2-Night Dharma Talks by Venerable Ji Cheng

Organised by Dharma Drum Singapore

A vow of compassion and a spirit of dedication had helped us in the uplifting of our virtues. What had brought us together at Dharma Drum? What kind of force had opened our eyes to the infinite possibilities that life would bring?  Dharma Drum Singapore had on 9 and 10 March 2007 at 7.30pm invited Venerable Ji Cheng to conduct Dharma talks at Venerable Hong Choon Memorial Hall at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery.

The topics were “Living a Happy Life” for the first night and “Zen and Love” for the second night. Venerable Ji Cheng hoped that everyone would understand why there was a need to learn the Dharma, the meaning of learning the Dharma and the advantages of learning the Dharma, so that we would regard the Dharma as something very important and that was applicable to all aspects of our life.

About 700 people turned up for each night. The talks were also attended by Venerable Guojun and Venerables from various other temples. What was worth mentioning was the wonderful song performance put up by the newly-formed Dharma Drum Youth Group for the audience on both nights before the commencement of the talk. The melodies of the three Buddhist songs performed were so beautiful that they continued to linger in the air.

Dharma Drum Singapore had not organised such a big-scale event since Master Sheng Yen’s last visit to Singapore in 2004 to conduct a public Dharma Talk. Much to the anticipation of all Dharma Drum members, the video introducing Dharma Drum Mountain’s education hub was played to the audience. As the sounds of the Triple Gem Song reached the ears of Dharma Drum members, many of them started crying tears of joy. They were filled with boundless gratitude and sincere well wishes for Dharma Drum Mountain.

Venerable Ji Cheng also conducted a Zen Tea Session on 9 March at 2pm at Dharma Drum Singapore with 35 participants. Everyone knew that Venerable Ji Cheng was well-versed in tea. Venerable said that we could learn many things from drinking tea. “Tea” could play an important role in the process of our life and in the regulation of our mind.  Venerable Ji Cheng also said that tea should be drunk hot so that it would taste good. Similarly, we should take advantage of our youth and energy to learn and practice the Dharma.

On 9 March at 9am, Venerable Ji Cheng personally led 50 participants through a meditation session at Singapore Dharma Drum. Everyone seemed to be immersed in Dharma bliss and ready to embark on a new chapter in their life. Venerable Ji Cheng taught that in the cultivation of cessation and insight during meditation, we should adhere to the principle of cultivating “cessation” before “insight”, taking “cessation” as the foundation. This was the reverse of the theory of prioritising “wisdom” over “concentration”.

        During the Dharma Drum Singapore 10-year anniversary dinner last year, Master Sheng Yen said in the video that with the passing of a decade since its establishment, Dharma Drum Singapore should continue to contribute to the Singapore society through efforts made in the areas of education and spiritual environmentalism, so as to open a door of wisdom to lead people towards attaining peacefulness of the mind. Dharma Drum Singapore upholds the vision to “uplift the character of humanity and build a pure land on earth”. Taking each and every step with steadiness, we strive to propagate Humanistic Buddhism through the establishment of Dharma Drum Mountain’s Three-fold Education and using loving care as our fundamental principle.