DDM Vancouver Hosts the 2008 Year-End Party

Despite the fact that it was freezing outside and the road was covered with snow, members of Dharma Drum Mountain in Vancouver (DDM Vancouver) still attended the 2008 Year-End Party held on the afternoon of 14 December with the greatest enthusiasm.

DDM Vancouver's the Prior Venerable Guo Shu hosted the party, aiming to promote friendship among followers, to encourage followers to persevere on their own practices of Dharma and to express gratitude and appreciation for the continued selfless support of volunteers.

The party began with a 10-minute exercise of meditation and physical relaxation led by Mrs. Zhenni Kuo. Venerable Guo Shu emphasized that both Chan and Dharma are aimed at the application of one's interests in daily life, and thenceforth hopefully enabling the ultimate act of spreading the benefits of Dharma to others through the Chan teachings of the Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen.

Newly arrived from Taiwan, Venerable Guo Zhou said that orthodox Chinese Buddhism has a solid foundation in theory. She furthered that the Master had already taken the burdensome task upon himself to pass down the beauty of Dharma through generations, and therefore we are to continue this legacy. Specially, she explained that Chan is very flexible in that one finds peace and happiness through it, and that it purifies one's mind and appeases the hustle and bustle of modern society.

The film, "How Great is the Dharma Drum", was also shown to make a point of the compassion and the ideas of the Master, aiming to encourage the personalization of the teachings of Dharma to attain inner peace and to be concerned with the commonwealth of sentient beings.

The occasion was then graced by a slideshow presentation of the 2007–2008 Chan activities held at DDM Vancouver, making everyone warm and fuzzy, but also engaging. During the group discussion session, everyone shared their experiences of practicing Chan eagerly.

When the party ended at 4:00p.m. on a high note, the whole atmosphere was filled with gratitude and praises for the volunteers who have contributed greatly to the development of DDM Vancouver and firmly upheld the DDM ideals.

(translated by Jin Yang/edited by DDM Australia Editing Team)