60 61For You Information 佛友资讯

History of Di Zang Lin- DR. JEFFREY PO & PEMA RINCHEN –

HISTORY

Currently sited at 469 Macpherson Road, Di Zang Lin, was officially registered on 15 October 2002. Di Zang Lin was founded by Venerable Master Shi Zhen Dao, with a small pool of volunteers, it has now grown strength to strength, under the abbotship of Venerable Shi You Wei who took over being the Abbot after the paranirvana of Venerable Zhen Dao in October 2005.

The Present AbbotVenerable Shi You Wei, the current Abbot of Di Zang Lin was born into a humble Lee family and his grandfather gave him the name 秀 烽 (Xiu Feng), and like his name, the young boy was shy and reserved. Being the eldest in the family and the first baby to a large extended family, the young boy was very much the centre of attention and expectations. A bright and clever child, he excelled in his academic studies since young and was well-liked by his peers and teachers. The start of his affinity with the Buddha Dharma started when he took “Religious Knowledge” as an elective, with an emphasis in Buddhist Studies. It was during this period as well as those years while serving the National Service that he attended many Buddhist classes, prayer congregations and also helped out with many temple duties.

Venerable You Wei took refuge under Venerable Zhen Dao and had kept in contact with his Refuge Master even when he was on an overseas Student Exchange Programme at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. This was the tipping point when Venerable You Wei seriously considered renunciation, as he had much quiet and contemplative time away from distractions and was able to do extensive readings.

CHRONICLES OF BUDDHISM IN SINGAPORE

The Founding Story of Di Zang LinBorn in 1958 in Singapore, and of Fujian descent from Nan An, China, Venerable Shi Zhen Dao’s name was Zhang He Fa before ordination. He was a young and promising intellect, well-versed in Buddhist philosophy, scriptures and adept in various practices. He was exceptionally inspired and touched by the Buddha’s teaching and decided to take tonsure at the age of 32. In 1991, he obtained higher ordination under Venerable Master Da Neng at Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang, Malaysia, and was given his Dharma name Shi Zhen Dao.

Venerable Zhen Dao had his main practice based on the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra, and he founded Di Zang Lin (connoting the Ksitigarbha community) in 1997. This was with the aspiration and mission to help all sentient beings, much like the Great Vow of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, “If I do not descend to Hell to liberate the suffering beings there, who else will? Only when all sentient beings have been liberated, will I attain Buddhahood.” Even till his fi-nal moments, Venerable Zhen Dao was still practising the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Practice, his faith and dedication was indestructible. Through the seven years as the Abbot of Di Zang Lin, the late Venerable Zhen Dao gave Di Zang Lin a very strong foundation to pursue its aspirations later.

60 61For You Information 佛友资讯

For more information on Di Zang Lin Dharma programmes and activities, please visit https://www.facebook.com/dizanglin/.Photo Credit: Di Zang Lin

When Venerable You Wei returned, he continued to learn extensively from Venerable Zhen Dao and became actively involved in the temple, which all in all was close to seven years as a lay disciple. After his undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Venerable You Wei had his tonsure ceremony on 10 October 2004. His Dharma name is Fa Cheng alias You Wei, and he was later sent by Venerable Zhen Dao to Fu Yan Institute in Taiwan to further his Buddhist Studies. He topped his level in his first year, but with the passing of Venerable Zhen Dao, he had to take over running Di Zang Lin. At that time, Di Zang Lin had a dwindling congregation and desperately needed a monastic to anchor its Dharma activities. This marked the beginning of Venerable You Wei’s leadership of Di Zang Lin.

Di Zang Lin aims to be the Mahayana Dharma Centre with a difference. As its name implies, 地 藏 林 should become a place where everyone becomes the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Within this Kstigarbha community, followers uphold the vows of the Bodhisattva and put these into action in their daily living. Di Zang Lin hopes to engage her congregation in meaningful Dharma lessons, life-changing charitable initiatives, and a more refreshing take on pilgrimage trips. This is the reason why Venerable You Wei is well-liked by his congregation. He explains the rationale for many of Di Zang Lin activities. Venerable would spend time running through complicated rituals with his congregation to ensure everyone is able to follow. “Only when people understand prayers can prayers be truly beneficial and spiritually satisfying,” Venerable added.

Embarking on many “Firsts”

Di Zang Lin embarked on a new transformative journey with many new initiatives under Venerable You Wei’s leadership. There were many “firsts” over the recent decade – first Dharma lessons, first month-long

Ksitigarbha Ullambana Congregation, first DZL Volunteer Corp and first DZL Bursary Award etc. While there are many new initiatives and using new approaches such as delivering teachings in a more lively and modern manner in order to connect with the youths today, Di Zang Lin’s core values remain strictly aligned to the teachings of Buddha Dharma. To cater to the needs and pace of the elderly and the more traditional, there is the much sought-after Eight Precept Retreats and pujas. Di Zang Lin has their weekly congregation every Wednesday evenings.

Leading with Sustainability Though a small temple, and despite being financially challenged, Di Zang Lin is big on leading with initiatives that are beneficial for the community. Di Zang Lin engages her congregation with a myriad of activities. In September this year, Di Zang Lin is proud to launch their new initiative

to be fully green in all their charitable projects.

Coined "山河大地是如來", this is a phase by the renowned Master Hsu Yun as he realised the fact that enlightenment is everywhere when he broke his teacup. Drawing on the same realisation, Di Zang Lin commissioned new fully-compostable bags with the help of Telobag Singapore so that these environmentally-friendly bags can be used in place of plastic bags. It was launched at their weekly Food Distribution Project at Marine Parade. Di Zang Lin is taking concrete action to lead by example and has stopped using disposable cutleries within the temple for all their pujas and events since 2016. This initiative will also be rolled out to their monthly nursing home befriending service and to the bursary awards programme.

Di Zang Lin’s effort to care for the environment is much similar to their efforts to preserve Buddhist traditions and culture amidst these modern times. For Buddha Dharma to resist the test of times and to engage new followers, Di Zang Lin gives Dharma a refreshing new rendition, a new twist – a truly Mahayana centre with a difference.

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