|
法界佛教青年會2004年年會於3月19-22日在金聖寺圓滿舉行，主題是「一生的修行」，大約有六、七十人參加。
跟據往年的經驗，今年會議特別設計分為三種層次，以適合大家的需要。基礎班針對佛教剛入門的人；中級班則是來參加過年會還想做進一步了解的人；最後是想深入〈大悲懺〉法的人。
實法師在開場時表示修行不只在一生，而是多生的功夫。講師有易果容、朗果舟居士介紹居士修行法，對尚未就業的在學生特別有用；同時還有恆良師、恆音師、恆哲師和恆教師對修行法門則有精彩的介紹。
這是第一次在年會中我們集中研究〈大悲懺〉，雲法師和其他金聖寺的尼眾帶動討論，學員先拜懺接著進行討論。很多初次接觸佛法的學員覺得有好收穫。
一位家長代表兒女來出席，因為他們太忙不克參加。她說：「佛青會的這些孩子們，我打從心裡喜歡。孩子們除了本身樂觀進取外，更能去幫助引導其他青年學子，自動自發來籌備策劃，安排一切的事物，發揮團隊高效力的精神外，學子與學子間、學子與老師間的互動良好。」
學員離開前，都填寫了一份評估表，以下是有代表性的一則：
「這個DRBY的會議對我而言是一個很有紀念性的經驗。我對每一位成就這個會議的人充滿了感恩。住在寺廟裡頭，和出家人及其他人參與佛殿的功課﹐和大家靜靜的用齋等等，這所有的經驗結合起來，深深的感動了我。在這裡我覺得很安祥輕鬆。
我想感謝你們安排這個會議，你們真的在別人的生命中帶來了改變。舉個例子說，在最後的幾天，我決定吃素了。」
|
|
Dharma Realm Buddhist Youth (DRBY) held its annual spring conference at Gold Sage Monastery during the weekend of March 19-22. The title of the conference was “A Lifetime of Practice.” Rev. Heng Sure set the tone in the opening lecture when he added an ‘s’ to the title to make it “Lifetimes of Practice,” commenting on how cultivation can be over many lives, not just one.
Drawing on feedback from previous years, the conference this year featured three tracks in an effort to meet everyone’s needs. The beginner’s track focused on introducing Buddhism to people completely new to it. The intermediate track focused on participants who may have attended a conference before and wanted to deepen their understanding. The final track was for those who wanted to focus on one dharma door, the Great Compassion Repentance.
Many participants encountering Buddhism for the first time felt these tracks were a wonderful introduction. Speakers such as Ron Epstein and David Rounds gave tips and advice on cultivation for lay people, both in the personal and public spheres. Their advice was especially useful given that many of the attendees were college students who had not settled on a career yet. Meanwhile, DM Liang, DM Yin, DM Je, and DM Jiao gave wonderful talks on Buddhist practices.
This conference was the first time we had the advanced track focusing on the Great Compassion Repentance. DM Yun, with the support of many of the nuns at Gold Sage, led the discussion on the repentance. The participants first bowed the repentance and then had an hour-and-a-half-long discussion.
One of the participants came as a parent standing in for her children who were too busy to come. She commented, “I naturally like these DRBY youth. They are not only optimistic, but vigorous. Even more important, DRBY can lead other youth to understand Buddhism. They are internally motivated and enthusiastically organize their events. This group is effective, and they also try their best. There is a cooperative relationship among students, as well as between teachers and students.”
Upon leaving, the participants were asked to fill out evaluation forms on the retreat. Here is one of the responses:
The conference has been a very memorable experience for me, and I am filled with a lot of gratitude for everyone who made this conference possible…. The whole experience of living at this monastery, performing the ceremonies with the nuns and everyone else, eating with everyone in silence, etc.—all weaved together to create an experience that really touched me. I’ve felt so peaceful here and light at heart. I just wanted to thank you all for putting this conference together—you really are making a difference in people’s lives. In the last couple days, for instance, I’ve decided to switch to vegetarianism.
|
