Plenary Dharma Meeting to Celebrate the Chinese New Year 2016

On February 8, 2016, Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Centre Malaysia held a plenary Dharma meeting to mark the first day of the Chinese New Year. Over a hundred people participated in the ceremony, in which they prostrated to the Buddha and practiced repentance in sincerity and reverence, to celebrate the start of a new year with gratefulness and joy.

Ven. Chang Zao advised that we mirror the monkey’s characteristics and constantly reflect on ourselves, thereby continually improving and uplifting ourselves. Moreover, the best way to train our mind is to engage in Chan practice, which is more than sitting in meditation but requires that we learn to contemplate within ourselves, allowing our minds to concentrate more on each present moment.

In a video Dharma talk for the New Year, DDM’s abbot president Ven. Guo Dong wished everyone peace and auspiciousness with a bright prospect and promised future. Dharma Drum Mountain’s theme for 2016 remains “Great Light,” through which we encourage people in society to develop their inner light by practicing the principle: ”With a clear mind at every moment, you shine light everywhere. With a stable footing at every step, your future is full of promise.”

Ven. Guo Dong further explained that “a clear mind at every moment” requires one to remain clearly aware what one can and should do, as well as what one can’t and shouldn’t do. As a Chinese saying goes, “There are things we do, and things we don’t.” By protecting the purity of our mind, we are already enhancing stability and harmony in society, thereby “shining light everywhere.” With “a stable footing at every step” in the face of various favorable and unfavorable conditions in our lives, we should learn to seize the present moment and cherish what we have. Armed with a down-to-earth mindset and a stable footing, our future will naturally be full of promise.

Toward the end of the meeting, the Centre provided the participants with Laba congee, wishing them increase in merit and wisdom.


Report by Pang Xiaohui(龐曉慧)
Photography by Yang Peifu(楊培福)
Translated by Frances Liu (劉珮如) and edited by Chiacheng Chang (張家誠)

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