The Abbot President of DDM Attended the Lecture in Memory of His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-Shi, S.J.
A day before the 5th International Caring for Life Awards was hosted by DDM , the Abbot President of DDM, Ven. Guo Dong attended an event in memory of His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-Shi, who had also once won the Special Contribution Award of the International Caring for Life Awards. In the event, the Abbot President of DDM, Ven. Guo Dong, indicated that he has strong regards for both the late Venerable Master Sheng Yen and His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-Shi as they were great inspiring religious masters and educationists who were also dearly loved and cherished by the masses.
The Abbot President was invited by the Cardinal Shan Foundation as well as the Catholic Sanipax Socio-Medical Service & Education Foundation to deliver an opening speech for a series of lectures themed “Enrich Your Life” in memory of His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-Shi. This speech was delivered at 9:00 am on September 13, 2014 at the Jieshou Hall of Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH); about 600 people attended this speech in addition to honoured guests such as hospital superintendents, former government heads, legislators and university professors.
The Abbot President indicated that His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan dedicated his life to God’s Love in addition to letting people see this Love. Moreover, his spirit and personality inspired us to have confidence in the practice of faith. On the other hand, the late venerable Master Sheng Yen devoted his life to combining daily living with the Buddha Dharma. Nevertheless, the words, deeds and examples set by these two masters enable everyone to feel God’s Love as well as the compassion and wisdom of the Buddha.
In addition, His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan once said: “We should light our own candles instead of just staying in the dark”, encouraging the young to face rapid changes in this modern society with determination instead of complaint. Lighting our candles is synonymous to a positive attitude towards life; we are not affected by the environment when we have a peaceful mind and body. Thus we can illuminate the way forward by lighting candles for ourselves as well as others.
The Abbot President then affectionately recalled that in one of talks given by His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan, he had frankly shared one of his embarrassing experiences after taking strong diuretics and laxatives as part of his three-course treatment. This talk left a deep impact on The Abbot President; he is particularly grateful that His Eminence used this as an example of how stumbling blocks can be turned into stepping stones and at the same time cautioned everyone against turning stepping stones into obstacles.
How would you like to be remembered?
This was the question posted by journalists to His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan and Venerable Master Sheng Yen. The late Venerable Master Sheng Yen’s reply was as follows: It is not important that people remember me after my death; it is enough that they keep in mind the existence of vows to cultivate compassion and wisdom in unlimited space and time. As to the reply by His Eminence Cardinal Paul Shan: I am too tiny with nothing much for people to remember; I can only hope that people remember the faith and gospels of Love that I witness and preach in my life. With the above recollection, the Abbot President ended his speech.
(Translated by Tom Hsieh/Edited by Leefah)