Dharma Drum Singapore

5-Day Meditation Retreat,  1-Day Basic Meditation Course

and Talk on Spiritual Environmentalism

“To live life seriously is to identify the opportunities amidst life’s difficulties and work hard

continuously, even though we will also meet with setbacks and obstructions continuously.

We have to view difficulties as something to be expected, in the meantime acknowledge

 our own capabilities and seek to improve ourselves under such unfavourable circumstances.

We can then use the wisdom of ‘non-self” and ‘non-form’ to annihilate the ego.” That was

what was expounded by Master Sheng Yen in the video shown during the 5-day Meditation

Retreat.

We were often so preoccupied with the mundanities of life and chasing after our myriad of

desires that we failed to look inward to really know and examine ourselves. But from 29

June to 4 July, we were brought together by a common event!

Dharma Drum Singapore had invited the Sangha comprising of Venerable Guozhou,

Venerable Guoyue and Venerable Guoren to conduct a 5-day Meditation Retreat at the

Singapore Buddhist Lodge. There were altogether 13 male and 23 female participants.

It was a heart-felt, beautiful and touching moment that was much anticipated by all.

During the 5-day retreat, Venerable Guozhou, Venerable Guoyue and Venerable Guoren

guided the participants through the meditation experience, by means of adjusting the body,

breath and mind. During meditation, one’s movement and posture would concern bodily

adjustment, while the action of breathing in and out would concern breathing adjustment.

When one concentrated solely on the in- and out- breath, the mind would naturally quieten

down. The breath and mind were closely-linked. When the mind had quietened down,

all kinds of confusing thoughts, mental activities and impulses would also naturally become

stabilised. This was known as adjusting the breath and mind. Besides sitting meditation,

there was walking meditation, sitting yoga, standing yoga and morning/evening classes.

The three Venerables had also specially arranged an early morning at 5.30am to lead the

participants on a walking meditation to a nearby outdoor park. Walking mindfully under the

dark sky, we felt mentally and physically relaxed. Taking in the fresh morning air, our body

and mind had not known such ease and contentment!

Master Sheng Yen had in the video said that he hoped everyone could arise in them a sense

of remorse and gratitude when prostrating to the Buddha, and use that opportunity to eliminate

one’s greed, hatred, ignorance and other afflictions. He urged everyone to fully experience the

present and not become attached to the present. Every thought should be distinct and every

event clear.

Having a sense of remorse means being aware that one had let oneself and others down. When

doing the prostration, many participants started crying uncontrollably when they expressed

repentance for the negative karma that they had accumulated from beginningless time.

During the small group discussion on the last day of retreat, a few participants had tears

brimming in their eyes as they shared their personal thoughts and experiences. Everyone was

moved by Master Sheng Yen’s compassion and great vows. “To dedicate one’s whole life

to propagate the Buddha Dharma so as to benefit all sentient beings” That was the Master’s

great compassionate vow, as well as the Bodhicitta aspiration of some of the participants who

wished to emulate the Master’s example.

In the course of our life when we had to deal with issues of personal growth and grapple with the

value and meaning of life, the Master had acted as our beacon by giving us a new perspective

to life and making us realise the infinite potential of a precious human life.

On 5 July from 10am to 1pm, Venerable Guozhou, Venerable Guoyue and Venerable Guoren

also gave instructions on meditation to some 12 participants. On the following day on 6 July, the

three Venerables conducted a 1-day Basic Meditation Course for 90 over participants at

the Singapore Buddhist Lodge. The majority of participants were new to such an activity.

Master Sheng Yen once said, “A seed remains as a seed when it is left unattended. When

it is scattered onto the soil, it will germinate and grow into a tree.”

Going through the 1-day Basic Meditation Course was like the seed that had been scattered onto

the soil; a feeling that one had re-awakened from death. Nonetheless, that was still only on a basic

and conceptual level. There was a need for us to also apply the methods of meditation to our

everyday life. On 6 July at 7.30pm, Venerable Guozhou gave a talk on Spiritual Environmentalism

at the meditation hall of Singapore Dharma Drum. The title was “Spiritual Environmentalism as a

Way of Life”. 70 over people turned up for the talk and everyone was immersed in Dharma bliss,

ready to embark on a new chapter in their life.