ALWAYS BE TOLERANT TOWARDS MINOR MISTAKES MADE BY VOLUNTEERS
Question: It’s not uncommon to find some volunteers incorporating personal opinions that do not adhere to Master’s advice when taking questions from Buddhist friends at the Practice Centre.
Separately, there are also volunteers who habitually turn up late for their duty. After being reminded, they improve but after a while, the same problem will crop up. In this regard, I’d like to ask Master how we should address these issues tactfully.
Answer: First and foremost, we must remember that everyone has moods and family matters to take care of. As volunteers, they have a good intent to help, so we must be grateful towards them. He may turn up late, but still, you must show your concern and ask, “Is everything fine? Feel free to take leave if there is a need to attend to something. We can always look for a substitute”.
Alternatively, you can arrange to have two volunteers so that one of them can step up if the other one is late. With this, you bring harmony in solving this problem.
Question: What about the question relating to volunteers incorporating their personal views when answering questions from other Buddhist practitioners?
Answer: If the personal opinion they offer is well justified, that’s not a problem. But if they start to get out-of-control, and their reply is deviating from the correct direction, that would be unacceptable. It’s best to stick to what I have said before. Even if they want to add some embellishments, they should not overdo it, otherwise, it becomes distorted.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting (Q&A Session), Singapore, 18 May 2018
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