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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 23

out of my comfort zone and learn something different.
So, I took up the role as the abbot of Santavana in 2019.
Santavana’s board of trustees understand that I have
a special connection to Taiwan, hence has allowed me
to travel between Taiwan and Malaysia often, so that
I can continue propagating the Dharma in different
places. Although I am not in the monastery all the time,
everyone seems to work together seamlessly, and the
temple is being managed smoothly.

Which sūtras or shastras would you recommend to
Entrance to Santavana Forest Hermitage
the youths today?

The teachings of the Buddha are very ancient wisdom,
and they cannot be interpreted as one wishes. If we
were to introduce these ancient teachings to our youth
today, we need to deliver them in ways that they can
accept and relate. After all, Dharma is not a kind of
special knowledge; it is the wisdom that can liberate us
from suffering.

The Dhammapada and stories from the Āgamas would
Meditation Hall at Santavana – Samaṇa Sukha Vihārī Meditation Hall be a very good start because the contents are very
(沙門樂住) concise and the wisdom can easily be applied. I would

also recommend ‘The Way to Buddhahood’ by Ven.
time when you are calm so that you would not be
Yin Shun and ‘In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of
blown away during stormy days. I regularly learn and
Discourses from the Pali Canon’ by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
contemplate the Dharma, and I would sometimes do
some relaxation exercises and walking meditation How can we reach out so that more people can
to settle my inner turmoil. I try my best not to cause benefit from the wisdom and compassion of the
negative influence on people but as you know, it is very Buddha?
difficult, because we see people day in and day out. If I
have caused distress to others, I will apologise, mediate,
To achieve this goal, we must be able to demonstrate
and make peace with that person.
to people that they can apply the Dharma in their daily
You have spent many years in Taiwan where you
lives and benefit from it. However, we cannot just focus
have established yourself as a Buddhist lecturer but
on getting higher number of participants to join our
why did you decide to return and serve in Malaysia?
activities. Therefore, the quality of Dharma teachers
is extremely important. They need to establish the
Ven. Kai Yin had established Santavana Forest
right view and have a robust foundation of sūtras and
Hermitage and had been its abbot for over twenty
shastras. When one has grasped the core values of the
years. He wanted to spend some quiet time in retreat
Dharma, then only he or she can translate the timeless
and recuperate. He is my elder monastic brother, and
teachings of the Buddha into something relevant in the
like a teacher to me. I could not bear to see him being
contemporary world. There are many examples and
exhausted. Besides, I had been teaching in various
analogies in the sūtras and shastras which are very
Buddhist Colleges in Taiwan for over ten years, so I
applicable in our daily lives.
thought I should give myself an opportunity to come