我们在新加坡做了三年半,澳洲移民部与多元文化部部长菲利普.卢铎先生(Hon Philip Ruddock)邀请我移民澳洲,协助政府团结族群与团结宗教。二OO二年,我们在昆士兰省图文巴市建立澳洲净宗学院(Pure Land Learning College Association),开始履行这个使命,我们所用的方法也就是四摄法。学院开幕当天,我们邀请附近两条街的邻居,大概一、二百人来用晚餐,说明我们来的来意。他们非常满意,要求多办这样的晚宴。从那个时候起,净宗学院每周周六晚上举办温馨晚宴,温馨晚宴从此成为图文巴市民聚会交流的平台。在这个基础上,我们团结了图文巴市的多元族群与十几个宗教,感动市民主动发心,要将图文巴建设成「多元文化和谐示范城市」(model city of peace and harmony)。二O一七年,联合国教科文组织九个国家的大使参观图文巴,很受感动。回到巴黎之后,就为我申请一个办公室,取名为「净公上人之友社」(Association of Master Chin Kung’s Friends at UNESCO)。从那个时候起,我们就在这里,常常在这个办公室接待各国大使,并且在此地以办公室名义,在教科文组织举办世界和平大会(International Peace Conference)。
Set Example by True Practice, Aspire to Become Saints and Sages— UNESCO Delegates' Visit to Hong Ming Experimental School Episode 1 3 December 2019 Hong Ming Experimental School No:32-351-0001
尊敬的张校长、各位大使、嘉宾、各位老师、同学们:
Respected Principal Zhang, Ambassadors, Distinguished Guests, Teachers, and Students,
Warm greetings to you all. Today is a day of celebration. You have travelled thousands of miles to gather here with a common goal – reviving the culture of saints and sages, and achieving world peace and stability. As Confucius said, ‘How delightful it is to have friends visiting from afar!’
I am ninety-three now. I have experienced wars and hardship during my life and have long contemplated the solution to achieving lasting peace for human beings. I deeply feel that ‘to establish a country and guide its people, education must be the priority’. Only by reviving sages’ education, which promotes mutual respect and love, can the world embrace a bright future. If this education is discontinued, if we promote that of competition and conflict instead, the world will have to endure endless sufferings. Therefore, the most important task now is to nurture inheritors of sages’ education. But how? By following the traditional method and establishing special integrated schools.
The Chinese have used this method for almost 3,000 years in a unique form of private schools. To restore traditional Chinese culture, we can learn from this and establish schools from kindergarten through tertiary education. What is Sinology? It comprises study in primary school, high school and university level, starting with primary school to focus on learning the fundamentals that teach how to be a good person. At secondary school level, the Four Books and Five Classics are learned and life skills are taught. During tertiary or university education, one learns the principles of governing a country and bringing peace to the world. One can look for a most admired role model from history, focus on study in one discipline for five years and be fully grounded. Even when entering society, one maintains one’s learning. Learning the classical texts help with ‘believing and understanding’, and realizing them through action is ‘practising and testifying’ these teachings. When at work, we practise what we have learned and dedicate it to the society and country. Traditional Chinese education is systematic, with long-term vision. This is the strength of such education. My teacher, Mr Bingnan Li, used this method of teaching. He taught step by step and what he taught was the essence of truth that benefits learners throughout their lives.
It is invaluable that the principal and teachers of Hong Ming School have inherited Mr Li's ideals and compassion. They were determined to realize this experimental-education school eighteen years ago. Establishing a special integrated school and having persevered have resulted in tremendous achievement. The ethos of Hong Ming School is centered on respecting and loving one's parents and teachers, which is fundamental to Chinese culture. The entire Chinese culture originates from this core essence. Education in ancient China was cooperation between parents and teachers. Parents set good examples and taught children how to respect teachers. Teachers set good examples and taught students how to respect and love parents. Actions speak louder than words. Therefore, parents and teachers inwardly should follow Sakyamuni Buddha, eliminating greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Outwardly, they should follow Confucius, being gentle, kind, respectful, thrifty and giving precedence to others. Only by practising what they teach can they succeed in educating children and students. This is the special essence emphasized by Chinese education.
Great Master Yinguang, a famous Pure Land Buddhist patriarch, said, 'One per cent of sincerity and respect reaps one per cent of benefit. A hundred per cent sincerity reaps a hundred per cent benefit.' Without sincerity and respect, we will benefit nothing. Today, there is no respect for teachers. Even if there are good teachers, students gain little. Why? Without respect for their teacher, students cannot absorb what the teacher teaches through examples and words. This is complete destruction of traditional Chinese culture. Why is the world in such chaos? It is because modern education advocates science and technology and has neglected ethics and morality. Therefore, we have to restore traditional culture. Without it, social turmoil will become inevitable. What Hong Ming School has been doing is to restore the respect and love for parents and teachers. Teachers here set good examples for their students, each of whom will become capable individuals who truly love their home and country. Sinology teaches young people how to cultivate themselves, bring order to family, govern a country and bring peace to the world in the practical context of daily and family life. This kind of Sinology works. It works if we learn it.
It is most comforting to see students here with moral integrity and good academic performance. The teachers' hard work and efforts are well worth it. What they have done is to testify to the ancients' educational ideas and to nurture successors of traditional culture. It is truly invaluable. If young people in every country can receive this type of education honouring each respective culture, hope is on the horizon for our world and its future.
Lastly, may Hong Ming School enjoy a prosperous future and persevere in their aspirations. May ambassadors and distinguished guests enjoy a smooth and fruitful visit. May the sages' education spread widely and benefit the whole world.
英国威尔士三一圣大卫大学 麦迪文.休斯校长:Good morning. Ni hao. Venerable Masters, Civic Leaders, Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to join you once again this year here in London for the ancestors’ ceremony. May I at the beginning express my enormous gratitude to venerable Master Wudao and his colleagues for all enormous work that has been involved in preparing for this event. We live in a world where we need far more dialogue between traditions, between cultural traditions of the world. And this morning we have the opportunity of joining together in celebrating an ancient Chinese tradition, of celebrating and marking the importance of ancestors, of noting the importance of the past of tradition, and linking that tradition to a better world. You may ask what is the significance of the ceremony today. As we have heard already, it is about linking the tradition of the past and securing a better future for tomorrow. What we are doing today together, and there are so many different cultural traditions here in this auditorium, is joining together in celebrating the value of traditional Chinese culture, and celebrating the importance of the past, and noting the value of what we have learned from the past through the ancestors’ ceremony. This is an excellent example of intercultural dialogue of bringing together different traditions, different cultures, and identifying a common thread, a common thread of respect of tolerance, of working together for a better world. What we have learned through the teachings of Master Chin Kung is that education is at the heart of a civilised society. Although we are here from different traditions, we are one single humanity. Although there are different faith traditions here, different languages, different traditions of countries, that is a common thread of a single humanity working for common peace. And as we are living in a very troubled world, it is very important that we do remember the importance of filial piety, of respect, of tolerance, and working together. Our world, our future for tomorrow depends upon us working together, that we break those boundaries, that we identify the common threads. And hopefully, we seek a single union of peace and of harmony in the world. It is therefore a great pleasure for me to be part of this ceremony. To show respect to your tradition, to acknowledge the importance of the enormous culture that Chinese civilisation has given to the world and to bridge the traditions of the East and the West. And we work together for a better humanity and a single purpose of peace in our world. Thank you. Ddiolch.
贝克斯利伦敦自治市市长London Borough of Bexley---Peter Lucia-Hennis:Now ladies and gentlemen, I would like to invite the honourable Geraldene Lucia-Hennis, member of parliament, the mayor of London Borough of Bexley to come and say a few words for us.
Thank you very much. I feel like maybe I’m a little bit of fraud because I was invited here by a chance meeting. Now that chance meeting was at a citizenship for the London Borough of Bexley which I’m immensely proud to be mayor of for one year. From that meeting I got to be asked to attend here today to which I was very honoured to accept. I didn’t quite realise that I would have to address and speak to you. But for that, I’m eternally grateful. Then I started to wonder why I was invited. And I think now I know it wasn’t a fluke, it was by my divine intervene of the ancestors, if you like. Because in Bexley we have lots of culture which we’re very proud of. We’re very proud of our ancestors, too. But more so, maybe because I stand in front of you today as a mother, grandmother and a great-grand-mother. So I think I’m very qualified to say that I have been a very good teacher. But to get back to today, I’m not only honoured, I’m absolutely delighted to what I’ve just seen happen and I do wish you many successes in the years to come with this ceremony. Thank you for the invite.
Venerable Wudao, Venerables, Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr President,
I’m delighted to have the opportunity to welcome you here to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, here to our Lampeter campus. And can I at the beginning express my sincere gratitude to Venerable Wudao and for his support, the excellent work that we have taken here together. And what you’ll see today is the generosity, the hard work of the Venerable Master, and we are very grateful to him. This of course is a very important day for us within the University. It is of course an opportunity to look back, to celebrate the law of Confucius, but to reflect as well what are the implications of celebrating the role of the teacher, of a philosopher in the context of the ancient world of China, and how that relates to us here within the modern world, particularly in the context of our own political position within the United Kingdom. Confucius, as you will know far better than I do, not only as a philosophical thinker, as a teacher, has made such a difference to the lives of our civilisations in the world. ‘The Analects’ of course present him as a transmitter of knowledge, as a transmitter of ideas. And the importance of that transmitting of knowledge, of ideas, of concepts, of civilisation has been at the heart over 2000 years in China. And although we celebrate the past today and honour his role, we also reflect on the importance of his philosophy for us and for the modern society. You’ll know better than I do that at the heart of his philosophy was regard for sincerity, for the cultivation of knowledge. He was defined by so many in his own period as ‘the uncrowned king’, the uncrowned king philosopher who identified the middle way of focusing upon what is right, what is justice and what makes difference to our society. And indeed his philosophy begins the guiding handbook not only for the Chinese government, but as a personal code of morality, not only within the Chinese civilisation but also across the world. What do we learn I wonder from those values? And how do they relate today in the context of our civilisation and the civilisations of the world? His philosophy was based upon three key areas. Base upon mercy, on the need for social order and the fulfilment of responsibility. With leadership comes responsibility. And one of the main concepts of his teaching, and that is a philosophical teaching, brought together two key words within his Analects, and you’ll know more than I do about the history of this. The concept of ren 仁 and the focus of li 礼. Ren 仁 focuses upon goodness or benevolence. That focus upon the sense of humanity under a common good. Li 礼 focuses upon order and propriety. And once those two concepts brought together within a society, it sets the structure of an educational, social or political system. Once we think of Confucius in the context of political theory and support, his ideas were also key in the context of the religious thought and also spirituality. So many years ago when I was an undergraduate at the University of Wales, when I was studying world religions, one of the most complicated books that I ever read was ‘The Doctrine of the Mean’. But that text, ‘The Doctrine of the Mean’, was such a valuable document, not only in setting out a framework for spirituality but also focusing upon the core principles of propriety, of self-worthiness and also sincerity. We could learn a lot today and our political leaders, certainly in this country, could do well to read ‘The Doctrine of the Mean’. It set that middle road, the middle road that focused upon social ethical order within society. 2000 years and more since Confucius structured his arguments and presented them to the courts as a sage leader. And in the analects of his time he was a key leader. Today we celebrate him. Today we honour his history, we honour his teaching, and today as we come together, to pay the respect to the focus of Confucius as a leader, as a teacher. We also, through the symbols of the ceremony, link back to the importance of Chinese culture and heritage. It was he of course that said ‘Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.’ We have all learned from Venerable Master Chin Kung that at the heart of a system, a social system, is education. It was his words when he was 80. When he gave a speech at UNESCO, ‘Culture is the soul of a nation. Education brings life to a culture’. How important it is that we within the university can celebrate that. How important it is within the context of this university, a university that carries the name ‘Wales’ as part of its royal charter, that we link our traditions with education which are at the heart of our civilised society with an ancient world that brings education, social order and humanity as one. What did Confucius teach us? He taught us to propagate the truth, and to do that through honesty, and through culture. He taught us to foster talent through education. He taught us to focus upon charity and to secure equity in social life. And he taught us the importance of cultivating a spiritual mind, a mind that will identify the middle ground. Venerable master, we are grateful to you for the support you have given. Ladies and gentlemen, within the context of this university that focuses on Wales, today we look back 2000 years and more, and we honour, and we pay tribute to a great sage leader, to Confucius. Ddiolch. Thank you.