Abbot President of Dharma Drum Mountain Shares the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign in Australia

On 8 September 2013, Abbot President of DDM Venerable Guo Dong attended the seminar titled, “Practice of Protecting the Spiritual Environment in Daily Life”. He shared with over 200 attendees, how to bring Buddha Dharma into our daily life and set our mind free. A number of volunteers of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation also attended the seminar. They have placed great effort to collaboratively spread the Buddha Dharma in Australia, where is well-known for multiculturalism.

Director-General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Melbourne, Wong Ying-Ming, expressed how impressed she was by DDM Melbourne’s effort and devotion to promote the purification of society and the mind. She said that whenever she encounters adversity in life or at work, she recalls the ‘Four Steps for Handling a Problem’ formed by the founder of DDM, the late Venerable Master Sheng Yen and tells herself to ‘Face it, Accept it, Deal with it, Let it go.’ By doing so, she can put down the attachment in her mind.


Abbot President Venerable Guo Dong talked about the proposition for living in the 21st Century, established by the late Venerable Master Sheng Yen. It incorporates the ‘Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign’; ‘Four Fields for Cultivating Peace: Mind, Body, Family, Activity’; ‘Four Guidelines for Dealing with Desires: Need, Want, Ability, Propriety’; ‘Four Practices for Helping Oneself and Others: Feeling Grateful, Feeling Thankful, Reforming Yourself, Moving Others Through Virtue’; ‘Four Ways to Cultivate Blessings: Recognizing blessings, cherishing blessings, nurturing blessings, sowing the seeds of blessings’, and ‘Four Steps for Handling a Problem: Face it, Accept it, Deal with it, Let it go’. These are all sophisticated methods that we can use to solve the problems originating from our body and mind, and the environment.

Let us explore the theories in depth. ‘Four Fields for Cultivating Peace’ is the proposition for uplifting the character of humanity. Cultivating a peaceful mind entails reducing desires and being contented; cultivating a peaceful body comprises of diligence and austerity; cultivating a peaceful family lies in mutual respect and forgiveness; and cultivating peaceful activity involves being diligent and sociable. In other words, one is dedicated to cleansing three kinds of action – body, speech, and mind.


‘Four Guidelines for Dealing with Desires’ is a proposition of settling one’s mind. Our needs are few but our wants are many. If we acquire the necessities of our life legally, fairly and reasonably, and conduct ourselves properly, we will not be excessive in our desires and cause ourselves sorrow or hurt other people.

‘Four Steps for Handling a Problem’ is a concept to deal with the difficulties in life; ‘Four Practices for Helping Oneself and Others’ is a vision for harmony in the community; ‘Four Ways to Cultivate Blessings’ is a method to cultivate blessings. The purpose of these phrases is to handle and foster relationships with each other. We should be mindful, speak amiably and wisely, be tolerant and care for others. By doing so, society will naturally become harmonious and wonderful.

Venerable Guo Dong emphasized that the only way to manage problems and harm caused by the pursuit of technology and materialistic gain is to return to the basics and purify our mind. Subsequently, the “Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign” is not only Buddha’s wisdom but also a philosophy, a method, a proposition for life and an attitude towards living in the 21st Century. The concept of “spiritual renaissance campaign” should be adopted and practiced by people in the modern day.

Following the speech Lin Yi-Hua, one of the attendees, said that the Abbot President delivered an in-depth, witty and fun speech. It inspired her to transform her mindset and using the right mind to treat all phenomena. The content was practical and easy to comprehend. She now understands the meaning of the idiom, ‘every cloud has a silver lining, and also found answers to the difficulties in her life.

(Translated by Tom Hsieh/Edited by DDM Australia Editing Team)