Last week, the venerable nun Dr. Jue Wei of Fo Guang Shan (FGS) (Buddha’s Light Mountain) Nan Tien (Southern Paradise) Temple and Institute visited Melbourne to give two Dharma talks.
Dr. Jue Wei giving Dharma talk "Purifying the Mind." From Er You Temple Facebook
On 3 December, she spoke to the Buddhist youth at Er You Temple, one of three FGS temples in metropolitan Melbourne, on “Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Honest Revelation,” encouraging them to practice the Dharma with enthusiasm, perseverance, and joy. The following day, she gave a talk for adults on “Purifying the Mind” at the city’s Fo Guang Yuan gallery, exhorting the audience to study, practice, and share the Dharma well. The talks were organized by FGS Melbourne and Buddha’s Light International Association - Young Adults Division (BLIA-YAD).
“It's very important for us adult Buddhists to encourage the next generation to practice the Buddha’s teachings with a pure intention,” said FGS Melbourne and BLIA-YAD committee member Andrew Chung in relation to the youth Dharma talk, adding “Passing on whatever knowledge we possess of the correct Dharma to them is our duty.”
Venerable Dr. Jue Wei is an active member of the FGS Buddhist order. She has held numerous international positions within the order’s University of the West and Hsi Lai Temple in California, as well as at Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong, Australia, and is currently a lecturer and the executive assistant to the dean at its Nan Tien Institute. She holds a PhD in Religious Studies and a Master’s in Buddhist Studies, and is spearheading a worldwide tour entitled “Buddha's Birthday Education Project - Through These Doors: Connecting Past and Present, East and West.” She regularly delivers public lectures on topics related to Buddhist festivals, history, and art, and gives Dharma talks throughout the community, as well as being heavily involved with interfaith dialogue.
High school students in main shrine hall of Er You Temple. From Er You Temple Facebook
FGS Nan Tien Temple, located on 26 acres of beautiful land overlooking Mt. Keira and Mt. Kembla, is the largest temple in the Southern Hemisphere. Opened in 1995, it is one of over 200 branch temples of the FGS Buddhist Order, which was founded in 1967 by Master Hsing Yun. The temple focuses on the exchange of Eastern and Western culture, the interchange of the traditional and the modern, and peaceful and harmonious communication and influence within the community, as well as the nurture and education of devotees and the general public.
The temple has been publicly recognized, receiving “Awards of Excellence” in the fields of education, architecture, gardening, lighting design, and tourism, and was honored this year as the “Gold Winner” of the “South Coast Tourism Awards.”
Nan Tien Institute (NTI) is Australia’s first government-accredited tertiary institution grounded in Buddhist values and wisdom, with an innovative learning environment supporting the belief that education is an essential part of the lifelong quest for knowledge, skills, and wisdom.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun was born in China in 1927 and ordained at the age of 12. After studying under many renowned masters, he went to Taiwan in 1949, becoming the chief editor of publications such as Human Life, Buddhism Today, and Awakening the World. After founding FGS in 1967, he has devoted his life to promoting “Humanistic Buddhism” and “Fostering Talent through Education.” Master Hsing Yun has made tremendous contributions to Buddhism in regulating its practice and propagating its teachings, in making it relevant to modern society and applicable to daily life, and in spreading its teachings worldwide. He will visit Australia again in March 2015.