Seventy-one Tzu Chi volunteers gather at the educational recycling area in the Nylect factory grounds, and via video conference, are connected with the Jing Si Abode in Taiwan. In this way, they listen to the Master’s morning teachings and start the day with wisdom and joy. (Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
It was just 5.00am in the morning and the public transport system had yet to start for the day. Yet in the hours before the sun’s rays would light up the surroundings, Tzu Chi volunteers could be seen streaming in to the Woodlands educational recycling station in threes and fours. They had made their own car pooling arrangements in order to receive Master Cheng Yen’s teachings via a video conference link up to the Jing Si Abode in Taiwan, where after the “Wisdom at Dawn” lecture, the Master would expound the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.
The Educational Recycling station at Woodlands is the fourth venue where Tzu Chi volunteers can take in the morning Dharma teachings by Master Cheng Yen, the others being Jing Si Abode at Pasir Ris, the Tzu Chi Free Clinic at Redhill and the Tzu Chi Free Health Screening and Medical Clinic at Jurong. Since the 25 January 2014, a total of 71 volunteers have attended the sessions where together, they receive the Master’s teachings and start the day with wisdom and joy.
During a sharing, volunteer Xu Dun Ying said that with the video conference facility, it was as though they were all seated in the main hall within the Jing Si Abode, receiving teachings directly from the Master.
The convenient location had enabled many North Zone volunteers to attend the morning teachings for the first time. With the proximity of the location to his home, Chen Zhao Yun feels very blessed as attending the video conference is truly a different experience from watching the “Wisdom at Dawn” lecture online in his home.
“The live transmission makes one feel that they are receiving the lineage teachings face to face from the Master and it is easier to appreciate what is conveyed across. The broad-based teachings usually last about 50 minutes, but due to scheduling constraints, Da Ai TV station edits the footage to only about 24 minutes, therefore the video conference is a better way to take in the teachings.”
Wu Su Hui is full of praise for everyone that supported the initiative by rising early to attend the session. After today’s session, she is particularly struck by the Master’s words that everything that happens in our lives is the result of karma. “Now I know that this applies to what happens in my career and work life as well.”
Wu, a sign language facilitator during the 2013 undertaking of the “Dharma as Water” stage adaptation, had traveled to Hua Lien together with other volunteers to meet the Master after the event. Though she had not understood much of the teachings then, she took the Master’s reminder that all of them attend the morning teachings to heart and vowed to do so when she returned to Singapore.
Wu lives in Johore, and has to travel down to Singapore and back everyday. Though the distance is not too far, it becomes very inconvenient when there is a jam at the immigration checkpoint. For example, she was nearly late for the day’s session as there was additional checks at immigration that morning. Sometimes, if the meetings at Tzu Chi ended late, she would stay overnight at another volunteer’s house so that she would not be late for the next day’s early morning teachings.
Yi Hong Jie, who attends the morning sessions faithfully with Wu everyday laughs as he recounts how he used to be late for work every morning. However because he now rises much earlier in order to attend the morning teachings, he has become the earliest to arrive at his office. “If we embrace the teachings and internalize them, only then can we introduce others to the Dharma,” he says.
Yi was educated in the English medium and hence does not have a good grasp of Mandarin. His understanding of the Minnan dialect is not good either. However, that has not dampened his efforts in learning the Dharma, and he was gradually able to understand the contents of the “Wisdom at Dawn” programme. Yi, who is also an in-charge among the recycling volunteers, has recently put into practice three actions to decease his consumption patterns. He now ensures that he uses less water and electricity and cuts down on his food consumption. Now, he has added one more item on his list – less sleep – in order to receive the early morning teachings. In counting and cherishing his blessings, and then creating more blessings for himself, Yi spurs himself on to exert even more effort in his spiritual path.
“Is money ever enough?” Businessman Shen Xi Zhou shares good naturedly that in the past, he was led by a desire for the sensual and to reap material gains. After realizing that neither the brand names nor the fancy cars he so coveted would be his to own forever, he decided to rein in his desires and focus on the spiritual. Huang Quan Lin, another businessman agrees as says, “As our business grows, so does the karma we create in the course of carrying out our ventures. Though we are engaged in upright businesses, it is still necessary for us to slow down our pace.”
Wang Xuan Bi, an employee of Tzu Chi describes how listening to the morning teachings is like a spiritual recharging of her batteries and allows her to work without being troubled by afflictions. In the afternoon, she gets another opportunity to listen to the “Wisdom at Dawn” teachings, and this gives her wisdom as she carries out her undertakings for the rest of the day.
Another volunteer, Qiu Bing Rou, shares how initially she could not understand everything in the teachings she heard. However, she decided that she would just carry on and pay attention to the programme. Whenever she came upon parts which she did not understand, she would scribble down notes in the belief that one day, she would eventually realize the meaning contained within.
As that morning session was held on a Saturday, volunteers also had a taste of the simple but healthy porridge which Shen had thoughtfully prepared for their breakfast. After that, it was back to the video conference area as volunteers made themselves present for the volunteers morning assembly session. It is with great diligence that the Tzu Chi members embrace the teachings, in the hopes that they may propagate the lineage teachings far and wide.
The area at Nylect is the first North Zone location in which volunteers can gather and receive the Master’s morning teachings. Chen Zhao Yun (second from right) appreciates that the video conference, being in real-time, provides them with a very direct transmission of the teachings. (Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
Wu Su Hui, who lives in Johore, insists on waking up early everyday to listen to the Master’s teachings so that she can align herself better with the organisation’s missions. (Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
In order to receive the morning teachings, Yi Hong Jie awakes early and in the process, has become the earliest one to arrive at the office every morning. He adds “less sleep” to his to-do list, which includes consuming less water, electricity and food and hence actualizes the cherishing and creating of blessings for himself. (Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
Businessman and volunteer Shen Xi Zhou not only has kindly lent his factory grounds as a meeting venue for volunteers, he also takes notes attentively during the video conference. He shares that whereas in the past he was preoccupied with material gains, he now realizes that the very nature of these are all temporal. (Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
Everyone enjoys a simple breakfast after the Master’s teachings, before continuing with the volunteer morning assembly. (Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
Share 
