Zhan Jinshuo

China

turned on the radio. It was Venerable Jing Xin giving a lecture on The Lotus Sutra, which teaches all Buddhist followers to spread the Buddha’s loving-kindness. This was the first time that I heard of Buddhism and from then on, I continued to listen to that program for 30 years. That was the enlightenment of my Buddhist life.

As I learn Buddhism and hear Dharma talks, I feel a deep happiness that I will never receive from other things. I think it’s a great fortune to have met Sanbao, and most especially to hear all the Dharma talks by Venerable Jing Xin. Therefore, I feel a responsibility to share my knowledge with every person I meet so that he/she will have a chance to learn and share the loving-kindness of Buddhism. So, in 1989 I went to Hui Ji Temple to cultivate Bodhi mind. I have a family of my own which I cannot abandon, yet I decided to cultivate Bodhicitta by all means.

In 1989 I became a Buddhist with Venerable Chang Kai who left for Singapore and recently went back to Chongfu Temple, Fujian Province. After he passed away, I started to learn from Venerable Chang Jue. In 1989, a Buddhist study group was founded with 15 members to cultivate Bodhi mind. I guide all of the members to study Buddhism by listening to the Dharma talks of Venerable Jing Xin. After that, I share about its meaning to our members. By 1994, the membership of our group expanded to 182 and the Shenhu Jushilin Buddhist Learning Association got authorized by the government in 1995.

I met Master Hanqing in Hui Ji Temple, and invited him to be the first President of the Shenhu Jushilin Buddhism Learning Association. I was the Vice-President in charge of management of the association. In 2010, Master Hanqing passed away. I refused to accept the Presidency for 3 years. Finally, all of the members elected me as President, and also as the Vice-President of the Buddhist Association of Quangzhou City and Jinjiang City. In 2005, the Youth Charity Association was founded and it now has a membership of over 300.

Focusing on Buddhist studies and practice, Sanbao protection, and charity as a supplement, I hold 25 classes per month, 10 in the morning, 5 at midday and another 10 in the evening, according to the different levels of our members. At the end of the study period, they have a final examination. Every Saturday night, I teach online for members of the Youth Charity Association. Each month I offer a lecture explaining Buddhism to young members. Regularly, I promote Buddhism, and attend many Buddhist events held by Buddhist Associations. We also run many programs such as literacy promotion, summer tutorials, summer youth camps, Buddhist camps and a Buddhist Communication Fair, including a Buddhist lecture series on the topic of, “A Blessed & Wise Life.” To conclude, I endeavor to practice Buddhism in lay life and for lay people.

For 30 years, I have devoted myself to the practice of Buddhism. Making myself an example, I donate my salary willingly and motivate all of our members to cultivate the good habits of diligence and frugality. So with the money saved, our association has helped sick patients, disabled people, the poor people and the victims of natural disasters. We also look after the elderly and orphans. We finance the building of roads, schools, houses and many other public facilities. We sponsor more than 200 poor college students and over 300 pupils and middle school students. We provide free medical care for the elderly and poor. We offer many other charity programs for poor families. On December 26th we hold Charity Day at our Association. On that day, we visit the elderly and poor families to dispense pensions, rice and cooking oil. For this I was honored as, “The Most Beautiful Person in Jinjiang City.” During the 11 years of free summer tutorials, more than 100 young people have volunteered to teach, including the sponsored college students. Every year, more than 500 students attended the tutorial classes on every subject. By now, already more than 5,000 students have benefitted from the summer tutorials.

With the support of government leaders, the great kindness of Venerable Xiang Yuan, the care and praise of the community, and wide-spread media coverage Quanzhou TV, Jiangjiang TV , Jinjiang Economy News and Southeast Morning News, our summer tutorial program was honored, “Touching Jinjiang.” Being a Buddhist, the most important thing is to benefit all living beings, to learn the spirit of the Buddha, and to practice the philosophy to save all living beings from torment and misery. I am also very grateful to Sanbao, to the Master, to all the Venerables whom I have met, the President of the Buddhist Association and my colleagues. Thanks to you, I have the chance to hold all these activities so successfully. I will diligently cultivate Bodhicitta, support Sanbao and benefit all living beings.