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8 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

THE DHARMA

BEFORE SELF

By Oh Teik Bin

Oh Teik Bin is a retired teacher and has been involved in Buddhist missionary
work for more than 30 years at the Lower Perak Buddhist Association in
Teluk Intan. His outreach services have included guidance classes for students,
community library work, Youth Camps, Buddhist Sunday School, Dharma
sharing, and Buddhist wake and funeral chanting services. He has posted
many educational materials on Buddhism at more than 10 web-sites, among
them Slideshare, YouTube, Scribd, Twitter, Toondoo, Quora, Pinterest, and
Instagram. Oh Teik Bin has also published eight Dharma / Life Lessons books
for free distribution, the latest being “100 Instagram Posts of LIFE Lessons.”
For the commercial market, he has authored eight books pertaining to Humor
and Wisdom, Life Lessons, Motivation and Inspiration. Apart from missionary
work, Oh Teik Bin has a great passion for creative writing and commercial
slogan-writing contests. Over the years he has won various prizes, including a
condominium, a Jaguar car, a Proton Wira car, a Kawasaki super bike, holiday
trips, and cash vouchers. Benny Liow met up with Oh Teik Bin in Teluk Intan
during a Dharma sharing session on July 28, 2018 and requested him to share
his story of his missionary work during the past three decades with readers of
Eastern Horizon.

Benny: You are now an advisor to the Lower Perak Buddhist Association, having
nurtured the organization for more than 30 years. Can you share with us how
you first became interested in Buddhism?

Oh: I come from a typical Chinese family with a Taoist background. The Taoist
practices of my family never appealed to me. As my primary and secondary education
were at La Salle missionary schools, at St. Anthony’s in Teluk Intan and at St. Michael’s
Institution, Ipoh, for my Sixth Form, I was taught and learnt much about Christianity.
I followed Bible studies, took correspondence courses and attended regular chapel
and church services. I did find certain aspects of Christianity good and meaningful,
particularly the teachings on love and charity.

It was during my Sixth Form that I began to read widely on philosophy and religion.
Questions and doubts started to grow in my mind, such as Who am I? Why am I here?
What is the purpose of life? What happens after death? What is good and what is bad?
Why is there so much evil in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people and
good things to bad people? How can one be truly happy and peaceful? and many other
questions.