我是经由母亲的介绍而认识海天禅寺。刚开始时，母亲几乎是勉强我去精舍，因此，虽然能完成初级和中级禅修班，却不明白上课的内容。大学毕业后，一切有了变化，虽然心中依然存着一些疑问，但是我告诉自己：「好，就姑且一试吧！我将以开放的胸怀，不带任何既定的想法，和母亲一起到精舍。」记得我是在海天儿童夏令营的圆满日来到精舍，刚开始仍感觉有些生疏，因为这对我而言是新环境。但令人惊讶的是，当包括我妹妹身边的义工们跟我说话的口吻，好似我已经到精舍发心一段时间了，他们对待我就像对当义工的母亲、弟弟、妹妹一样亲切。这样温暖的感受彻底改变了我对海天禅寺的看法，也是从那一天开始，我有了许多奇妙的转变。

　　尽管只是单纯地使他人感受到欢迎之意，就让像我这般的新学员，对海天禅寺的印象有很大的影响。他们的慈悲和温暖，点亮了我的心灯。

　　担任义工对我而言，是一种回馈与表达「感谢」的方式，并且能够与大众分享在精舍所学。每次发心都会遇到不同的坡务和不同的人，这对我的个性与修行都是一种挑战，但是这并不困扰我。每种坡务都能让我学到一些新的东西。法师所教的道理不是在听闻佛法开示后就结束了，而是需要在日常中应用。

　　「热爱你的工作，并且视其为生活中的一部分，这样可以使工作更容易、心情更快乐。」这是我最相应的其中一个法门。它改变了我对工作的态度。假使以错误的观念去工作，工作则变得不容易，而且对自己也不会有任何助益。不管什么理由，如果每天醒来只为等待这一天尽快结束，那么无论是在工作中、或与人相处、甚至在你的生活里，绝对无法获得真正的快乐。但是，当你把工作当作自己的生活，而且乐在其中，那么无论身心多么疲惫，总是会沉浸在喜悦及成就感中。每当看到人们因为我的帮助而快乐，这就是我最大的喜悦。

　　然而，有时我们不仅仅只是带给其他人快乐而已。我知道我并不完美，也不可能让所有的人满意。但这不会影响我继续帮助他人，就像我也从助人中获得相同的利益；尽管我曾经帮助的人，可能不知道他们已经在我的生活中，产生正面或负面的影响。但我仍然想以我做得到的方式，向他们感恩或说声抱歉。身为一位修行人，还有很多事情需要学习，可以肯定的是，这是一条无止尽的学习之路。

　　现在，我心中的想法是——「布施慈悲，点亮心灯」。因为个人的心光不足以驱散我们遭逢的黑暗，但是如果你分享光明，你周围的光也愈发显得更大、更加明亮。这不仅帮助自己，同时也能够利益他人。

Pay it forward

By Domingo, Roychelle Camilah

　　Ocean Sky Chan Monastery was introduced to me by my mother. At the beginning, my mother would literally force me to go. Despite this, I was still able to finish beginners' and intermediate meditation classes without understanding what was being taught. Everything changed after I graduated from college. There were questions lingering in my mind. I told myself, “Okay, I'll give it a shot. I'll go with my Mom to Ocean Sky with an open mind and I will not have any thought or judgment.” And I did go. I remember I came during the last day of summer camp. At first, it still felt weird because it was all new to me. Surprisingly, when some volunteers and my sister's co-volunteers talked to me, it felt different. They talked to me as if I'd been coming to the monastery for as long as my Mom, sister, and brother did. The experience changed my perception of Ocean Sky. From that day onwards, many wonderful things have changed in me.

　　With that simple gesture of making others feel welcomed, it definitely had a big effect on newcomers like me and our perception of Ocean Sky. A lamp was lighted through that act of kindness and warmth that I received from the people.

　　Volunteering for me is a way of giving back, to say “thank you,” and to share and spread the teachings that I learned in the monastery. I encountered different tasks and different people every time I do volunteer work. It challenges me as a person and in my practice. But it doesn't bother me. In everything that I do, I definitely learn something new. The teachings don't end after listening to the Dharma talks, the lessons also need to be applied.

　　“To love all that you do and consider it as part of your life can make work easier and happier for you.” This was one of the many teachings that struck me the most. It changed how I feel towards my work. There is no easy job if you are just there for the wrong reasons and it will not help you in any way. Every day you wake up just to wait for the day to end because for some reason, you did not find complete happiness in your work, from the people around you, and even in your life. But when you do things because it is your life and you enjoy every bit of it, no matter how tired you are, whether physically or emotionally, you will always find joy and fulfillment in it. There is this feeling of great joy in me whenever I see other people happy because I am able to help them.

　　However, sometimes it is not only happiness we bring to other people. I know I am not perfect nor can I please all the people; but it does not stop me from helping other people as much as I've also benefited from them. These people may not know how they’ve affected my life whether negative or positive. I still would like to thank and say sorry to them in as many ways that I possibly can. As a cultivator, there are still many things that I need to learn and for sure, my learning never ends.

　　Right now, a single thought is in my mind, “Pay it forward.” The single light that I am holding is not enough to dispel the darkness we are encountering. But if I share that light, the brightness around me would keep expanding and become even brighter. This will not only help myself, it will also benefit others.