The Simple Joys of Chan Meditation :3 days Youth Meditation Retreat 2010 @ Poh Ern Shih

What is being free and happy?
Being free and happy is to
let go of defilements, judgments, prejudices and
to live and appreciate this very moment.
How to live the moment?
Your mind stays with you wherever you are and at any moment.
Let's go through these 3 days of meditation to experience the simple joy
from the calmness of spirit that meditation has brought to us.

自在快乐是什么？
是放下执著、妄念、分别心 ，活在现在。
怎么活在现在？
那就是身在那里，心就在那里。
通过这三天的禅修活动来体验
身心的安定所带来的
自在快乐。

Day 1: 12 月24日2010年星期五 ：下午24th Dec 2010 Afternoon



义工们聆听常愿法师的安排，做最后的准备来迎接禅三的学员们。

Volunteers listening to Venerable ChangYuan's instructions in preparing for
the arrival of our participants of Chan3


报道处的负责义工。学员们，请在此报道。谢谢。
Volunteers at the Registration Counter. Participants, please register at this
counter.
Thank you.


接着，学员报道。

The Arrival of the Participants



学员们关注这三天的禅修行程。

Participants looking attentively at the schedule of the 3 days Chan Meditation



法师简单地介绍三天下来大家应遵守的规则包括禁语及入禅堂的礼仪等。

Venerable introduces the rules and regulations of 3 days Chan Meditation Retreat.

请禁语哦。。。。。。

Silence is golden. Please do not speak.

常愿法师出坡禅的介绍与示范 Venerable ChangYuan introduces and demonstrates cleaning meditation.

果祺法师开示: 法师这次的到来介绍了禅法：默照禅、话头禅和月光禅。用禅法把心找出，找回自己。 Venerable GuoQi introduces different meditation methods such as MoZhao meditation, HuaTou Meditation, Moon meditation (literal translation). Using meditation to find your mind, to find yourself.

话后，还是要禅坐的。不可光说不练。学员们努力用功。

Sitting Meditation - Putting Venerable's teachings to use. Everybody practices
meditation.







除了禅坐，禅修的其中一项是八式动禅。

Besides sitting meditation, there is the eight-stance moving meditation.



八式动禅的其中一式：左右伸展。全套八式动禅动作示范可在《法鼓山禅部落》
查阅。You can refer to the DDM
Chan Blog for full-set of the eight-stance moving meditation demo.



慢步经行Walking meditation








出坡禅：轻松自在，有条不紊地工作。

Cleaning Meditation - Work in a relaxed and orderly manner.








吃饭禅：不分喜恶，照吃不误。清清楚楚咀嚼下咽的动作。

Eating Meditation - Do not discriminate the food with your likes or your dislikes.
Eat it without discrimination. Be aware and mindful of how you chew your food
and how it goes down your throat and into your stomach.



每天早晚课的唱诵Prayers in the Mornings and Evenings



Day 3: 户外禅Outdoor Chan Meditation





轻松自在地走路。全身放松，从头到脚放松。不想任何事情，每一次只踏出一步，一心一意只踏那一步。Walking in a relaxed manner. Relax
your body from head to toe. Not thinking of anything, mindfully walking each step.
One step at a time.











托水钵：挑战你的极限 ;)

Walking meditation + holding a bowlful of water, heh heh challenge your limits
;)

立禅 Standing Meditation
	坐禅 Sitting Meditation

时时刻刻不忘了用方法。观念头起，回到方法。

No matter where you are as you are aware of your thought arises, return to the
meditation method.



Day 4:　告别禅三，迎接自己。Goodbye Chan3, Hello My Self.










礼祖，三皈五戒

Paying respect to past masters and ancestors of Chan Buddhism and taking the three
refuges and five precepts.










皈依仪式

Taking the three refuges and five precepts ceremony.

写信给自己 Writing to yourself

然后，大家分组个别分享。

Participants and volunteers share their experience and learning with one another
in separate groups.



各组代表发言。

Each group representative speaks.



接着，法青会长为法青组介绍活动。

DDYS leader makes a speech,

introducing DDYS - the youth group of Dharma Drum Singapore.



结语：法师的叮咛与祝福。Venerable's Words & Blessings.

法师的六句真言：

欣赏别人的优点。了解自己的缺点。

学习别人的优点。改善自己的缺点。

不要嫉妒别人的优点。不要曝露自己的缺点。

大家请每每学习并时时刻刻地用，保证缺点越来越少。

Venerable's words (translated):

Admire the good of others. Understand your failings.

Learn the good of others. Learn and rectify from your failings.

Do not be jealous of the good of others. Do not expose your failings.

Learn these and often apply them to your everyday life, and
your failings will be lesser and lesser.

为这次的禅三到来，

学员们的精进修行，十分感恩。

法师们的带领让大家的心灵得到饱食以及慰籍，十分感恩。

义工们的护持：内护以及外护里应外合，十分感恩。

大家的努力配合让这次的禅三得以圆满结束，十分感恩。

祝福大家修行得力。下次再与大家回合共修。:)

In expressing the overwhelming gratitude, A Big Heartfelt Thank
you to

- Participants for their hard work at meditating

- Venerables for guiding us and giving us encouragement and a fruitful experience.

- Volunteers in charge of Chan3 operations

- All for the co-operation to make this event a wonderful and unique learning
experience.

All the best in Meditation. And See you all
again. :)



This article is originally written in Chinese and later translated to English.


Feel free to email us at ddysmail@gmail.com for any ideas of better translation.

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Vegetarian BBQ Fun Gathering @ East Coast Park

31st Jul 2010

Aim of this gathering is to promote bonding and caring amongst Dharma Drum Youth members and friends.



To have a clearer view of pictures Click Here



Basically the event has a few sessions, first is the game session, next is the cycling session and lastly is the BBQ cum game session. Due to work related reasons, some are able to attend one or two session. Some stay throughout all sessions. Some come at the mid-session and stay throughout. Some come straight for the BBQ.

The day is as sunny as ever quite contrary to the previous days that are mostly raining cats and dogs. And there is comfortable sea breeze blowing. A really nice accommodating weather that make us feel relaxed and de-stressed.

The event starts at 3 plus pm.

The Transport Hurdle

The rest gather at 1 pm at the Bedok Bus Interchange intending to take bus 401.

However, realizing that the first bus is to arrive at 2pm, we change our minds and take the cab instead since we have a load of BBQ stuff to take along with us. It seems somehow the location or the time is not suitable to flag cabs. We amuse ourselves while waiting for the cab: observing a very noisy cat which is meowing very loudly jumping and out of the rubbish bin looking for food, taking photos of ourselves and observing our friends in the process of flagging the cab in vain. But we finally got a cab ourselves by calling into the cab company.



Waiting for the cab :p

Self-Introduction

After reaching the BBQ pit, we enjoy the breeze lazing around chatting. We are called to introduce ourselves by Zhijian, our coordinator of this event

Zhijian, our excellent coordinator, makes this BBQ event a success.

Making self-introduction.

The Game

Then we are called to play a game, by masking ourselves over the eyes and playing blind.





We are now “blinded” and “muted”

In this game, we are being divided into 2 groups. We must not speak and have our eyes masked as we arrange ourselves in ascending order according to the numbers we have each drawn from a bag i.e. we each have a number that we only know ourselves and not to let others know, even to our own group members. Due to the circumstances, some clapped their hands to indicate the number he/she has, some do finger drawing on the hands of the others, pulling others into position etc.

Realization: The Game After

Through this game, we get to realize how fortunate that we have our 5 senses to the work for us – it is very frustrating even though we are only being temporarily deprived of 2 senses: the sight & the voice. How do we communicate without speaking? How do we seek for help without sight? This makes us reflect that the abilities we naturally have are not to be taken for granted. Think of the less fortunate who are handicapped naturally. What is the colour of the sky? How do they survive, see & interpret this world without sight? Think of the less fortunate who are handicapped all of the sudden deprived of the most useful component(s) of communication – in understanding this world and around us. We have taken our environment, the people around us too much for granted. We cannot understand anything or survived without using our senses to interact with the people and environment around us. It is with gratefulness and thankfulness that we have what we have now. We need to be calm and aware to explore our deepest innermost potential & abilities that we have yet to discover and put these to usage with the support of our senses. (It is discovered that without one sense such as sight, the other senses’ abilities are amplified to overcome the deficiencies of that lost sense)

The Walk

We ought to have the cycling. However, due to unforeseen circumstances we discovered the nearest bicycle station shut down for the YOG event after walking for many minutes and the nearest available bicycle station is quite many metres away. We decided to rest and feed ourselves and quench our thirst at a nearby food village.



Walking Leisurely

We stop on the way back to BBQ pit to admire the sand castle

The BBQ

By the time we are back at the pit it’s 5pm. The sun sets, sending rays blindingly across the beach, hitting the eyes.

Preparation for the BBQ is still ongoing. After washing the vegetables, Qiyao cuts them up.



Qiyao, our DDYS leader, cuts up the mushrooms.

All the BBQ food & sauces (below) are provided by him.



He spends the entire morning, marinating BBQ food & making sauces.

This pink-coloured paint-like sauce is called beetroot sauce. It is very, very delicious: light sweet taste and smells good. The entire box is emptied after the BBQ ends at 10pm.

Munching on salad (carrots, celery, cucumber) dipped in sauce, Qiyao shares his professional knowledge of vitamins and food and its ingredients with us. We simply listen with rapt attention.

Sumptuous! The cooked food is provided by our ex-leader Huiwei (right)


The main source of heat, the fire is built by this gentleman Qing Kui (right). It is pretty challenging to start up the fire against a rather strong wind. But with indefatigable efforts, a mass of red, hot burning charcoals is produced.

This is where all the delicious BBQ food is cooked.

BBQ-ing potatoes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, corns & mushrooms.

Remember to sweep these (oil on the left / honey on the right) onto the corns and mushrooms while BBQ-ing. Makes them so tasty that you bite your tongue off.

Having fun and feasting.

BINGO

After feasting, we play a game called the BINGO before we catch the bus home. This BINGO game let us know about one another through and about Buddhism and each other names better. It is very, very fun. :) We are just kept busy asking one another questions from the BINGO paper. Apologies for lack of photos here: the photographer is also very engrossed in playing this game.

Sample of the BINGO paper

The Final Note

Thanks to all participants, coordinators in contributing to make this BBQ event fun and enjoyable and knowledgeable, a little. Thank you very much!!!

Happy National Day, Singapore!

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