This summer I participated in the Humanistic Buddhist

Monastic Life Program at Fo Guang Shan Monastery near

Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I experienced a week of silence, meditating for

about ten hours each day. There was no speaking, no hand

gestures, and no eye contact. I also took part in the International

Youth Seminar on Life and Ch'an where I met people from all over

the world, both practicing Buddhists and those interested in

learning. I studied at Fo Guang University and learned about

Buddhism from monastics, professors, and experts on Ch'an and

Pure Land. I toured the country for two weeks after the conclusion

of the program, seeing much of what Taiwan has to offer. I shaved

my head, became vegetarian, chanted sutras, and survived

typhoons. I lived the monastic life and began to discover how

fulfilling it is to focus my mind and search within.

“Your mind is yours. It is the

greatest thing you own and the

greatest thing you will ever

find.”

― Ven. Master Hsing Yun

"The religion of the future will

be a cosmic religion. It should

transcend personal God and

avoid dogma and theology.

Covering both the natural and

the spiritual, it should be based

on a religious sense arising

from the experience of all

things natural and spiritual

as a meaningful unity.

Buddhism answers this

description... If there is any

religion that could cope with

modern scientific needs, it

would be Buddhism.”

― Albert Einstein

“If we learn to open our hearts,

anyone, including the people

who drive us crazy, can be our

teacher.”

― Pema Chödrön

“Without inner peace, outer

peace is impossible. We all wish

for world peace, but world

peace will never be

achieved unless we first

establish peace within our own

minds. We can send so-called

'peacekeeping forces' into areas

of conflict, but peace cannot be

opposed from the outside with

guns. Only by creating peace

within our own mind and

helping others to do the same

can we hope to achieve peace in

this world.”

― Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

“By understanding your true self,

you will be able to see part of you in

everything in this world, and

everything in the world will be part

of you. This is true harmony.”

― Ven. Master Hsing Yun

“You are an aperture through

which the universe is looking at

and exploring itself.”

― Alan Wilson Watts