On 26 September, Most Venerable Hsin Ting, Abbot of Fo Guang Shan Thaihua Temple, graced Melbourne with a Dharma talk at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on the theme “The Buddha-dharma Teaches Us to Elevate the Meaning and Value of Life”, drawing an audience of more than 400.
Most Venerable Hsin Ting was accompanied by Venerable Man Ko, Abbess of Fo Guang Shan Australia and New Zealand. Among those attending were BLIA World Headquarters Director Dominique Yu (張麗施), Chair of the BLIA Oceania Fellowship Committee 蔡素芬, benefactor 丘金慧, BLIA Melbourne President Lindy Chea (謝嘉莉), David Yu (余文傑), and Advisor James Yang (楊健).
The talk opened with the BLIA Young Adult Division Melbourne performing the dance “You Are the Light”, a joyful sign-language piece that filled the hall with warmth and brightness.
Drawing on the true meaning of the Saṃyukta Āgama, Most Venerable Hsin Ting explained in clear and accessible terms the essence of practising the Three Acts of Goodness, guiding the audience to bring the wisdom of the Dharma into every moment of daily life — walking, standing, sitting and lying down. Whether a life rises or falls, he taught, does not depend on noble or humble birth; it is decided entirely by the good and bad karma we create through body, speech and mind. He recounted the classic exchange between King Pasenadi and the Buddha to encourage the assembly: some are born in humble circumstances yet constantly do good, and so go from darkness into light; others are born into wealth and status yet indulge in wrongdoing, and so go from light into darkness and fall into turmoil.
“Do good deeds, speak good words, think good thoughts” — this, he emphasised, is the truest and most ultimate form of self-love. The armies of the world can protect the body, but they cannot protect the purity of the mind; only by carefully guarding the three karmas of body, speech and mind, and by remaining ever aware of our thoughts, can a practitioner achieve the most complete self-protection. He urged everyone to practise diligently, to hold fast to wholesome thoughts and wholesome deeds, and truly to go from light into light, step by step towards a life of purity and radiance.
On wealth and the practice of faith, he shared the story of the elder Mahānāma, who possessed a fortune in the hundreds of millions yet lived frugally behind closed doors, never giving, never making offerings, never forming good affinities with others. The Buddha taught that worldly wealth should be used to care for one’s parents, to help the poor and support the weak, and to benefit others widely — like a cool pond at the edge of a city whose waters flow out to nourish all the people. That is the true meaning of wealth.
He also offered the image of a great tree to encourage Buddhist practitioners: if we keep the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha in mind day and night and maintain pure right mindfulness, then at the end of life we will fall as naturally as a great tree leaning in the direction it has always grown — our consciousness will return of its own accord to a place of purity and peace, far from the suffering of affliction and rebirth.
As the talk drew to a close, Venerable Man Ko thanked Most Venerable Hsin Ting on behalf of all the devotees for his compassionate teaching, expressing gratitude that at his venerable age he had crossed the ocean to travel and teach so tirelessly. She also recalled his profound contribution to the development of Buddhism in Australia: it was Most Venerable Hsin Ting who personally selected the site of Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien in Australia, laying a deep foundation for the spread of the Dharma throughout Oceania — a legacy that lives on in the hearts of many.
Afterwards devotees eagerly requested copies of Most Venerable Hsin Ting’s books, and everyone left filled with Dharma joy. The talk concluded in perfect success.
佛法引航提升生命價值 心定和尚墨爾本弘揚妙法
九月二十六日佛光山泰華寺住持心定和尚蒞臨墨爾本，於墨爾本會展中心隆重開示，以「佛法教我們提升生命的意義與價值」為題闡揚佛法妙諦。吸引逾400人聆聽。
講座由佛光山澳紐總住持滿可法師陪同，國際佛光會世界總會理事張麗施，大洋洲聯誼委員會主任委員蔡素芬，功德主丘金慧、墨爾本佛光協會會長謝嘉莉、余文傑、楊健督導等參加。
講座一開幕，由墨青年團帶來舞蹈《我們就是那個光》，以歡快手語表演揭開活動序幕，為全場薰染溫暖明亮的氣氛。
心定和尚依《雜阿含經》真義，深入淺出闡釋「行三好」的修行真諦，指引大眾將佛法智慧落實於日常行住坐臥。和尚開示，生命的昇墮與否，不在出身貴賤，全然取決於身、口、意三業的善惡造作。他引述波斯匿王與佛陀對話之經典公案勉勵大眾：有人出身寒微卻恆行眾善，得以從冥入明；亦有人生長富貴之家卻恣意造惡，終致從明入冥、墮落紛擾。
和尚強調，「做好事、說好話、存好心」，即是最真實、最究竟的自愛。世間軍隊可守護身軀安穩，卻無法護持心念清淨；唯有謹慎護持身口意三業、時時覺察心念，才是修行者最圓滿的自我護持。期許大眾精進修行，恆持善念善行，真正做到從明入明，步步朝向清淨光明的生命境界邁進。
針對財富觀與信仰實踐，心定和尚再舉摩訶男長者之典故啟示大眾：長者身擁億萬家財，卻生活儉樸、閉門自享，未曾布施供養、廣結善緣。佛陀開示，世間財富當用以孝養父母、濟貧扶弱、廣行利他，如同城邊清涼池水，流通滋潤、利益萬民，方為財富真義。
和尚亦以大樹為喻勉勵學佛之人：若能日夜繫念佛、法、僧三寶，恆保清淨正念，臨命終時便如大樹順勢傾落、順注安穩，神識自然歸向清淨安樂之處，遠離煩惱輪迴之苦。
講座圓滿尾聲，佛光山澳纽總住持滿可法師代表全體信眾致謝心定和尚慈悲開示，感念和尚高齡遠渡重洋、辛勞巡迴弘法，亦回溯其對澳洲當地佛法發展的深遠貢獻。心定和尚當年親自為澳洲佛光山南天講堂勘定址點，為大洋洲佛法傳播奠定深厚根基，功績深植人心。
隨後信眾們紛紛恭請心定和尚著作，人人滿載法益、心生歡喜。整場講座圓滿落幕。