About YAD  關於佛青

Causes and conditions ripened the birth of YAD 

During March 22nd to March 24th of 1996, BLIA World Headquarters & Hsi Lai Temple jointly organized the First American & Canadian Buddhist youth Camp at Hsi Lai Temple in California, USA. About 100 participants from 23 universities of Canada (Vancouver and Edmonton) and USA (Texas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arizona and California) attended. Coincidentally, Grand Master Hsing Yun was on his Dharma promotion tour in the United States at the time, and as Grand Master Hsing Yun has always highly valued and cherished the youth, he agreed to the invitation from the organizers to give a speech for the participants.

During the speech, Grand Master Hsing Yun pointed out that to understand a nation's future, we look at the youth of the nation; similarly, to know the future of Buddhism, we can look at the efforts of Buddhist youth. He then mentioned many of the world's famous leaders of past and present, who had been very dedicated in their youth and went through many difficulties in order to succeed in their career. Further, Grand Master Hsing Yun pointed out that, during the history of Buddhism, Sakyamuni Buddha and Grand Master Xuen Zhuan from China devoted their youth to Buddhism, and only by their going through many hardships and overcoming many obstacles do we have today's accomplishments. Therefore, youth is Buddhism's future hope. Grand Master Hsing Yun's words inspired the participants to contribute to the promotion of Dharma. They sincerely requested Grand Master Hsing Yun to form a Buddhist youth group to allow more youths to work together to promote Buddhism. This proposal immediately received Grand Master Hsing Yun's support, and was approved with immense applause at the "BLIA First Meeting of the Second Board of Directors" held in Malaysia on April 23rd of the same year. Hence an internationally based youth group affiliated with BLIA was born.

The Bodhi seeds of Buddhism permeate across the five continents  

The First International Buddhist Youth Conference, organized by BLIA and co-organized by BLIA-YAD and BLIA R.O.C, was held at Fo Guang Shan from January 1st to January 3rd of 1997. The conference gathered together over six hundred Buddhist youths from 95 different areas across the five continents. At the time, there had been a number of incidents relating to religion in Taiwan that caused many people in the society to misunderstand the Buddhism. Thus the conference's main focus was to allow the youth, through Buddhism, to develop a righteous view of life, to practice Dharma in daily life, to care for society and promote national and world peace. For this reason, during the opening ceremony, Grand Master Hsing Yun said to the participants that today's youths have to have responsibility, gratitude, kinship, and compassion. He specifically emphasized that the one who is gratefulness, is the richest. This pointed out a clear direction for this conference.

After three days of Dharma talks, discussions and interactions under the guidance of venerables of Fo Guang Shan, the participants formalized the objectives of the BLIA-YAD:

• To establish our direction through Humanistic Buddhism

• To foster leadership skills by forming youth groups

• To broaden our life experience through activities

• To deepen our faith in Buddhism through education

• To enrich our values by contributing to society

At the same time participants also raised following points regarding the future development of the BLIA-YAD:

• To organize a yearly conference, to expand our horizons and enrich our life experience

• To actively promote YAD subdivisions, encouraging youth to learn Buddhism and to spread the Dharma

• To reinforce Committee training, developing quality leadership skills and improving the nature of activities

• To build a communication network, sharing achievements and learning and growing together

With the outstanding performances, knowledge and enthusiasm of Buddha's Light youths, plus the inauguration of 23 YAD subdivisions during the opening ceremony, Grand Master Hsing Yun was deeply touched and said, "The formation of YAD subdivisions around the world is like spreading Bodhi seeds. Do not underestimate a seed, one day it will grow. Do not underestimate even little causes and conditions, when they ripen, the whole universe will quiver. The future of Buddhist youth is boundless." He continued, "Although BLIA-YAD is a small step for BLIA, it is a great leap for human kind."

Grand Master Hsing Yun's Words—Guidelines for the youth

After returning to their countries, Buddha's Light youths actively involved in various temple and BLIA activities, bringing local youth in touch with Buddhism. Within just one year, BLIA-YAD Malaysia established 12 youth organizations across the country. BLIA-YAD Philippines organized three consecutive youth camps, each with over one hundred participants, during the April holidays. BLIA-YAD subdivisions in New Zealand and Australia jointly organized the "Australia and New Zealand Buddhist Youth Camp." BLIA-YAD Los Angeles assisted the BLIA-YAD Headquarters in establishing various rules and regulations. Furthermore, Buddhist youths from 29 regions in 9 countries officially applied to join BLIA-YAD under everyone's support and encouragement.

The 2nd IBLYC started on January 1st, 1998, with youths from over 20 countries including USA, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, South Korea, Sweden, Holland, Paris, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. Altogether, more than 700 BLIA-YAD youths from over 20 countries and 80 regions gathered at Fo Guang Shan for the 3 days conference. In recognition of the excellent achievements of overseas BLIA-YAD, the R.O.C Government sent its delegate Mr. The-Fu Huang to the conference for encouragement. During his speech, Mr. Huang confirmed the benefits of such events, as the conference does not only discuss Buddhist teachings but also addresses social issues by encouraging the moral views of youth. An award of NT$500, 000 was also presented to the organizers.

In his speech during the conference, Grand Master Hsing Yun encouraged young adults to understand in belief, morality, propagation and life path. In terms of belief, youths ought to possess right thoughts and right views to avoid falling into evil. In terms of morality, youths ought to have standards of moral conduct. Towards society, youths ought to possess a heart of gratitude and the will to contribute. In human interactions, youths ought to give others confidence, joy, hope and convenience. In propagation, youths ought to spread the bright and meaningful side of life, especially making the various educational and cultural endeavors of FGS known to the wider public. In terms of life path, youths ought to understand how to plan their own life, not wasting the golden years of their life. In addition, Grand Master wholeheartedly reminded Buddhist youths: for themselves, to "always remember your aspiration"; for the nation, to "be of service"; for friends, to "let go of past quarrels"; for society, to "live according to conditions but maintain your principles". All of these precious pieces of advice have become guidelines for BLIA-YAD youths.

After a year of diligent cultivation, the number of BLIA-YAD subdivisions grew from the initial 23 to 52. In the "Executive Report", representatives from different subdivisions seized the opportunity to share their progress in the past year. In the "Talent Exchange", every subdivision showed their multifaceted skills. In addition, in order to present what happened during the conference, every representative was also busy listening and taking notes. Upon seeing how every youth participated, and their talent and energy, Grand Master said joyfully, "What Fo Guang Shan has achieved so far is nothing; if you can pass it down and make it even more prosperous in the future, that will be the greatest achievement!" This aspiration encouraged BLIA-YAD young adults to endeavor to spread the ideals of Humanistic Buddhism and to bring more youths in touch with Buddhism.

Buddha's Light Women, Young Adults, and their historical encounter

These two conferences brought various levels of surprises and joy. IBLYC has joined the hearts of BLIA-YAD youth throughout the world. Some participants have started their own YAD subdivision in their countries; some have started learning Chinese; some have found part-time jobs to start saving for IBLYC next year; some actively recruited new members and encourage more friends to participate; some subdivisions have held similar activities to IBLYC. The seeds of Dharma have gradually sprouted and put down roots in every part of the world. This greatly aids the spread of Buddhism.

The third IBLYC and International Buddhist Elite Women Conference were held at Fo Guang Shan, from Dec. 25th, 1998, for three days. Over 1,000 elite women and BLIA-YAD members from 21 countries participated in the occasion. As it was the first time that these two events had been organized jointly, the organizers were quite apprehensive of the outcome. However, their fears proved to be unnecessary. During the final session, the youth used group cheers to present what they had learned over these few days. When Fo Guang Women talked about how they can assist Grand Master Hsing Yun in Dharma propagation, the youths responded with applause and "love cheers" at certain points. This turned a serious topic into one of light-heartedness and liveliness. Perhaps the energy and warmth exhibited by the youth also spread to Fo Guang Women. Many of them felt years younger and requested the event to be jointly organized with the youth conference again next time. In return, BLIA-YAD learned from the gentle and elegance of the mothers.

During the closing ceremony, Grand Master emphasized again that the spirit of a Bodhisattva must be combined with the energy of a youthful heart in order to spread Buddhism widely. He mentioned the great contributions of women in the history of Buddhism, highlighting the essential role of women in Buddhism. Also, Sakyamuni Buddha renounced the worldly life in the prime of his youth and his ten great disciples were also mostly young, reflecting the importance Buddhism places on young people. It is hoped that the compassion of women and energy of youth will allow Buddhism to shine over the world and the continuation of the Dharma.

Group invention leading to the achievements of the many

At this joint conference, a point worth mentioning was the unconditional assistance offered by BLIA-YAD overseas youth. Due to the fact that December was a very busy month, Taiwan BLIA R.O.C had assigned all of its human resources (including the IBYC organizer, BLIA-YAD R.O.C) to various major functions such as the Welcoming of the Buddha's relics, Water and Land Dharma Functions at the Fo Guang Shan, Grand Master Hsing Yun's Dharma Lecture and the "Second General Conference of the Third Board of Directors" of the BLIA R.O.C. Recognizing the imminent problem caused by the lack of human resources and time, BLIA-YAD R.O.C sent a request to the YAD Headquarters seeking assistance prior to the conference. When the YAD Headquarters received such request, they were not sure what is the best solution, so the Headquarters responded by sending an announcement of the situation to BLIA-YAD all over the world, encouraging them to go to Fo Guang Shan earlier to provide necessary assistance. To everyone's surprise, BLIA-YAD youths from places like Los Angeles, Queensland, Western Australia, New Zealand, Vancouver and Edmonton all responded wholeheartedly to the announcement. These youth adults assisted in the preparation of activities, for instance, coming up with discussion and debate topics, and researching and collecting related information. During the IBLYC, they also undertook the roles of disciplinary officers, translators, meals set-up and so on.

During that period, the many members of the YAD Chung Hwa could not be at Fo Guang Shan to participate the preparation works due to work or study. Without a second thought, the BLIA-YAD overseas youths arrived at FGS early to take care of the preparation works. From cleaning and setting up the dining hall (moving tables, washing the dishes, mopping the floors, etc) to all other major and minor duties, everyone completed the tasks with great joy. Some of the youths came from wealthy families, where they had chauffeurs and maids and probably did not even know what a broom looks like, but they still participated in cleaning up without complaint. At this lovely sight I could say this: "You are all creating history. All along, we've only ever heard of organizers doing preparation works to welcome the participants, never participants doing preparation to support the organizers. You all are able to do what Grand Master has said, to be a leader and also be led, to be able to work in all areas, and to be able to undergo hardship as well as happiness. You can all change and transform yourselves, which goes to show that you are very capable and full of love."

It is touching to see this kind of cooperation that goes beyond national borders. The BLIA-YAD youths, although unacquainted and from different countries and backgrounds, were able to work together. This demonstrates that Buddha's Light youths understand the spirit of working as a team. In the future, wherever the IBLYC is held, we will be assured of that spirit. As the cooperation between youth increases and interaction deepens, the youth will know how to liaise with each other in order to continue to spread the Dharma in the future, to bring Grand Master's ideal of Humanistic Buddhism around the world to fruition.

Farewell twentieth century and welcome twenty first century

In September 1999, the earthquakes in Taiwan caused many deaths and injuries. Therefore BLIA decided to cancel the conference in order to help those affected by this disaster. However, all the BLIA-YAD youths did not slight their meaningful activities because of this cancellation. Instead, they were even more diligent in fundraising and providing comfort for the victims in Taiwan. Their compassionate acts were highly commended, showing the results of our three-year established BLIA-YAD.

On 28th December 2000, the fourth International Buddhist Youth Conference co-organized by BLIA-YAD R.O.C. subdivisions and Buddha's Light Youth Center gathered youth from countries such as Japan, Canada, USA, India, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan at Fo Guang Shan for the four-day conference. Breaking with past ritual, the post-conference tour was moved to before the conference. Special arrangements had been made for the youths from around the world to visit the earthquake disaster areas. After the 1999 earthquakes in Taiwan, everybody rolled up their sleeves, took a fundraising box and stepped out onto the streets to solicit donations or wash cars to raise funds. These funds were used by Fo Guang Shan and BLIA to benefit many victims of the disaster, offering them peace of mind. At the same time, many were touched by the Buddha's Light members' compassion and care.

The official conference started on the 29th of December, and Grand Master Hsing Yun presided over the conference personally. Grand Master encouraged the youth with the following four recommendations; "Extensive reading, broadening knowledge through travel, making friends and handling human interactions with empathy." During the conference, Grand Master Hsing Yun also presented certificates to 13 newly established BLIA-YAD subdivisions. Back at the first conference in 1997, 23 BLIA-YAD subdivisions were established. At the beginning of the second conference in 1998, 29 BLIA-YAD subdivisions were added. At the end of 1998, another 20 BLIA-YAD subdivisions officially received certificates from Grand Master Hsing Yun. In this short period of four years, a total of 85 BLIA-YAD subdivisions have been established across five continents, leading many youths in spreading Buddhism, and bringing together the BLIA-YAD youths' passion to propagate the Dharma from generation to generation. With the efforts of all BLIA-YAD youth sharing the common goal, it is believed that a bright future for Buddhism is just around the corner.

Apart from the visits to the disaster areas, another highlight of the conference was a New Year campfire night with the Buddha's Light Scouts Group which was established in September 2000, providing a different experience for all. Because both groups were young, even a temple as big as Fo Guang Shan could not contain everyone's joyous laughter. The outstanding performances of the Buddha's Light youths won the younger scouts' thunderous applause. But the Buddha's Light Scouts Group had also prepared brilliant performances, filled with hope, happiness and self-confidence, bringing the atmosphere to a climax. Approaching the midnight hour, "Ten, nine... three, two, one, Happy New Year!", "Happy New Year!", "Happy New Year!" many shouted, accompanying the Main Shrine's 21 bells and the seven-colored fire works illuminating the sky. Almost two thousand participants and venerables bid farewell to the 20th century and welcomed the new century under the light of the campfire and the blessings of the Triple Gem Buddhas.

The closing ceremony began with everyone reading "The Resolution of Year 2000 International Buddha's Light Youth Conference." The content included: to maintain the spirit of initiative and dedication; to actively enrich ourselves and to help others; to maintain a resolve to practice the objectives of Humanistic Buddhism; and to enthusiastically look after team members and the temple. At the same time, the 12 main working goals were established for BLIA-YAD: objectives has to be established, missions has to be memorized, organization structure has to be complete, staffs have to be trained, activities have to be creative, Buddhism has to be practiced, members have to be taken care of, help all beings enthusiastically, image has to be positive, resources have to be shared, co-ordinate with the temple, YAD World Headquarters has to be contacted.

During his speech delivered at the conference, Elder Monk Hsin Ding said that the declaration for the conference can be daily learning guidelines for the BLIA-YAD youth, and he also encouraged everyone to learn throughout their life. He hopes that everyone develops a Bodhi mind in all activities, like the mind of a Bodhisattva who has wisdom through emptiness. Before the conference adjourned, we were very fortunate to participate in the Re-opening Ceremony for the Fo Guang Shan. In bidding farewell to the 20th century and welcoming the 21st century, all the BLIA-YAD youth deeply felt a sense of responsibility towards propagating Buddhism.

The Prosperity of Buddhism in years to come

Over the last five years, BLIA-YAD has gone from zero to the current status of consisting 85 subdivisions throughout five continents. BLIA-YAD actively participates in social welfare in all corners of the world and regularly carries out various tasks in the areas of culture, education and charity work in order to purify the mind and hearts of people. BLIA-YAD's enthusiasm had been highly praised by numerous others. With all these achievements, I am grateful to Grand Master Hsing Yun who gave me this learning opportunity. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Secretary General of the BLIA World Headquarters, Venerable Tzu Jung, for her guidance in many areas. As for the success of the four IBLYCs, I would like to thank BLIA R.O.C. for their full support, especially Ms. King-bao Huang for her tireless effort and endeavor made the conferences successful every single time. In addition, I would like to thank Ms. Hui-chen Yeh for her hard work for continually bringing new blood into BLIA-YAD since her appointment to the position of the Executive Office of the "Buddha's Light Youth Center" by Grand Master Hsing Yun in 1998. Lastly, I would like to thank BLIA-YAD Los Angeles for their help to complete the "BLIA-YAD World Headquarters' 5th Anniversary Yearbook", YAD Vancouver and YAD Sully for their assistance in completing "Buddha's Light Group Activity Handbook". Most importantly, I would like to thank all the BLIA-YADs for their active participation. It is because of everyone's involvement that we have been able to establish 85 subdivisions in the short period of five years, radiating our passion throughout the world, warming the hearts of local people and setting a good example for the youth of today.

All in all, the success of a movement is never the achievement of a single man. It all depends on the combinations of causes and conditions. Without the accompaniment of greenery, the splendor of the flowers would not shine through; without being complemented by the flowers, the vitality of greenery would not come through. If we were to ask who benefited from all the merits in these last five years, in Dharma "we are all equal, there is no great or small merit", it is those who are able to pass on the Dharma that have the greatest contribution. Hence, "How do we continue this strength? How do we organize them? How do we motivate them?" These are the challenges we Buddha's Light members have to face today, and this is exactly why Grand Master Hsing Yun established BLIA-YAD. Therefore, I hope people with similar vision like us can work together, encourage our children to become members of BLIA-YAD and support BLIA-YAD, in order to deepen the core belief in Buddhism and let Buddhism prosper for thousand years to come.