The moonlight Deftly ascending the blue velvet scrim Gazing intently at the countless leaves on the lush Bodhi tree Listening to the blades of jade green leaves Tinkling whilst they reminisce One after another Stories of a mother’s love that could melt even the stone-hearted The wide expanse, quietly Listens to the moonlight hum about Noble, warm, courageous, pure Miraculous,

Every summer marks the monastery’s exam season. Last year, my father happened to be on the Island during this stressful time of the year. Seeing my somber expression, he expressed his concern. I told him other than memorizing new materials in the Speech of Gold in the Essence of True Eloquence, I also have to review what’s been taught in

In Buddha’s time, monastics would have to repeat parts of the scripture immediately after it’s been passed down orally from their teachers. Only until they’ve fully committed the content to memory would their teacher move on to the next subject. “What are we going to do so much teachings?” Seeing the puzzled look in their eyes, their teacher replied, “Recitations

That day, she successfully recited more than nine-thousand words from The Analysis on Clear Realization at an astonishing speed of thirty-eight minutes. A requirement of this year’s recitations exam, she was fast, smooth, accurate, and at ease. Her sincerity revealed a great strength from deep within. If you look at this year’s exam results alone, you’d never be able to

Seated at my desk, I was about to finish my homework when there was a sudden commotion in the room. Our homeroom tutor nun had just asked the class president to post our recent exam results. Everyone surged forward, yet I couldn’t gather the courage to do so.   “Third place in debate! Venerable Fa-Dan!” (Note: Ven. Fa-Dan is my

I’ve been in the monastery for twenty years now. In addition to learning to become a monastic, I’ve also taken on the position of a Tutor Nun. This has given me the opportunity to devote myself to monastic education, learn to take care of those who’ve come after me, and to shoulder the happiness of those around me. Inspired by

As the sky darkens, Teacher Zhen-Ru walks around cautiously. Suddenly, she stops. With a flashlight in hand, she shines it around her feet. Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, there is movement around her feet. To everyone’s surprise, a beetle, the colour of the ground, scurries by. Though the beetle may never know, it had just escaped

Headed to the warehouse across the construction site one day, we were stopped in our tracks. As a result of the heavy rain the night before, the dirt road leading into the warehouse was covered in earthworms. Should we cross, countless lives would be buried under the wheel. Recalling Buddha and Teacher Zhen-Ru’s teachings, we got off the car and

Mid-April, Prince Edward Island. As days grow warm, two mosquitoes who’ve felt the change slowly flew into the classroom. They sang by everyone’s ears, forcing the group of nuns who were fully engaged in their discussion to take note of their existence. One nun took out a box. Just as she was about to take the mosquitoes outside, another suddenly

Before summer arrived, a few of our nuns set up a lily cultivation area around the firewood shed like previous years. However, it didn’t take them long to realize that someone’s been eating their lilies. The leaves were dotted with holes of various sizes. Upon closer inspection, they found tiny specs of red. A group of uninvited diners – stinkbugs.

With summer finally upon us, perhaps one of the most common sights here on the Island are the mosquitoes that force everyone into almsgiving. An island rich in forests and grasslands, you can only imagine their numbers. Once bitten, you’ll swell up for a couple of days, sometimes to the size of a streamed bread. They usually feed on cows,

Every June and July marks GWBI’s exam season. With three different exams held in succession of one another: recitations, written, and debate, you’d always find someone with their noses deep in their books, trying to make that final sprint. In fact, such scene is a common sight in the monastery regardless of time or season. After all, with the recitations