Love Made The Temple A Reality Reflections on the Chinese Tao Seminar at the Michigan Zhong Shu Temple October 2019

◎ Nina Goze

‟Go to the people. Live with them, learn from them, love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have.” --Lao Tzu

When I think about the sacrifices made by the Tao relatives who made our temple possible, I am embraced by feelings of love. Love made the temple a reality. Without knowing who would walk through the doors of the future temple, Tao relatives who came before us embraced the principles of Tao and grew great love in their hearts for us!

‟We hammer wood for a house, But it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use.” --Lao Tzu

That love continues to this day, and it was especially felt during the 2019 Chinese Tao Seminar at the Michigan Zhong Shu Temple in October. I was privileged to serve in housekeeping and the kitchen. Cleaning and preparing meals for the attendees and presenters was pure joy because we were able to show our gratitude to the many Tao relatives that came before us. In addition, we were able to show kindness to the many people who came from near and far to attend.

Our motivation was love. Love for humanity, love for our Tao family! We whole-heartedly embraced the idea of letting go of our egos and worked in harmony with one another.

Letting go of ego is accepting the non-being of the Great Tao. Whether cleaning bathrooms and floors or chopping vegetables in the kitchen, we thought of the parts of the temple that we occupied as holy spaces. Most of the time in silence, except for the necessary few words to do our jobs, we treated our tasks as a holy retreat.

A retreat to serve. As we served, we felt the love reciprocated by the attendees and presenters. It became apparent that the inner space of the temple building had become a home of love and kindness with its occupants living in harmony with one another.

We all let go of ego and became formless like the Great Tao itself. I am forever grateful to Heaven for the privilege of serving during this year’s Chinese Tao Seminar.

是愛 將道場在人間實現

2019年10月美國密西根忠恕道院中文新道親法會2.0回顧

◎ 中譯  密西根忠恕道院文書組

「聖人無常心，以百姓心為心。」《道德經‧德善章第四十九》

每當後學想到，道院是許多前賢大德犧牲奉獻而創建的，我深感到「愛的擁抱」。愛的力量將「道場在人間」化為可能。在無法預知未來誰會持續走進佛堂的門時，這些前賢奉行道之宗旨的德行風範，培養大愛的情懷，成為我們學習的榜樣！ 

「鑿戶牖以為室，當其無，有室之用。故有之以為利，無之以為用。」《道德經‧虛中章第十一》

這種無私的愛在後學心中一直持續到今天，尤其是去年（2019）十月分在美國密西根忠恕道院所舉辦的中文新道親法會期間，這種感受特別明顯。後學此次很榮幸能學習承擔服務及天廚，能為所有參與者打掃衛生和準備飯菜，著實令人開心。因為這個機會，我們可以對前輩們表達感恩之意；此外，我們也向從各地方趕來的點傳師、講師和所有前賢大德表示敬意。

這樣的動機是基於愛；愛人類，愛道場及道親！我們用最真誠的心放下自我，彼此和諧互助。

能放下自我，就是回歸大道的無形。無論是清潔浴室和地板，或者在廚房切菜，我們學習將佛堂內可使用的空間，視為一個神聖的地方。除了必要的溝通之外，大部分時間我們盡量止語養氣，因為服務及天廚亦是法會的一部份。

這亦是一場無畏施的法會。在服務過程中，我們亦得到點傳師、講師和學員們所回饋的愛。道院儼然成為一個愛與善的家，住在這個家裡面的人彼此學習和諧相處。

當放下我執時，即如道的本體，化為無形無相。永遠感謝　上天老母、上天，在今年的中文新道親法會中，後學有學習服務了愿的機會。