Chuan Fan, Ocean Sky Chan Monastery
The Four Tenets written on the wall in my first visit to Ocean Sky struck me most. Studying Buddhism played a significant role in changing my understanding of life. I was introduced to moral values of respect, kindness, harmony, and truthfulness. They provide us with compelling contributions to the development of our personality, our society, our country, and the whole world.
I met a disciple from another Zen center on my first pilgrimage trip to Taiwan. She was very respectful, kind, truthful, and worked with us harmoniously. I noticed that she took good care of us and respected the Three Jewels at all times. She was always friendly, calm, soft spoken, selfless, and humble. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and guilty. So from that day on, I made a personal commitment to take care of and treat everyone, as much as possible, with respect, kindness, and truthfulness, as well as build a harmonious relationship with everyone. This experience, together with Shifus’ continuous teachings and wisdom, helped me practice to be mindful of the Four Tenets.
I have decided to value simple and subtle things that are beneficial to others in order to banish my arrogance. I continue to navigate and boost my self-esteem and self-awareness to find my strengths and weaknesses so as to overcome my anger. I continue to constantly work harmoniously with people around me as a means to deplete my rudeness. I unceasingly practice and cultivate the Buddha’s true teachings every day, and vow to do it life after life sincerely to eliminate deceit. I observe that these cultivations become a way of life, giving me so much happiness and contentment since they come from a deep equanimity from within.
Since the first day that I set foot in Ocean Sky, I have changed immensely through the Buddha’s teachings. Through the help from and wisdom shared by Shifus, I have improved my mindfulness of respect, kindness, harmony, and truthfulness. But, I am fully aware that there are still a lot of things to learn and to improve on. I will continue to encourage the people around me to cultivate and practice together, never regress, and bring forth our bodhi mind.
Wherever we are, if we let respect, kindness, harmony, and truthfulness be our guide, we will be on our journey towards immeasurable happiness and wisdom.