Joy of Dharma, Delight of Chan

2014 DDSU Awakening Camp◎Chang lv常律(施力綱)

I had no idea how I got involved in when I signed up for the Awakening Camp (自覺營), but it turned out pretty good. I learned a lot while sharing a room with 9 other monk-to-be’s (行者). They were a little slow to warm up to my leadership at first, but I earned their respect gradually over the course of the 8 days. Perhaps the two most important things when dealing with people are compassion (慈悲) and wisdom (智慧). If the former does not tug at their heartstrings, then a healthy dose of intellectual and strategic wisdom is necessary for the alleviation of suffering (苦). Another important lesson I took home with me is the awareness (覺察) of the deluded mind (妄想心); from which all of our thoughts and emotions arise. There is no future and no past but the delusions that exist in our minds. There is only the eternal present (現在), which gives rise to nothingness(無), and is the source of emptiness (空), should one choose to accept the fact.