Page 6 - EH64
P. 6
4 EASTERN HORIZON | LEAD ARTICLE
Appreciating the Efficacy
of all Buddhist Traditions
By Ven. Master Miao Jing
It still feels chilly in the early spring in my temple set in
a forest in Canada. After the routine morning prayer and
meditation, I slowly open my eyes while sitting on the
futon. The sunlight coming in through the window turns
the main Buddha Hall warm and lands gently on a Tibetan
Thangka which I brought back from India. It reminds me of
the teachings given to me by my root Guru, His Holiness the
th
17 Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje. I could vividly
recall what His Holiness had said to me during the break
of a retreat, “I hope that in the future, there will be more
practitioners like you who are willing to integrate the study
Venerable Master Miao Jing is the Founder of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, as this will be very beneficial to
of Great Compassion Bodhi Prajna Temple Buddhism as a whole.” This message resonated in my mind.
Canada and North America Karma Kagyu
I was born in a traditional Buddhist family in Taiwan, where
Bhikkhuni Institute. Ven. Master Miao Jing
traditional Eastern culture and Buddhism merge together
has studied Mahāyāna Buddhism for decades
and flourish. Chanting was a part of our morning routine
and had her ordination under Mahāyāna
and as a kid I often woke up with the hymns of wooden
tradition. In 2011, Master Miao Jing began fish and the Great Compassion Mantra which was the
her study of Vajrayāna Buddhism under the first Mantra I learned to recite. While growing up, I often
teaching of Guru H.H. the 17th Karmapa visited Mahāyāna Buddhist monasteries with my parents.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the Headmaster of the As a teenager, I immigrated to Canada, a multicultural
Karma Kagyu Lineage. Ven. Master Miao nation that respects different cultures and religions. I
Jing is one of the very few Bhikkhunis who became an ordained Bhikkhuni under Mahāyāna tradition
practices both Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna and systematically and stepwise studied the Mahāyāna
Buddhism and integrates them into her foundation. Being a nun in Mahāyāna Buddhism led me to
Dharma teachings in the West. For the a constant quest — How can Buddha’s teachings lead us
past few years, she has been a proponent to the ultimate realization of the supreme Buddhahood? Is
of H.H. 17th Karmapa’s vision to restore it through Mahāyāna? Or is it through Vajrayāna? Or is it a
the ordination of Bhikkhuni’s precepts in blend of both? Throughout my journey from the East to the
West I have been searching for the answer. Then by a fateful
Vajrayāna activities and in 2018 she hosted
th
circumstance, I met His Holiness the 17 Karmapa who led
the 1st International Buddhist Bhikkhuni
me on the path to practice Vajrayāna. From then on, I began
Forum in Canada to further this cause.
my journey of practicing both Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna.
To support Great Compassion Bodhi Prajna I was fortunate enough to join a retreat in Bodh Gaya,
th
Temple, Canada please visit www.gcbptemple. India under the guidance of His Holiness the 17 Gyalwang
Karmapa. It was on a late afternoon in November, and
org and www.nakkbi.org
