establishing the ecacy of mindfulness and loving Foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine kindness training with Year 10-12 students in the school environment. 16-20 June ABS/HSW SUBJECT – The program involves training both students and teachers in Buddhist and Contemporary Culture meditative techniques, and determining the personal and environmental bene ts. www.nantien.edu.au/study/lecture-timetable UNIQUE LEARNING | ENHANCED CAREER | ENRICHED LIFE

Postgraduate | Masters | Diploma | Certi cate | Short Courses | Professional Development APPLIED HEALTH AND ENGLISH BUDDHIST SOCIAL LANGUAGE STUDIES WELLBEING CENTRE

The road to an enlightened education ENROL NOW www.nantien.edu.au

180 Berkeley Road, Berkeley (Wollongong), NSW Australia 2506 Tel +61 (2) 4272 0648 Email [email protected] CRICOS: 03233C ABN: 80 139 338 819 8