Dharma Enrichment Workshop: Cruise to Enlightenment
On 25 May 2024 , with a joyous heart 283 fellow Lamrim students gathered at the Hall of Jewels of BW Monastery to learn how to progress towards greater happiness.
Venerable Jing Yuan gave an inspiring opening discourse, which showed that continual high status rebirth can be achieved, when we are guided by an excellent teacher, in an environment comprising fellow practitioners.
Following Venerable’s discourse, Speakers Mui Hoon and Steven, who are part of the DEW organizing committee, brought us through lesson 1 to recap on the life objective & master plan that our Master Ri Chang had laid out for all students more than 20 years ago. The recap reinforced that Buddha’s Teaching is the true path to obtaining happiness and avoiding suffering. However, to attain Buddhahood, we need to attain high status rebirth life after life, by learning from an excellent teacher who possesses the pure lineage teachings, and in an environment where we are accompanied by fellow practitioners sharing the same aspirations. This wonderful environment is the Dharma Enterprise, which our Teachers (Master Ri Chang and Teacher Zhen Ru) have set up and grown. Through the Dharma Enterprise, we also create collective karma that enables us to keep returning to progress on the Mahayana path in every life.
After a hearty lunch, Speaker Jereme led us in lesson 2 to understand the significance of lineage as well as having an excellent teacher to give us personal instructions on our path to Buddhahood. Lamrim Chemo encompasses the pure and complete lineage teachings that presents the fastest and most direct path in a systematic and encompassing manner, with content originating from Buddha's Prajnaparamita sutra. With an excellent teacher to guide us, we would have a better understanding of the overall framework of the path and the detailed teaching, so that we can advance steadily, stages by stages, then finally attaining the realisation of the wisdom of emptiness.
In the third lesson, Speaker Tiong Boon shared on strengthening our practice with the Three Causes. He went through a few activities to let us understand the most important internal factor to keep coming back to the Dharma enterprise is Faith. In addition, he explained how we as Lamrim students can strengthen our ability to practice all the teachings with the three causes, i.e. 1) Accumulating the collections, 2) Clearing away obscurations and 3) Making aspirational prayers.
If we can work on the three causes in accordance to our teachers’ personal instructions, we will be able to receive blessings from all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, thus enabling our mental power to become greater and we will be able to practice all the teachings to accomplish our ultimate goal.
Last but not least, Venerable Ben Wen (in the closing discourse) posted a question? What are we rejoicing and what have we learned today? Is it important to me? He stressed that to learn and contemplate the Dharma well, we need the environment to do it together with a group of virtuous friends and this can change our life.
It was definitely a spiritually uplifting workshop for all of us. We look forward to the next DEW!
