Abbot President Visits DDM Ontario Branch, Canada
The Abbot President of Dharma Drum Mountain, Venerable Guo Dong, paid his first visit to DDM’s Ontario Branch Office in Canada on 18 May 2011.
In addition to offering his warmest blessings and kind wishes to local followers, the Abbot President also gave a Dharma talk and conducted the ceremony of taking refuge in the Triple Jewels (the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha) for people who wished to become lay Buddhist practitioners.
In his speech, Venerable Guo Dong affirmed that DDM has been firmly walking on the path of promoting the idea of ‘Protecting the Spiritual Environment’ and the ‘Six Ethics of the Mind’ around the world for the welfare of human beings. This is in line with the teachings of the late Venerable Master Sheng Yen.
In order to uplift and develop a positive and compassionate human character, the Abbot President said that DDM has been promoting the ideas of ‘Protecting the Living Environment’, ‘Protecting the Natural Environment’ and ‘Protecting the Social Environment’, in addition to ‘Protecting the Spiritual Environment’. These ideas are essential for one to understand the significance of conserving the natural environment, cultivating appropriate behaviours and manners and developing a pure mind that is conducive to human happiness and a peaceful society.
The Director of the DDM Association of Dharma Supporters in Ontario, Mr. Tsu-Fen Chang thanked the Abbot President for his gracious visit and vowed to extend the services of DDM to more people who wished to participate and experience the beauty, sanctity and joy in the Buddha Dharma.
(translated by Jin Yang/edited by DDM Australia Editing Team)