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剛才提到的那位十三歲小男生，他父母是上人的弟子，也是金聖寺護法居士。小男生原是基督徒，但是每星期父母要到金聖寺，不會開車送他到教堂。開始時他當然老大不願意，但也沒瓣法。一次，他跟著大家跪在大殿念大悲咒，回家時媽媽對他說：「你今天很乖，沒有亂動。這樣就對了。」他心想：「噢！原來這麼容易就是乖了。好吧！」他於是每次去金聖寺就這麼「乖」，跟著跪，跟著念，現在他也會念大悲咒了。我們問他：「哎Johnny！等你十六歲，有駕駛執照可以開車時，不必媽媽送，你會不會自己去教堂呢？」小男生笑得很天真，說：「不會！我好不容易才把我腦子從基督教變成佛教，現在又要我再把佛教轉變為基督教，太麻煩了！就讓它繼續佛教，省事多了！」「你現在還和你的基督教朋友聯絡嗎？」他又天真地笑著說：「有呀！但他們都說我迷信，崇拜偶像，但是我反駁他們說，『你們才是迷信！我的佛像，還是一個人的樣子；你們那個十字架，只是一片木頭，a
piece of wood。』」一片童稚的笑聲，他是一個很天真快樂的小佛教徒了！
家長們熟衷支持，渴望在上人正法的指導下，早日成立「佛教青年會」，幫助時下的年輕人。大家都知道，在這個資訊爆炸的時代，一按鈕就有很多很多的資訊，大部分的資訊對年輕人不但沒有正面的幫助，而且有負面的影響，使今天為人父母的非常擔心他們孩子的心智成長，所以現在為人父母，真的非常不容易。
從洛杉磯來參加這次青年會的一位居士，也是這次洛杉磯居士團的聯絡人，從這經驗當中她體會到人心真的很善變；三十多人參加，她要打一百多通電話聯絡。因為人心常變，常改主意，前一念答應參加，後一念又不了，再想想還是參加好，所以三十多人，一人改變主意三、四次，就有一百多通電話要聯絡了。
但是她這次收穫也非常值得安慰了，因為她兩位原先反對父母信佛教的女兒也來參加了。以前當她在家做功課時，女兒甚至把她的佛像轉向牆壁，且常批評父母迷信。這次終於說服到她們來參加，見到這麼多的時代青年，年齡、學歷、背景都是差不多，而且通過各項不同的座談研討會，終於令她們明白佛教並不是古板迷信的宗教，而是深具哲理，活潑有智慧的心教、人教、眾生教。
會議圓滿後，這位居士媽媽開著十五人的小型巴士，愉快地跟大家告假，乘夜回洛杉磯。看到她滿面的笑容，我們也替她高興，也希望天下的父母都能夠分享這位母親的法喜和欣慰。
最後感恩師兄弟們和金輪聖寺、法界聖寺的護法居士們，以及慈濟義工們，他們每一位的盡心付出，日以繼夜用心籌劃、打掃、準備、佈置，以及臨場的各項打點善後等等，莫不全力以赴。因為這次萬佛聖城舉行三壇大戒，很多沙彌尼都回到萬佛聖城接受一百零八天的密集訓練，留在法界聖城的住眾並不多。同時又有修理全城屋頂的工程在進行中，內外兼顧，相當不容易。僧團的和諧融洽，師兄弟們的分工合作，各盡所長，大家都非常用心樂助成功，無盡感恩！
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Earlier I mentioned that thirteen-year-old boy whose parents are disciples of the Venerable Master and lay Dharma protectors at Gold Sage Monastery. The boy was originally a Christian, but every week his parents would go to Gold Sage Monastery and refuse to drive him to church. Of course, he was unhappy in the beginning, but there was nothing he could do. Once, he followed everyone, kneeling in the great hall to recite the Great Compassion Mantra. On the way home, his mother said, "You were very good today, you didn't move around. That's good." He thought, "Oh, so that's being good. Okay!" From then on, he was "good" every time he went to Gold Sage Monastery, kneeling and reciting along with everyone else. Now he knows how to recite the Great Compassion Mantra too. We asked him, "Johnny, when you learn to drive at age sixteen and don't need your mom to drive you, will you go to church?" The boy laughed innocently, saying, "No, I've finally turned my Christian brain into a Buddhist one, and now you want me to turn from Buddhist to Christian again? It's too much trouble! I'll just keep learning Buddhism and save some time!" "You still keep in touch with your Christian friends?" Again, he laughed innocently, "Yes, but they all say I'm superstitious, worshiping idols. I tell them, "You're the superstitious ones! I worship a Buddha statue, which is still in the shape of a person. Your cross is just a piece of wood." He's really innocent and happy young Buddhist! The enthusiastic support of the parents came from their hopes that the Buddhist Youth Association would soon be established under the Venerable Master's guidance, and that the proper Dharma will help today's young people. Everyone knows that in this age of information when you can get lots of information at the push of a button, much of the information has a negative rather than positive influence on youngsters. That's why today's parents worry about how their children will turn out. It's not easy to be a parent in this day and age. There was a laywoman from Los Angeles who participated in the youth conference, and who was also responsible for coordinating the laity from Los Angeles. She said that from this experience, she learned that people can change their minds very quickly. She had to make over a hundred phone calls merely to coordinate thirty-some participants, she had to make over a hundred phone calls because people kept changing their minds. At first they agreed, and then they would change. After they thought about it some more, they would decide to participate after all. Every single one of the thirty-some people changed his or her mind three or four times, so there were more than one hundred calls to make. She also was glad about what she learned because her two daughters who originally were not Buddhist came too. When they did homework at home, they would even turn the Buddha image toward the wall. They also criticized their parents for being superstitious. They were finally persuaded to come and attend. Seeing all the young people of the same age range, education, and background, and participating in various discussions, they finally understood that Buddhism is not an old-fashioned, superstitious religion. Rather, it is rational and relevant to life, and full of wise teachings about the mind, people, and living beings. After the conference, this mother happily said goodbye to everyone and drove her fifteen-passenger van back to Los Angeles that night. We were happy to see her full of smiles. We hope that all the parents in the world will also share the Dharma joy and happiness of this mother. Lastly, I am grateful for the hard work of the Dharma brothers and Dharma protectors of Gold Wheel Monastery, the City of the Dharma Realm, and the Tzu Chi volunteers. They planned, cleaned up, prepared and decorated day and night. They gave their all in taking care of the myriad affairs during and after the conference. Since the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is about to hold a Threefold Ordination, many of the novice nuns went there to attend a 108-day intensive training. With the small number of residents at the City of the Dharma Realm and the ongoing roof repair project, it has not been easy. I am very grateful for the harmonious cooperation among Dharma brothers and the Sangha.
Everyone has put in their best effort to make things turn
out well. (The End)
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