When I first entered Dharma Youth as a student, I had a basic understanding of Buddhism and meditation. I knew what the Four Noble Truths were and what the Eightfold Path was; I knew that to meditate, you are supposed to clear your mind of all thoughts. What does it mean, though, to put these concepts into practice？As I learned more and more about Buddhism in Dharma Youth, I found myself wondering if I would be able to follow these teachings in real life. It wasn’t until I left the sheltered environment of high school for college life that I was challenged to put the Zen teachings into practice. 

　　At the beginning of my first semester, while listening to others complain about the work they had to do for their writing courses, I realized I had accidentally skipped the first class of my writing course. I had barely been in college for a week, and I had already made a mistake! The class only had eighteen students, so my absence must have been obvious. My new friends suggested dropping the class or even lying about why I had missed class. Shouldn’t I follow the Eightfold path principle of Right Speech, though？Writing an email to the graduate student teaching the course, I sincerely apologized for my mistake, saying I was unaware we had class that first day.  The following day, I received his reply, which began with,“Yes, freshman writing seminars start the same week classes start. It's been that way for a couple of years now.” 

　　When I read this, I thought,“This teacher must think I am very stupid for making such a foolish mistake. How can I attend the next class after making such a bad first impression？”Although my pride was at stake, I could not quit so easily. I decided to go the next class meeting and talk to the teacher after class to explain I did want to take his class but had just made a simple mistake. In the end, the teacher accepted my apology and even told me that because I sounded sincere in my email, he was willing to give me a second chance. After this incident, I was not only relieved but also surprised at how easily it was resolved. It showed me that if you are sincere and honest about your mistakes, people will forgive you.

　　Now that I am a TA for Dharma Youth, I can share stories such as this one with the students and give them real life examples of how Buddhism can influence their lives.  Although these teenagers are only in high school, it is never too early for them to learn the importance of Buddha’s teachings. As a former participant of this program, I can only hope that the current students learn as much as I did from Dharma Youth.

　　（参加精舍青年禅学会时，法师教导我们基本佛学知识、八正道和中台四箴行，并告诉我们，禅修静坐可以使头脑更清楚。

　　随着愈加地深入学习佛法，我开始思考如何将这些道理运用在日常生活上？直到高中毕业，离开父母到东部上大学，开始面对充满挑战的生活，以及学业、人际关系的压力，这时，佛法真的派上用场了。

　　大学新鲜人的第一个星期，当朋友在埋怨写作课的一些必做功课，才发现自己的第一堂写作课，居然无故缺席了！刚上大学的第一周，我就犯下错误！

　　由于这一个班级只有十八个人，所以我的缺席是很明显的。同学们七嘴八舌地帮我出主意，有人叫我退选，也有人叫我撒谎欺骗助教。但我想到法师教导我们不要打妄语，所以我依循佛法八正道里的「正语」，写了e-mail给助教，对于缺席一事诚心道歉。助教回信严词告诫我：「新鲜人，写作课和其它课一样，每学期开学的第一天就要开始上课，这已经实行好几年了。」我读了助教的信后，心想：教授一定觉得我很愚蠢，怎么会犯下这样的错误！因而懊恼不已。但在自尊心的趋使下，我下定决心不轻易退选。第二堂写作课下课后，我去找教授，并向他表示自己很想上这堂课，实因不知情而犯了缺席的错误。教授很慈祥地回答我：「因为你很诚恳，我会给你第二次机会。」经过这次事件，我学到每个人都会犯错，只要诚心承认错误，并且愿意改过，别人都会原谅你的。

　　我将这个故事和青年禅修班的同学们分享，虽然他们都还只是高中生，但在禅修班里学到的佛法，是可以让我们在生活中落实的，希望大家都能把握因缘，在法师的教导下好好学习。）