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Guan Yin Citta, a charity led by Master Jun Hong Lu, transmits love and compassion in Singapore

Guan Yin Citta, a charity led by Master Jun Hong Lu, transmits love and compassion in Singapore

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Over the past ten months, Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door Buddhist Practice Center in Singapore, a charity led by Buddhist Master Jun Hong Lu, has distributed free vegetarian food packages to low income families around Lengkok Bahru district in Redhill. The most recent endeavor was on October 21, 2018, and volunteers were positively buzzing with excitement. Each time, there were nearly 50 volunteers involved and 900 packages of nutritious vegetarian food distributed to 350 households for free.

Working with local communities, Guan Yin Citta Singapore has been giving kindness and support to these needy seniors. The charity program aims to promote vegetarian life style to local residents and help needy households have access to more nutritious vegetarian diets. Master Jun Hong Lu, the founder of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, advocates for vegetarianism as it can develop compassion in one’s heart and change a person’s life for the better. As the Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Practice Center in Singapore is so close to the Redhill area, it’s a good opportunity to serve the community and spread Master Lu’s Buddhist teachings in the district.

Residents received complimentary packages of vegetarian food expressed their gratitude to volunteers for their continuous support for the community. Especially for some of the elders, who are eager to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle, but limited by the physical mobility, their need to deliver food to their doors has been fully met. Meanwhile, the regular care from volunteers warms their hearts and gives them hope and spiritual sustenance. With the genuine caring and assistance, some volunteers handed out some Buddhist learning materials and Master Jun Hong Lu’s books to the residents, introducing them the benefits of Buddhist practice. The volunteers also invited them to visit Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Practice Center for more information.

Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Practice Center in Singapore offers daily a free vegetarian buffet with a wide selection of dishes, soups and desserts. Every year before the Dharma Talk by Master Jun Hong Lu in May and the large scale Vegetarian Tasting Event in November, the volunteers normally widely distribute flyers to promote Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door and raise people’s awareness of the importance of Buddhist practice.   

The food distribution program is the practice of giving and every volunteer has been honored to be part of such meaningful activity with a good purpose, sowing the seeds of kindness in others and building up trust between each other. Over the last ten months, the volunteers have become acquainted with some of the residents. In turn, they have begun to affectionately term the volunteers as the ‘red shirt people’. Some of the volunteers even brought their children with them to take part in the activities, with the aim of teaching youth a lesson on giving. When interviewed, one of the young participants eagerly said, “I love seeing the smiles on their faces. It is only through events like this that we realize how true cliché can be—giving really is better than receiving!”

 

 

 

The altruistic and selfless acts of volunteers come from their aspiration for benefiting others. During these charity activities, they truly live in the essence of Buddhism and breathe in it with purity of mind and sincerity in action. They put Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhist teachings into practice—to be selfless and put the well-being of others above oneself. That is where life’s greatest joy comes from.

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Master Jun Hong Lu

Master Jun Hong Lu

Jun Hong Lu is the chairman and Director of Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association registered under United Nations Global Compact as NGO-Non Government Organisation since July 2015.

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First collaboration between Guan Yin Citta Singapore and Cambodia brings a successful free Vegetarian Feast Event in Phnom Penh

First collaboration between Guan Yin Citta Singapore and Cambodia brings a successful free Vegetarian Feast Event in Phnom Penh

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Being separated by the Gulf of Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore seem to be two distant countries far apart from each other. However, miles can’t shake something as sturdy as the strong affinities between Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Buddhist friends. Their aspiration of spreading Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door and Buddhist Master Jun Hong Lu’s teachings to wide public spans the miles and helps bring about the first free Vegetarian Feast event in Cambodia held on September 22, 2018.

As a predominantly Buddhist nation, Cambodia has a population of over 97 percent who believe in Buddhism. Promoting Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door in such a place nurtured by Buddhist culture is full of importance and challenge. The cross-country Dharma propagation activity was first initiated by Guan Yin Citta Singapore and fulfilled with the close collaboration from Guan Yin Citta Cambodia. Nearly 90 Buddhist practitioners from Singapore traveled all the way north to the capital city of Phnom Penh and joined in the Dharma propagation activities. Not only did they spread flyers and Buddhist learning materials on streets, but also they released fish and tortoises. As the climax of these activities, the Free Vegetarian Feast event caused a sensation in local Chinese communities and delivered hundreds of sentient beings.

Even though this is the first time the two Buddhist practice groups collaborated together, their mutual support and hard work rewarded them with the success of the vegetarian event in local communities. Volunteers from Guan Yin Citta were delighted to welcome such a great number of Buddhist friends coming to join in the event. More than 500 Buddhist friends attended the event and the ball room was filled with crowds. Started with a chorus singing of Buddhist songs brought by volunteers from Guan Yin Citta, the beautiful melody created an atmosphere of joy and calmness. In the video sharing session, the guests and Buddhist friends watched clips from Master Jun Hong Lu’s Dharma Talks and Totem Readings. In spite of the barrier of language, many Buddhist friends showed great interests in Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhist teachings and fascinated by the wisdom of Buddhism. In addition to the Dharma Talk, the heartfelt Totem Reading Cases deeply resonated with many of the guests. They were shocked to see so many people suffering in despair and lost in delusions. From other people’s stories, many guests realized that we are the heirs to our own deeds and our lives are the unfolding of karmic law.

The free vegetarian event was a great success. In the near future, there will be more free vegetarian events organized by Guan Yin Citta in Cambodia to promote Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhist teachings. Wish the Guan Yin Citta Dharma blossoms in the land, bringing happiness and inner peace to people!

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Master Jun Hong Lu

Master Jun Hong Lu

Jun Hong Lu is the chairman and Director of Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association registered under United Nations Global Compact as NGO-Non Government Organisation since July 2015.

SummeRICE 2017

A Great Give Back to The Society — SUMMERICE 2017: Care package distribution to the needy families, Guan Yin Citta Singapore

A Great Give Back to The Society — SUMMERICE 2017: Care package distribution to the needy families, Guan Yin Citta Singapore

SummeRICE 2017

With the dawn’s first thin thread of light made its way through the window, a new day had begun. Volunteers from Guan Yin Citta Singapore started the day with the busy preparation for the Care Package delivery. After checking the inventory and loading them into cars, all the volunteers were off to the destination, the Redhill in Singapore. This seemingly ordinary day soon turned to an extraordinary memory for the residents living in there.

On June 3, 2017, the Bukit Merah Community Center, collaborating with Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door Buddhism Practice Center in Singapore, organized a SummeRICE 2017 activity. It aims to provide support and comfort to low income families with the free distribution of Care Packages. Over 100 volunteers from Guan Yin Citta joined this operation. They worked together to do the packing and handed out packages with sincere greetings to the needy families. Every Care Package contained several kinds of dried food, which were convenient for long term use.

All the volunteers felt glad and honored to have such a good opportunity to serve the marginalized group in society. One volunteer remarked, “It is my honor to be able to assist the Community Center to do the good things for the residents in this district. As a Buddhist practitioner, I have benefited a lot from Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door. Buddhist Master Jun Hong Lu teaches us that unconditionally loving all the sentient beings is to love ourselves. Since the Guan Yin Hall is so close to the Redhill, we will try our best to service the community in the future and help more people.”

Another volunteer also commented that this was not her first time participating in the similar activities organized by Guan Yin Citta Practice Centre (Singapore). “All these years, the Guan Yin Citta Singapore has been dedicating to holding diversified activities and events with the integration of social responsibility. Normally, when the Mother’s Day is on its way, we’ll organize Flower arrangement class for both mothers and children, which can remind participants of the filial piety, a virtue of respect for one’s parent. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, we’ll organize activities to introduce traditional Chinese culture. Not to mention other big days, such as Dragon Boat Festival, Lantern Festival, Chinese New Year, etc.”

By applying Master Jun Hong Lu‘s teaching ‘benefiting others benefits oneself’ to practice, the volunteers’ self-devotion actions are remarkable and admirable. This operation demonstrates the Buddhist concept of selflessness, which provides an avenue to social awareness and engagement to the care of low income families. It also shows the act of giving is such a powerful benevolence to bring inner peace and joy. Spreading more love, kindness, and compassion into this world will reward an abundant life with happiness. 

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Master Jun Hong Lu

Master Jun Hong Lu

Jun Hong Lu is the chairman and Director of Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association registered under United Nations Global Compact as NGO-Non Government Organisation since July 2015.