DDM Abbot President Gave a Dharma Talk on "A World of Blessings" in Vancouver

The Abbot President of Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM), Ven. Guo Huei (果暉法師) arrived in Vancouver on July 9^th, 2024, to begin his trip for propagating the Dharma in North America. As his fifth visit to Canada, the Abbot President was invited to give a Dharma talk on "A World of Blessings" at 10:00 am local time on July 13^th at Dharma Drum Vancouver Center. The talk was attended by nearly 170 eastern and western followers. 

The Abbot President, who is adept at conveying the wisdom of Buddhism in plain words, expounded that blessings are found everywhere in our lives. Since "A World of Blessings" is DDM's annual theme as a blessing to the world in 2024, he shared the key to realize a world of blessings: "With a calm body and mind, we have peace in every moment. In harmony with ourselves and others, we have blessings everywhere."

Proceeding with the five subtopics of "calming the body, calming the mind, peace, harmony with ourselves and others, and blessings" in sequence, the Abbot President explained that Buddhist teachings can help us attain peace of mind. Therefore, he encouraged everyone to relax their body and mind, and to greet others with a smile. As we let ourselves be at peace and filled with joy, we are more likely to spread the same feelings to people around us. The Abbot President pointed out that when we are in harmony with ourselves and are willing to share such harmony with others, we will spontaneously feel joyful, peaceful and at ease. Only then can we live in harmony with other individuals, different communities, and the world as a whole.

The Abbot President indicated that the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign promoted by DDM – comprising (1) Four Fields for Cultivating Peace; (2) Four Steps for Handling a Problem; (3) Four Guidelines for Dealing with Desires; (4) Four Practices for Helping Oneself and Others; and (5) Four Ways to Cultivating Blessings – is easy to be implemented. Meanwhile, DDM's Spiritual Environmental Protection can serve as a spiritual prescription for the mind. As long as we are grateful, feeling content with what we have, and always kind toward others, we can find peace of mind as well as blessings in our busy lives.

The Abbot President also emphasized that we must acknowledge the fact that all phenomena in the world are "impermanent." He explained that, based on this fact, blessings will emerge and vexations can be dissolved as we let go of our egos. Only with true peace of mind can we live in true blessings. Therefore, we do not need to seek out blessings in the external world.

The Abbot President used the example of a circular fan with an illustration of a moon on one side and a rabbit on the other. When its shaft is being spun rapidly, the image we see will be a rabbit looking up at a bright moon. He pointed out that there are many illusions like this in our daily life, so we must realize that there are also various distortions and deluded conceptualizations in our minds. In fact, the phenomena of existence and non-existence, arising, and ceasing are all compounded by causes and conditions, whereas the ultimate truth is neither arising nor ceasing. Only by realizing it can we be truly at ease.

During the Q&A session, Ven. Chang Xun (常勳法師) relayed a question from the attendees: "Since it is better to deal with things mindfully rather than fretfully, how do we put it into practice in our lives?" In reply, the Abbot President noted the "Lightness, relaxation, slowness, carefulness, smallness, and cooperation" in the "Six Words to Calm Ourselves and Harmonize with Others" (安己和眾六字訣) to illustrate that worry derives from being anxious about the future. If the causes and conditions are not ripe, we cannot attain it by force. He also took himself as an example to explain why busy people have the most time. Since he took over as the DDM Abbot President, he has been traveling all over the world to spread Buddhist teachings as well as extend his loving care to Buddhist followers. The duty of an Abbot President made him much busier than previously. However, he was still able to author a book because he knew how to make good use of his time and plan for it.

By the end of the two-hour lecture, the Abbot President presented the attendees with books as gifts, including "A World of Blessings," "The Chan Practices of Zhi and Guan," and "Inner Peace Leads to a Blissful Life." In addition, he gave everyone a bracelet with the quote "A World of Blessings," symbolizing that "Blessings are never far from us, since they reside in our minds." After listening to the Dharma talk, the participants felt blissful and were filled with Dharma joy in both body and mind.



Original Chinese text and photo / Dharma Drum Vancouver Center
Translation / Li Siang-ling
Editing / Keith Brown, YKL