On “Family Day of Protecting the Spiritual Environments”, participants came to join the activities with the whole family, experiencing DDM Eight-form moving meditation, walking meditation, to have a blissful Buddha’s Birthday as well as Mother’s Day with their calming minds.

On this Family day, participants hit the Lotus Bell, and enjoyed the harmonious Family day.

Bathing the Buddha with sincerity and gratitude

Right after experiencing “Holding the Bowl meditation”, parents and children bathe the Buddha with their focused, relaxing and purified body and mind.

With all sincerity and gratitude, they poured all the water in their bowl into the Little Buddha statue.

Be grateful to Mothers’, for their selfless dedication;

In memories of Buddha, for he enlightened the world;

May all beings be liberated from all vexations and have the realization of Dharmakaya all together.

Give blessing through focused-minded Sutra Transcription

In the Sutra Transcription session, under the delicate guidance of DDM monastics and volunteers, participants firstly experienced mindfulness of breathing and relaxing sensation; then word by word, slowly transcribed the Sutra, “ Guan-yin Bodhisattva, Namo Buddha, have good affinity with Buddha….

With all-embracing focused mind, participants cast full sincerity into each calligraphically word; putting the writing works in the hand-made amulet, then gave their best wishes and transferred the merits to all beings.

Such a unique gift would be the best blessing for our Mothers or friends.

Conveying Buddhist Music

Opening with the well-known song “Childhood” Baby’s story, Sweet Heart...etc. Among them, mothers had hand-in-hand with their children, grandmothers with their grandchildren, all together sang one of the DDM theme song, “Giving you my blessings”

Let’s Dance and Sing with DDM Youth

Shake your hands! Shake your buttock! Senior or junior, together we move with our dancing heart.

Under the melody of “The Common Endeavor of Buddhists”, all participants experienced “awareness, relaxing sensation, and blissful smiling.”

Amidst such enjoyable singing and dancing, interpersonal boundary seemed blurred; participants in the activities experienced being closer and closer with one another.

Relaxing Experiences in Chan

Monastics from DDM Sangha University, working with Dharma Drum for Young People, guided the participants to join the ingenuity games for Chan experiences. Through the game of “Bottle the Peace of mind” “Circled Happiness”, participants could learn to focus on the present moment, to be mindfulness of every hand gesture and eye movement, let go of the vexations and find the delightful moment in Chan.

Texts: Dharma Drum Monthly (法鼓雜誌)
Translation:: Huang, Elenda (頤嵐達)
Editing: DDM Australian Editorial Team

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