Holding of FGS South Island’s Tea Session to Discuss about Life Issues
On 14th November 2020, Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island held a Tea Session with the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island members. The Tea Session was headed by FGS South Island Minister-in-charge Venerable Jue Xi and attended by more than 40 BLIA South Island members. This was a sequel to the Dharma Talk The Best Time to Say Good Bye held two weeks ago. The main objective of the Tea Session was to allow members to raise questions and share experiences on issues related to Life.
Based on the Buddhist view of the Twelve Links in the wheel of life, Venerable jue Xi led the audience to discuss the various topics about Life, such as, the “Cause and Effect” linkages between our past, present and future lives; the Six Ways of Reincarnation; the connection between our previous and present lives; and the signs preceding Death. A person’s life begins when he is conceived by the mother, and when he is alive, he should work hard practicing the Dharma so as to accumulate karmic merits. What a person has done and experienced in each life will be stored in the Alaya Consciousness and carried on to the next life. Therefore, he must be cautious in his words and deeds, and preferably, what he sees and hears should be good and beautiful. If he wants to have a beautiful next life, he must accumulate good merit in this life. If a person constantly chants the name of Amitabha Buddha, he will be able to establish good resonance with Amitabha Buddha’s Western Pure Land.
Many people are afraid of death because they do not understand death. In fact, death is equivalent to emigrating or traveling to another world. We can choose and decide the direction to go. Therefore, a person must maintain good physical strength and must have a clear mind before dying, and must be firm on where he is going. In normal times, he must get himself ready by doing his homework, and must practise the Dharma diligently. Venerable Jue Xi reminded the audience that it is best to make a will while you are alive, stating clearly whether or not, you wish to undergo unwarranted medical treatment when critically ill, and whether to donate organs after death, etc. This early action of yours will prevent suffering and embarrassment at the time of your dying.
At the Tea session, the responses from the audience were enthusiastic, with many people throwing questions while others offering real-life cases to help clear the audience’s doubts. From the cases given, the audience were able to gain new insights into the topics under discussion. Madam Ou Yang shared with the audience the case of her mother at the moment of her death. Throughout her life, Ou Yang’s mother had been diligently practicing Dharma and regularly chanting the holy name of Amitabha Buddha. Upon knowing that her death was near, her mother kept on the chanting. At the moment of her death, while the family were reciting the Sutra, they suddenly saw a strong beam of light. This led them to believe that their mother had been received by the Three Saints of the West and taken to Amitabha Buddha’s Western Pure Land.
Jennifer shared the case of her maternal grandfather. Grandpa suffered from cancer when he was in his 70s, and was in great pain during chemotherapy. By chance, grandpa met with a Venerable. After learning Dharma from the Venerable, grandpa decided that he wanted to be reborn in the Western Pure Land after his death. He gave up consuming alcohol and meat and took refuge in the Triple Gem and practiced the Five Precepts and insisted on chanting the holy name of Amitabha Buddha every day until his death. When grandpa passed away, sandalwood and floral scents floated into the house. After 8 hours of reciting Sutra for grandpa, grandpa finally departed peacefully. After his cremation, relics and relic flowers appeared in the ashes. The staff who collected the ashes felt that the whole incident was incredible and afterwards made a wish to take up Buddhism.
In her address to the audience, Venerable Jue Xi said that a person must grasp the opportunity to learn Buddhism when he is alive, and must accept the Triple Gem and the Five Precepts so that he can be born again safely as a Human being in the next life. Wherever he wants to be born in the next life, he must work hard for it in this life. He must also vow to repent daily. This is because sincere repentance can reduce a lot of pain at the moment of death. To ensure a good rebirth, it would be ideal if he can enter into a Cha’n (meditative) state at the time of dying, and maintain a clear and calm mind.
Before the end of the Tea session, Venerable Jue Xi specially arranged for an online telecast of the 2nd part of the Dharma Talk ‘The Four Compulsory Courses of Life’ ----Sickness. This series of Dharma Talks was organized by FGS Oceania and this particular Lecture was given by FGS Dharma Lecturer Venerable Yong Wen under the topic ‘Sickness’. From her experience in how she has turned her Sickness into her Friend, Venerable Yong Wen comes to the understanding that the order of the Cycle of Life is from Old Age, to Sickness, to Death and to Rebirth and not from Birth, to Old Age, to Sickness and to Death as commonly claimed. This observation by Venerable Yong Wen had indeed made the audience better understanding the The Four Compulsory Courses of Life.