MOA’s Youths Visit DDM World Center for Deeper Insight and Appreciation of Buddhism
On the morning of 11 July 2012, a total of 69 members of the Taiwan Study Camp initiated by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOA) visited the DDM World Center for Buddhist Education.
This was an effort to advance their understanding and appreciation of Taiwan’s profoundly Buddhist and humanistic cultural heritage.
According to the MOA, the camp’s members were specially selected and included 45 young people from all over the world. The youths came from countries including Greek, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Germany, while 24 youths were specially chosen from Taiwan.
The 12-day camp was an effort to introduce the participants to Taiwan’s rich cultural heritage, and encourage every member to deeply explore and understand Taiwan in all its glory, history and beauty.
The DDM World Center for Buddhist Education therefore stood as a focal point for the youths to discover and appreciate the beauty of Buddhism as well as the essence of humanistic development.
To fully appreciate and understand one of Venerable Master Sheng Yen’s core vision of ‘building a pure land on earth’ as well as the idea of “Protecting the Spiritual Environment”, the participants were given a guided tour through the Grand Buddha Hall, the Founding Memorial Hall, and the Wish-Fulfilling Guanyin Hall.
This was facilitated throughout by the Director of the International Development Department, Venerable Guo Jiann who provided a thoughtful and clear explanation of the various sites and their relevance to Buddhism and the Master’s teachings.
(translated by Jin Yang/Edited by DDM Australia Editing Team)