Venerable Huifeng Speaks to YAD

On the afternoon of 25th August, Venerable Huifeng held a discussion session with the YAD youth in the Prajna Hall. Team 1 and 2 leaders Tina and Annjo led 15 members to participate in this seminar. Many questions were raised, including: “what’s good and bad karma? What is the meaning of sitting meditation? How to control emotions etc”

Venerable Huifeng explained that there are three types of Karma, good karma, bad karma and neutral karma. So sometimes we should not panic when unknowingly committing mistakes. As long as we possess compassion, humility and diligently to amend our mistakes, we can turn bad karma into good karma. Everyone should be responsible for their actions and sincerely face the consequences. At the same time, the heaviness of our emotional state during occurrences will also influence the strength of our Karma, hence the importance of understanding our moods, thus allowing easier management. Emotional highs and lows can impair our judgement and prevent objective decisions. So we need to put in time to calm our turbulent mind, thus revealing a positive state. This is why sitting meditation not only adjusts our mood; it can also help us to remove afflictions and self attachment, which leads to purification of the mind.

When queried about the circumstances of leaving home to become a monk, Venerable Huifeng frankly told the youth about his path of learning the Dharma. Under the influence of his Buddhist uncle, he also developed interest in reading Buddhist books. With increasing interest and desire for Buddhist knowledge, and under the encouragement of a Venerable he went to seek the Dharma from Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Following studies at Buddhist College in South Africa, he decided to become ordained. Venerable Huifeng encourages the youths to strengthen their dreams and courageously advance. Even after facing hardship, as long as they can be determined, a fortuneate life can certainly be created.