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In 1975, the Master came to my hometown and gave a talk at the university. The first time I saw the Master and the Bhikshus and Bhikshunis who were with him, it made a very strong impression on my mind. Through the help of my friend, I attended some of the meditation sessions and Dharma lectures that were held in San Francisco at Gold Mountain Monastery. Gradually I became interested to the extent that I volunteered my time to live inside the monastery and help out with the work there. Later I moved to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and lived there for some years. In that time of my life I had a lot of problems, and I was very lucky to become involved with the Buddhadharma and to become a disciple of the Venerable Master.
Through the teaching that the Master gave to his disciples, I was able to understand my faults and to understand how to change myself and improve my life. One of the most important things I learned from the Master was how to make the five precepts part of our own thinking and activity every day, so that we can gradually overcome the three poisons of greed, hatred, and stupidity. The Master was always an excellent example of this. He showed us all what it really meant to practice and follow sincerely the rules of the Buddhadharma. Now, although I no longer live at the City, I still stay very close to the left-home people there, and I just had this opportunity to come and take part in this Dharma lecture. Thank you very much.
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