开春致辞 Message to mark the beginning of Spring
各位同学，
大年初四，向来是新马各行各业开工大吉的日子。老一辈的人大都会在这一天开工，做生意的人也会在早上开店门经营一下，表示开工了，也图个开工大吉的好兆头。今天初四恰逄星期天，大家难得地多了一天休假的日子。
今年过年，各位过得喜悦吗？对我们团体来说，今年也将是一个吉祥、精彩而且具足福智的一年。
首先，经过多时的筹备，僧团的脸书开始运作了，往后，同学将可从僧团脸书看见僧团的发展。
今年四月，吉祥宝炬寺将会举行动土仪式，这也是新加坡建教的一个里程碑，它汇集了新加坡全体同学与福友的力量，是我们弘扬佛法的一座宝寺重镇。
研讨班是团体成长的核心，我们希望今年能开展班长群的提升课程；在扎根多年的基础上，我们也可预见福业、福善、悦意等也将会鸿图大展。
今年，青年弘法部学青班、喜悦等，肯定会有更紧密的结合与新的开展；水区金区也将会展现更成熟的新面貌，而新成立的北区，也将负起支援吉祥寺的重责大任。
此外，赞颂团很荣幸地将参与SG50的演出；也特别期许乐者能再再勇敢地跨上新高；也祈愿蓝天顺利成长。
今年，在学习广论的路上，请大家信念坚强地依师父、上师、僧团、善友一起学修，直到佛地。
Dear fellow Lamrim students,
For people in Singapore and Malaysia, the fourth day of Lunar New Year has always been the auspicious day to start work in the brand new year. Most folks of the older generations would start work on this day, businessmen would also open their shops or offices in the morning for a while to signify the start of business, and to seek an auspicious sign for starting work in the New Year. The fourth day of this Lunar New Year happened to coincide with Sunday, and all of us get to have an extra day off.
Is everyone having a joyous Lunar New Year? For our organization, this will also be a propitious and wonderful year, one with abundant bliss and wisdom.
Firstly, after much preparation, our Sangha’s Facebook website has been launched, and from now on, all students can learn about the progress of our Sangha community from this website.
In April, the ground breaking ceremony will be held for BW Monastery, which is also a significant milestone in the establishment of the Dharma in Singapore. The BW Monastery building is the result of the efforts of all Lamrim students, friends and family members from Singapore, and is of strategic importance for Dharma propagation.
Lamrim classes are the core to grow our organization, thus this year we hope to start the class to upgrade the many class monitors. Basing on the foundation we have built over the years, we can also foresee successful developments from Bliss-Do, Blossom Seeds, Yes Natural, etc.
This year, there will definitely be closer collaboration and fresh new developments from the youth classes of the Youth Dharma Propagation Division, BWS, as well as other groups. Our China Town and Clementi branches will also put on a more sophisticated new look, and the recently formed Northern branch will shoulder the important responsibility of supporting the BW Monastery.
Other than the above, our Insightful Praise choir is honored to perform in the upcoming SG50 celebration concert. I also especially hope that Yazers will continuously scale new heights. I also supplicate for Blue Sky Delight to grow its operations smoothly.
This year, in our Lamrim study journey, please continue to rely on Shifu, Shangshi, the Sangha community and virtuous friends with unwavering faith to continue learning and developing ourselves, all the way to Buddhahood.
净远法师 Venerable Jing Yuan
