Master Jih-Chang started the Dharma propagation in Singapore and established a teaching centre. Venerable Jing Yuan is the first abbot of the monastery
BW Monastery 吉祥宝聚寺 — FAQs 常见问题
Master Ri-Chang calls himself the General that constantly faces defeat:
我自己很清楚嘛，我一直在败，人家说常胜将军，我自己觉得我是个常败将军。这话怎么讲呀？普通一般人哪，败了一次就完了，那个就不行。我败，败了以后我还再打；又败，败了再打；又败，再打。所以啊叫作“常败”，真正了不起的就是这个“常”字，你能够这样地倒下去再打，倒下去再打，倒下去再打，你成功了！记着，我但愿诸位能学这个！我现在就学这个常败将军，我在这里只是把我的败的经验告诉诸位。虽然败啊，快乐的哦！啊！美不可言，美不可言！
From Master’s Lamrim Commentary Track 114a BW Monastery 吉祥宝聚寺 — 第114卷A面
I aspire to have this spirit of always facing defeat and not backing down. With this kind of perseverance, one will eventually conquer the enemy once and for all.
Remembering Master Ri-Chang:
2018福智憶師恩法會－日常老和尚弘揚廣論30年《 般若千年・幕後專訪 》
2017 師恩《 走過千生萬世 》日常老和尚・福智僧團
A tale of when Master Ri-Chang was young.
《 周末微電影＿難忘的一年 》 1965年，小學二年級的楊永興遇到了一位和尚叔叔 。47年後才知道這位教小永興毛巾四角要拉齊，掃地掃牆角，洗臉洗耳角的和尚叔叔，竟然是…
Through Master Ri-Chang’s sharing of his personal anecdotes in his Lamrim Commentary, I get to know and admire Master.
His experience joining the Sangha:
所以我一开头曾经给你们说过，我当初出家的时候人人笑我，等到我出了家多少年以后，跟以前的老朋友碰见了，那老朋友都说：“某人哪！算来算去还是你最好。”那当初我们在学校里念书的时候，大家都在想，哎呀，要什么啊？每一个人有伟大的志愿，要成家立业；现在呢，每一个人都五子登科。所谓五子登科啊，什么？房子，什么？车子、妻子、金子，还有什么子啊？儿子，每个人都五子登科了。结果他忙了半天，问他干什么？“哎呀！还不是图这个家，还不是为了这些孩子！”你说忙了半天，结果呢？唉！他只有是这个样。
He calls himself the general that constantly gets defeated
我自己很清楚嘛，我一直在败，人家说常胜将军，我自己觉得我是个常败将军。这话怎么讲呀？普通一般人哪，败了一次就完了，那个就不行。我败，败了以后我还再打；又败，败了再打；又败，再打。所以啊叫作“常败”，真正了不起的就是这个“常”字，你能够这样地倒下去再打，倒下去再打，倒下去再打，你成功了！记着，我但愿诸位能学这个！我现在就学这个常败将军，我在这里只是把我的败的经验告诉诸位。虽然败啊，快乐的哦！啊！美不可言，美不可言！
Reference:
Venerable Ru Jun shares this remembrance video of Master Ri-Chang (and a discourse to go along with it).
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This is one of the discourses by Master Ri-Chang that I could find on YouTube.
It is almost 12 hours long.
Even though I didn’t really understand the bulk of it, it was good to see and listen to Master again.
I really enjoy it when Master Ri-Chang shares anecdotes from his life:
(from the Lamrim Commentary Track 131b)
那时候，那个同净兰若现在还在那里嘛，你们可以去看看，新店，就在那个地方，有六百多坪的地。然后那时候我们住的只有三个人，就是这样，那时候只有三个人。然后呢早晨起来，当然仁法师他的确、的确地是我们哪，他是一个这个尊长，他主要的他自己用功，我们请求他。然后呢从厨房开始，上殿、过堂开始，样样都是我们自己做的。早晨起来嘛，然后呢烧饭。我们不是说，哎呀，轮到你烧饭了，上殿不上，哪里有这样的事情啊？三个人大家照作，这样。一大早起来，先把那个电锅里的这个米弄好了放在那里，然后一按按上来，然后呢菜已经切好了，这样。然后呢就跑得去电锅一按，跑得去作早殿，作完了早殿以后，马上把那个菜，就把它锅子里铿铿铿。反正你晓得我这个罗汉菜的方式，统统放进去，火一点，铿铿铿烧烧开，好了，二十分钟。所以我们那个早殿，平常上到五点钟，算算看大概是还要早一点，然后呢这个早斋是五点半，那时间是宽宽裕裕。
吃过了以后，然后呢大家把厨房弄弄干净，然后呢这个、这个净头也是我们做，然后呢香灯也是我们做，然后呢环境的环保也是我们做，没有一个不做的哟！现在我看看，有(p100)的时候我们好几个人做，那个客厅里面那个灰尘经常在这里，我们那儿没有这样的事情！有的时候仁法师跑出来看，他就摸一摸，他有的时候看见你不对啊，他要来跟你教诫了。我们那个时候都是战战兢兢，那个台子上弄弄得干干净净。他怎么去摸啊？他不会摸这个台子，他一摸，“你弄过了没有？”“弄过了。”这儿一摸，他给你看一下。你说谁会碰到这个地方去啊？就这个样。但是我们那时候一点都不觉得苦哦，一点都不觉得苦。
然后刚去的时候，他那个时间也是一样，比如说打板、按铃，这我想我都告诉过你们了。那时间的的确确是分秒必争，那时候也没有、没有那个表，没有像现在的好。我们大殿上有一个钟，叮叮当当会敲的，然后呢这个大殿后面有一个电铃，那个电铃现在还在，我最近去，我真欢喜那个地方。那时候就培养出我这个心志来，要竖起耳朵，有的时候外面大风还听不见，听不见他又跑得来：“你这个警觉心一点都没有，这么愚痴的、这么迟钝，怎么学佛啊？”就这样，你竖起了耳朵，前面那个大殿这么“登！”一下，下面的一秒钟那个板或者铃就要按起来─就我们两个人做啊！
另外一个，那个法师，那个也是我们这老和尚的徒弟。他下面去买菜，那个骑个脚踏车，每次上来的时候，就怕冬天一定是满身是汗。现在已经有路，那时候没有，那个山路啊！哪有像现在我们这么舒服，骑了个摩托车砰砰砰砰跑得去。就这样骑个脚踏(p101)车，下去的时候还要推，因为这个山路嘛，不是骑的哦，上来的时候也得推，这样个弄法。所以我只说到这个地方，这个事情大家平常的时候，就是最主要的原因─你并没有如理地认识，然后呢一直陷在这个我、我的习气当中，这个不行！
This year’s Remembrance Day for Master Ri-Chang is coming this month.
@Jereme mentioned the “trailer” to the short film that will be showcased during the event:
Like him, I am eager with anticipation for the day.
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Can we list out how Master has benefitted all of us? It will be a good exercise before MRD this year…
I’ll start first:
- Contemplated on our behalf what is the fastest path to Buddhahood
- Went through thick and thin to obtain the lineage of the teachings for us
Establishing a systematic curriculum for us to learn and practice the Teachings in stages - Gave us the concept of Infinite Lives (无限生命) and Progressive Higher Rebirth (增上生道)
- Started the Edu park for us to have a way to learn and practice together in the path of progressive higher rebirth
- Guided us to establish Right Views and provided us his personal instructions on how to receive the teachings from the Lamrim
Non-exhaustive. Let’s build this up?
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Rejoice to you, @Jereme, for starting this exercise to remember what Master Ri-Chang has done for us.
My gratitude is to Master building up the Sangha so that we can get guidance on the teachings. I listen to Master’s disciples like Venerable Ru Jun and Venerable Ru De almost every other day. And I get much advice and learning each and everytime I tune in to them. Without Master Ri-Chang. all this will not be possible.
Rejoice!
Cannot miss out OMAK - Observing Merits and Appreciating Kindness of others. It’s one of the first thing that I learnt to apply after learning the Lamrim, and I am still learning to practice everyday because it really helps in building healthy and happy relationships with others.
The importance of organic farming so that our loved ones have safe food for consumption, as well as to care for the environment and other living beings living together with us on this earth.
Rejoice in our kind deeds as well as others, not to be jealous when someone has better capability than ourselves but to rejoice in what they can accomplish and learn from them. I greatly benefitted from learning to practice this, as it humbles me and opens my mind to learn from others.
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Master Ri-Chang guided me to find out what really is happiness and what really is suffering. And through it, uncovering that Buddhism is the way for me to eliminate suffering.
Let’s meet Master again and listen to him explain the meaning of suffering and happiness.
福智日常老和尚開示：苦樂的真相
My Lamrim Class 班长 shared a video in class on the early life of Master Ri-Chang.
Sharing the video with this forum:
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A replica of Master’s room was built for the recent Rememberance Day event.
Looking at the spartan room, I can better picture Master and the life he led.
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Venerable Ru-De shared at the Master Remembrance Day event the question whether we prefer to be the "General that Always Wins or the “General that Constantly Faces Defeat”.
The answer may seem obvious that we should aspire to be the former - the constant winner.
However, Venerable presented a different perspective.
From Venerable, I learnt that if one is so concerned with keeping up the record of not being defeated then one will only fight those battles that are easy. This General will stagnate and not improve much.
Whereas the General that is constantly defeated but is always getting back on his feet will be improving by leaps and bounds.
Let us follow Master Ri-Chang’s example and be brave in the face of adversity and setback!
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Reflecting on the beauty, rarity and purity of the White Lotus upright in the muddy waters - akin to Master Ri-Chang’s compassion in guiding us on our journey towards Buddhahood.
I understood from a discourse that Venerable Ru Jun held in Singapore, the story behind why the White Lotus is a symbol of Buddhism. Venerable referred to this line from
《四家合注》-归敬颂说"胜解行时志力即无敌"
If I recall correctly, it was said that when Buddha Shakyamuni was a Bodhisattva, his resolve to save Sentient Beings was so strong that he was praised with the epithet of the White Rose - representing purity and rarity of his determination.
This gives me much deeper feelings when I chance upon lotuses.
Members of the Sangha reminisce about Master Ri-Chang:
It was an injection of faith to see the impact that Master Ri-Chang had on his disciples.
Echoing one of the Venerables in the video, I supplicate for Master Ri-Chang to
去去就来
