"Carpe Diem"
Creativity Training Camp Reflection

           On August 3rd, people from Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa attended the camp of a lifetime. Time flew by quickly during those two and a half days, and we were immediately immersed in a variety of games and lessons prepared by Professor Liu. We laughed, cheered, and cried together with both old friends and new. The atmosphere at Fo Guang Shan Temple was amazing too. Everyone participated as much as they could, and the Fo Guang Shan cheer was frequently heard during camp.

          Professor Liu's talks were most interesting. She told many amusing stories, interchanging the lessons with cheers and songs so we did not become bored having to sit all the time. We were also divided into six groups of about eleven people each. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet fantastic people from Montreal, Ottawa and even Vancouver! We really bonded with the pressure to come up with a team cheer, poster, and presentations (dramatization and song). We also had to come up with a game and present it to the rest of the campers, which Professor Liu evaluated after. She won us all over with her humour, honesty, and frankness.

          Mahatma Gandhi once claimed that "he was only an average person with below-average capabilities." This goes to show you that you can do anything, just as long as you're willing to try and work hard (N.B. Gandhi, 1869-1948, was the famous Hindu nationalist leader and social reformer). Perhaps the most important thing that Professor Liu said was this: "Every person has obstacles to overcome, but what makes everyone different is how they deal with and overcome these obstacles. Teachers can show us how the way to deal with life, but it is up to us to interpret and adapt this method to suit ourselves. Language is not a terrible barrier (that prevents us from understanding); if you have the will and perseverance, the barrier will cease to exist."

每個人也會有障礙﹐問題在於你願不願意跨過它. 老師可以教我們方法﹐但是我們要自 己去改﹐去創新. 語言不是很大的障礙﹐有心就沒有障礙.

          My family immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong when I was five. I've managed to preserve a fair bit of my Chinese heritage with the help of Chinese school, but the camp did, at first, possess a language barrier for me. My family spoke Cantonese and in addition, I was fairly fluent in English, definitely not Mandarin. However, where there's a will, there's a way. I tried my best to figure out what she was saying, and even though I could not catch every single word, I found I could understand the essence of the lessons.

          Everyday is a gift and a bonus - we should treasure everyday that is given to us, to appreciate every sunrise and sunset that we can see. When you look into a coffin, you see a dead person... but the deceased is not necessarily an old person. He/she could be as young (or even younger) than us. Some people think that life is too difficult and frustrating, but life is too short to complain. Taking action to change your life will accomplish far more than wasting your energies in complaining. As the saying goes, "I wished for new shoes until I saw someone who didn't have feet..." - be content with what you already have.

          Always be a first-rate version of yourself rather than a second-rate version of someone else. You can learn from all kinds of people, because they are all your teachers. If they are better than you, then follow the example they have set and learn from them. If they are not as good as you, they are also your teachers because you learn from their mistakes and gain more wisdom. It takes all kinds of people to make a world. For example, the most important element in a basketball game is your opponents. Respect them as much as you respect your own teammates, because without your opponents there wouldn't be a game in the first place!

          People see things in different perspectives, so their own opinion is always correct according to what they know. However, to make a sound and fair judgement, one must try to see things in all the different perspectives so they can understand where everyone is coming from. Painful/disappointing events are just as good as (if not even better than) happy events, because you can learn from your mistakes, and gain experience.

          It is important that as a leader, one must be aware of his/her own surroundings and circumstances. Just like the jogging exercise in the morning, some people were so wrapped up with finishing the two laps around the temple that they did not bother noticing their surroundings along the way. To make a parallel to life, imagine life as a path that you are walking on. Don't just concentrate on reaching your final destination, pause to smell the flowers and enjoy what is going on around you. It is the journey that counts and what you make of it, not reaching the goal itself that matters.

          However, I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the "unsung heroes" who put this whole camp together. Firstly, there are the wonderful hard-working volunteers at Fo Guang Shan Temple who work tirelessly trying to get the place ready for the campers. Secondly, there are also the group of Venerable Shi Fu and Venerable Yung Ku, who supported this camp the whole way through, making sure we were fed well, and enjoyed our stay at the temple. Last but not least, the kitchen volunteers, who provided well-thought out meals. This camp could not happened without these Bodhisattvas.

          No words could ever express my deep gratitude towards such a wonderful teacher with a remarkable gift. She has truly changed the way we think and act forever. Carpe diem - seize the day!

Jacqueline Leung

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