On the night of 30th Oct 2021, Abbess Manshin, Venerable Rulian and 15 YAD members participated in the graduation ceremony of YAD Buddhism College Term 2 2021. The graduation ceremony started with charades using the pre-recorded video by fellow members.
The class continued with the video of the participants sharing their feeling about joining the Buddhism College. “It is indeed a gratifying and honourable experience to join the Buddhism college. Being able to gain wisdom from Abbess and venerable is always so rewarding. I am so grateful to be able to be part of this semester as I can be closer to the world of Humanistic Buddhism, the Temple team and learn to be more confident, compassionate and kind to others”, shared Manisha. Muyang also mentioned that he felt grateful for learning the story of the 10 Great Disciples of Buddha. Throughout the Buddhism College, he observed that every YAD member has unique strengths, just like the 10 Great Disciples and looking forward to seeing the YAD members’ future contributions to society. “I felt grateful to participate in this class and learned about selflessness in helping others from the story of Sariputra”, shared Allen.
The graduation ceremony officially started with the animated PPTX prepared by Hong Kai Gu and Edwin Teoh. Using GIF in the PPTX, merit and credits were dedicated back to the hosts, IT department, presenters, hosts and venerables that had worked tirelessly for the YAD Buddhism College. Last but not least, the participants that had exceeded 70% of the attendance had their photos lined up in the PPTX to take a graduation photo with the Abbess and Venerables. The YAD members showed their excitement and gratitude to the creativity of the IT department by cheering and giving loud applause.
The session was carried on with the sharing from the Minister of Charge, Venerable Rulian. She reminded the participants that there is no graduation as life is like a marathon. They need to work diligently for their career, academics, and, most importantly, their spiritual self. She also mentioned that the participants that presented would learn the most, and it will serve as a reminder when they faced hardships. A BLIA member from Christchurch, KokWei Low, shared that he felt happy to see many passionate young people attend the YAD Buddhism College, he wished the students can gain wisdom from the classes and become a useful person for the society.
Abbess Manshin also encouraged the participants by sharing the four things Buddha cannot achieve even with his great supernatural power and compassion. This shows the honesty of Buddha to all his disciples. The first thing is that the causes and effects cannot be changed, but the conditions can be adjusted. For example, if the bamboo shoot is planted, bamboo will be sprouted. However, its fertility will be different based on different conditions such as sunlight, water, and soil variability. The second thing is wisdom cannot be given. Abbess explained that wisdom would only be obtained through countless rounds of practice and contemplation. The third thing is that the Dharma cannot be explained as the language is too rough and has its own limitation. Dharma can only be felt and verified through one’s encounters and practice in daily lives. The fourth thing is that person without affinities and the right conditions would not be delivered. For example, the rain unable to water a unrooted grass.
Abbess Manshin summarised by sharing the wise words from Venerable Master Hsing Yun, “the future world is the world of giving and servicing”, thus encourage everyone to strive and work hard to serve the community. The graduation ceremony ended with the song entitled Stars and Clouds.