Deepest Gratitude to Namo Shakyamuni Buddha!
Deepest Gratitude to the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva!
Deepest Gratitude to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protectors!
Deepest Gratitude to Master Jun Hong Lu!
Thank you to all Buddhist friends.
I’m grateful to be given this opportunity to share my spiritual cultivation journey in Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door.
Before I start, I would like to seek forgiveness from Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Dharma Protectors if my sharing today is improper in any way.
Since young, I have had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that made it close to impossible for me to stay focused and it goes without saying that my academic performance suffered big time and naturally, I was very worried that I would never be able to graduate from polytechnic.
Looking back, I must count my blessings for having crossed paths with Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door in 2019 and I owe it to my best friend. Excited about the prospects of acquiring more wisdom, and improved academic results, without any hesitation, I started to recite the Buddhist scriptures.
Truth be said, it was not a walk in the park at the outset. First off, the Chinese language barrier. Admittedly, the Chinese language has never been my strong suit, especially for someone who stopped studying the language after primary four. I could literally count the number of Chinese characters in my vocabulary on my fingers and worse still, I have zero recollection of the Hanyu Pinyin (Chinese phonetic). Due to this limitation, the sutra booklet is no different from a celestial manuscript, so to speak.
In the beginning, I had to painstakingly practise my Chinese pronunciation word by word. It took me at least 30 minutes to recite one time of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance (LIFO) back then.
To my surprise, the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that has affected my academic performance seems to have hardly any effect on my quest to learn how to perform recitation. Clearly, as long as one is determined to set foot on the Buddhist path, his initial aspiration and the blessing he will receive from Bodhisattva is extremely powerful!
Shortly after my Buddhist practice, I came to witness the miraculous power of Guan Yin Citta. Once, I was about to sit for a major examination of which I had no idea whatsoever of the subject that I was going to be tested on. Had it happened before my Buddhist practice, I would have flopped the examination and I would have to resit in the next semester. However, this time, what I did differently was, one day before the examination, I kept reciting the Cundi Dharani. Lo and behold, I scraped through the examination! Despite not knowing the answers to most of the questions, I still managed to make it through! Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door is truly miraculous!
With my faith strengthened, I was determined to perform recitation, come what may for the sake of my academic results. As the saying goes, “All things come to those who wait”. From the day I stepped foot on the dharma gate and started performing meritorious deeds, my ADHD condition (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and the random thoughts that beset me started to reduce significantly. I am now able to stay focused on my studies. Glad to say, I have graduated from polytechnic and managed to obtain straight A’s for the four modules in my first year university final examination.
Frankly speaking, I am so envious of those who have a good command of the Chinese language which makes it easy for them to grasp the teachings of Buddhism in Plain Terms and learn the dharma during the online Buddhism group studies. In the early days when our online Buddhism group studies started, I was completely clueless of what transpired during the sessions. Many times, I would drop out of the online classes after a few minutes.
It was only after witnessing the patience demonstrated by the person-in-charge during the youth sessions held in Guan Yin Hall where she explained some key Buddhist terms and their applications in life that my mind was transformed. I might have only understood 30% of what was shared in the session, but I was deeply touched.
In those sessions, I could feel the presence of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, showering those with Chinese language barrier with blessings so that we too could acquire the knowledge from the heart. Deep down, I sincerely appreciate the hard work of the person-in-charge, who is always guiding and encouraging us as we tread on the path of spiritual cultivation so that nobody falls behind. It then struck me that I must persevere and not let language barrier be a stumbling block. With my mindset reset, I rejoined the online Buddhism sessions.
To make up for the language barrier, I would use a translation app to translate the teachings into English which over time helped speed up my learning. The teachings have served me well, coming in handy in addressing cultivation challenges that came my way. I might not have attended any of Master Lu’s dharma conventions but personally, I regard every Buddhism session as precious as a dharma convention.
During the period from 2021 to 2022 when I was enlisted to join the army. No matter how busy or tired I was, I would squeeze out time to join the online Buddhism sessions. I also made the effort to take notes as much as possible. Glad to say, I am now able to understand close to 80% of the teachings. Deepest gratitude to Guan Yin Bodhisattva for Her blessings.
My second obstacle was my parents. Being free thinkers, they had always strongly objected to my Buddhist practice. Under the influence of online slanders, my mother especially has personal biases towards Master Lu. Under these adverse conditions, I could only stealthily perform recitation and offer Little Houses. I do not have a Buddhist altar at home and my parents would not even allow me to set up a portable mini Buddhist altar, so I had to frequently implore divine blessings so that I was not caught off guard when offering Little Houses.
After making the vow to become a full vegetarian, in order to abide by it, I have my meals separately at home. Back then, I hardly knew how to cook, so I would normally find a few types of simple vegetables to prepare my meals. Every now and then, my mother would criticise my meals for being poor in nutrition. On occasions like this, I would just laugh it off and stay patient.
Looking back, I realised that obstructions from families are nothing but temporary and eventually they can be resolved with the blessings of Bodhisattva. In her effort to curb my persistent visits to the Practice Centre, my mother cut my allowances, and hence I was not able to take the train. Out of no choice, I made my way to the Practice Centre on foot which normally took me close to two hours. Thankfully, one day, a fellow Buddhist practitioner gave me a bicycle which resolved my problem.
Since my parents are not supportive of my Buddhist practice, naturally, I did not get any financial support from them to take part in overseas dharma propagation activities. Fortunately, I have been living a frugal life all this while and have always avoided unnecessary spending. Through saving every bit of the allowances I received from my parents, that was how I made it to purchase plane tickets to those overseas dharma events.
Every opportunity offered by the Practice Centre for me to accumulate merits is precious because deep down, I know how valuable it is to have a Practice Centre that upholds the right faith and right mindfulness.
Casting my mind back to those times during the nationwide lockdown (covid-19) in 2020, when the Practice Centre was temporarily shut, my lazy and dispirited nature started to resurface. In the absence of a Buddhist altar, I felt helpless and yearned to return to the Practice Centre.
When the lockdown measures were eased, the one hour of visitation that everyone was allowed became so precious to me. The immense positive vibes in the Practice Centre made it so easy to perform long hours of recitation without feeling tired. Hence, I decided to bring my own stool to sit outside the Practice Centre to continue my daily recitation. Then, it started to dawn on me the importance of a Practice Centre – especially one that is capable of saving countless spiritual lives – and hence I believe, all of us must treasure it.
I’m deeply grateful to Bodhisattva for the opportunity for me to meet so many kind-hearted Buddhist friends. I used to feel that my life was dull and it was difficult to make true friends. But now, as I tread on this Buddhist path, I receive so much love and care from my fellow practitioners. This makes me believe that the Buddhist fraternity is the most solid and selfless type of relationship in this world.
There were times in the past that I was disappointed with myself. Despite practising the Three Golden Buddhist practices – making vows, performing recitation and life liberation – I was still a slave of my desires that caused me to err repeatedly. Feeling helpless, I sought advice from the person-in-charge for the meaning of “the beginning of a complete life”. She pointedly said, “When you are able to overcome obstacles and make it a point to drop by the Practice Centre every day, you are already a role model for many people”. She added, “The moment you choose to tread on the spiritual cultivation path and put Buddhist teachings into practice, that itself is the beginning of a complete life”.
I did not expect such a level of validation and encouragement from her. Nor did I expect myself to be regarded as an example. It was like putting winds to my sails to forge ahead in my practice and this strengthened my resolve to protect and uphold the Practice Centre. From thereon, I started to realise, as a volunteer, we have the responsibility to spread the dharma, and I needed to work harder to be part of this diligent team of volunteers.
The Buddha’s path is never going to be smooth-sailing but we must believe that Bodhisattva understands our struggles. I still remember the first few days after the nirvana of Master Lu, I was at a loss. I asked myself, “I haven’t even met my master, what should I do on this path of cultivation?” On the first seventh day of His nirvana, Master Lu visited me in my dream as I dozed off in the Practice Centre. In the dream, Master Lu was grinning from ear to ear and advised me to stay true to my cultivation. I was jolted awake and it started to hit me that as long as we are sincere in wanting to learn the teachings, Master Lu will always be there like a beacon of light shining on the path ahead. We should regard all obstacles as a test and make good use of our faith to quell them.
Many of you who are present here today have been practising for some years, and have overcome countless challenges and it goes without saying, all of you are my role models. I hope all of us can encourage each other so that we can make progress in our cultivation and last but not least, together we can uphold this marvellous dharma door.
If my sharing is improper in any way, I would like to seek forgiveness from Namo Shakyamuni Buddha, the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva, all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dharma Protectors and Master Jun Hong Lu.
Thank you!