Passing on Goodwill, Lighting the Inner Lamp

------MPI Personal Lamp-Transmission Practice Course

## I. Know Yourself, Light the Inner Lamp

Living in today's world is not easy. While material and technological civilization has brought convenience to our lives, it has also brought ecological problems such as pollution and global warming, along with mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. At the same time, frequent international conflicts have left the world in turmoil. Such rapid change fills people with uncertainty about the future. All along, we have been used to looking outward for support in our search for happiness. When the world is relatively stable, this reliance seems dependable---with effort, happiness seems within reach. But when the external world is full of variables, we feel that everything we rely on is growing ever more fragile, and happiness ever more elusive. Against this backdrop, only by knowing ourselves and making ourselves strong can we reduce our dependence on the outside world and lessen the impact it has on us. Whether for the individual or for humanity as a whole, how to bring peace to body and mind and realize the unique value of being human will be the foremost task of the future.

How do we know and improve ourselves? What can help us find our footing in life and understand the nature of the mind? This is precisely the strength of Eastern culture, especially the wisdom of the Buddhadharma. The cultures of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism all teach us to look within---from knowing ourselves and changing ourselves to building a beautiful world. Among them, the Buddhadharma is the great wisdom for life; because of its thorough understanding of the nature of the mind, it is known as "Eastern psychology." Learning the Buddhadharma guides us to know ourselves, bring peace to body and mind, and improve the quality of our lives, thereby shaping a healthy state of mind, a noble spirit, and a beautiful character. This is especially important in today's world.

## II. Pass on Goodwill, Light the Inner Lamp in More Hearts

We must deeply recognize what passing on Eastern wisdom means for ourselves and for humanity. The development of material civilization has reached a crossroads. As we choose which way to go, Eastern wisdom is revealing its unique value---and the key is for us to act, to carry it out into the world, so that more people can hear the voice of Eastern wisdom. This is not because we insist on spreading it; rather, the world as it has developed today genuinely needs this kind of culture to make hearts more harmonious and society more orderly.

When we have benefited from study and practice and see the meaning of passing on Eastern wisdom, we should arouse the aspiration to make helping sentient beings our own responsibility and go light the inner lamp in more hearts. This includes the Chinese, overseas Chinese, and people of every other nation alike, for we are all gravely ill with greed, hatred, and ignorance; we are all troubled by ignorance and affliction; and we all have the need to save ourselves, the need to seek the light, the need to awaken and attain liberation.

How can we help more people light the inner lamp? Over the past decades, we have explored and gathered a wealth of experience in spreading the Dharma, and we hope everyone will take part, bringing the culture of wisdom into thousands upon thousands of households.

## III. How to Practice Personal Lamp Transmission

Each person can, according to their own interests, wishes, time, and other conditions, choose the lamp-transmission activities within their capacity and practice them widely. The practice of personal lamp transmission has two parts: foundational actions and advanced actions.

### (1) Foundational Actions: Steady Steps, Gradual Progress

Foundational actions include two aspects: first, learn Chan-inspired programs and promote Chan-inspired living; second, pass on goodwill and carry out the Four Ones.

1. Learn Chan-Inspired Programs, Promote Chan-Inspired Living

1.1 Learn a program. Everyone can choose one Chan-inspired program to learn according to their own conditions and interests---such as Dhyana Tea, Dhyana Coffee, Dhyana Vegan Experience, or Mindful Decluttering---and those with the capacity may learn several programs.

1.2 Keep training. Through continuous learning and sustained training, bring the wisdom of Chan into daily life, establish a correct way of using the mind, live a life centered on the mind, and let body and mind be at ease.

1.3 Arouse the aspiration to promote. Beyond living a Chan-inspired life yourself, share this peace and beauty with the people around you and with the wider public, helping them experience Chan-inspired living and find peace of body and mind.

2. Pass on Goodwill, Carry Out the Four Ones

2.1 One Act of Kindness a Day: Share a Dharma Saying

Each day, you can repost one of the Master's Dharma sayings on social-media platforms; you can get the sayings from the social-media accounts of Mindful Peace International and the Master, and pairing them with Chan-inspired images will make them more appealing.

Through social media (such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Xiaohongshu), share your own experiences and gains from learning Chan-inspired programs.

Overview of Mindful Peace Community Social-Media Channels

| Organization | Account | URL |
|------|------|------|
| Mindful Peace International | Website | www.mindfulpeace.org |
| | YouTube channel | https://m.youtube.com/@MindfulPeaceIntl |
| | Facebook (Chinese) | https://www.facebook.com/mpichinese |
| | Facebook (English) | https://www.facebook.com/mindfulpeaceintl |
| | Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/mindfulpeaceintl/ |
| Master Jiqun | Personal website | www.masterjiqun.com |
| | YouTube channel | www.youtube.com/@MasterJiqun |
| | Facebook (Chinese) | https://www.facebook.com/jiqunfashi |
| | Facebook (English) | https://www.facebook.com/masterjiqun |
| | Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/masterjiqun/ |
| WhatsApp channels | QR-code cards for the Master Jiqun and Mindful Peace International WhatsApp channels (one in Chinese and one in English for each) | --- |

2.2 One Book a Week: Share Dharma Treasures, Form Affinities

A single book may well change a person---even save a person. Carry with you the *Mindful Peace Academy Booklet Series*, Dharma-saying cards, and flyers for the Academy or the Yard, and it is a good idea to stick the Academy or Yard QR code on them. Introduce the books with an altruistic heart, share your own reading insights and inspirations, and strike a chord. With reverence and cherishing, give the other person one or two of the Master's books. According to their interests, introduce other books, and guide them to scan the Academy or Yard QR code or leave their contact information, making it easier to share more books or mail books to them later; you can also invite them to attend activities at the Academy or the Yard.

2.3 One Invitation a Month: Pass the Lamp to Family and Friends

Inviting family and friends to relevant activities at the Mindful Peace Academy or the Mindful Peace Yard not only cultivates your own awareness of lamp transmission---it also gives the other person a chance to learn the culture of wisdom and hear more students share. Let them feel the positive, uplifting, and pure atmosphere of the Academy, experience Chan-inspired programs, feel the settling of body and mind, and give rise to a yearning for the study and practice of the Buddhadharma.

2.4 One Lamp a Year: Light the Lamp for Another

After you yourself have benefited from the Dharma, share sincerely with others when the time is right; when conditions are ripe, guide them to join the Mindful Peace Academy or the Mindful Peace Yard. You can also set a small goal for yourself: each year, recommend at least one relative or friend to join the Academy or the Yard and become a member or a student.

### (2) Advanced Actions: Choose According to Your Conditions

After being with the Mindful Peace Academy or the Mindful Peace Yard for some time (three months is recommended), and through specialized study and mentoring in the lamp-transmission program, you may choose to undertake the advanced actions of personal lamp transmission.

The advanced actions include three projects: first, creating a Dhyana Tea Space; second, running small reading groups; third, promoting Dharma gift points. Choose and undertake them according to your own conditions.

1. Create a Dhyana Tea Space, Build a Harmonious Family

Our hope is that the Dhyana Tea Space will become a carrier of Eastern wisdom, entering thousands upon thousands of households and helping people everywhere bring peace to body and mind. In modern families, people live in their own self-absorbed worlds and lack connection. A family with the means can set up a Dhyana Tea Space at home, and then gather family and friends to drink tea, read, exchange and share, and care for one another, building a circle of life centered on traditional culture. A Dhyana Tea Space can be the balcony, living room, or study at home---a quiet corner where body and mind can settle.

2.1 Create a Chan-inspired space; live out Chan-inspired living. If conditions allow, create your own home Dhyana Tea Space, making your home environment more Chan-inspired; it can also be a quiet place for your own study, practice, and meditation. In fact, the cost of Chan-inspired living is not high---if anything, it is lower. It is not a life of luxury; it is a simple material life rich in spiritual content.

2.2 Use culture to connect; build a harmonious family. With a Dhyana Tea Space in place, you can regularly hold family gatherings and Chan-inspired activities---such as hosting a family tea gathering, sharing a vegetarian meal, or reading a book together---which not only helps family members connect and forms a healthy cultural atmosphere at home, but also makes up for what family education, social education, and school education may lack.

2.3 Promote the Dhyana Tea Space so it enters thousands upon thousands of households. Take the initiative to share your experience of creating a Dhyana Tea Space with the people around you, and help those with the means create home Dhyana Tea Spaces of their own; you can also use social media, or go into associations and community groups, to share the Dhyana Tea Space culture with more people, help more people create Dhyana Tea Spaces, and bring the Dhyana Tea Space into thousands upon thousands of households.

2. Run Small Reading Groups, Light the Inner Lamp in More Hearts

Choose one of the Master's books or a Dharma-saying card, invite three to five relatives or friends, sit together, study the culture of wisdom, and share your reading insights. Through the small reading group, light your own inner lamp and help more people light theirs. The specific steps are as follows:

1.1 Sort yourself out first; seek within. Studying the culture of wisdom means tuning your own mind, healing your own illness, seeking within; a small reading group is a reading group for seeking within, welcoming and drawing in people around us who have the affinity. Even one person can start "their own reading group," reading all the way to their own heart.

1.2 Grasp the Key: Read Aloud + Share

Reading aloud means the wise ones are speaking. Reading means reading for yourself to hear.

Sharing means conversing with the Master---sharing in connection with your own questions and insights.

1.3 The Three Don'ts

First, do not stray from the topic---that is, share without leaving the content of the current session.

Second, do not judge others---that is, do not direct, guide, or evaluate anyone else; draw your examples from your own life.

Third, do not explain---that is, do not explain terms or Dharma meanings, because the answers are all there in what is being read.

1.4 The Four Conditions---People, Texts, Timing, and Place

First, time---any time will do, or a fixed time once a week.

Second, place---any place will do for quiet sitting; once a week, at a Dhyana Tea Space or a Mindful Peace Yard.

Third, reading material---the *Wisdom in Life Booklet Series*, small booklets and single-fold leaflets, or mobile reading editions.

Fourth, people---arouse the aspiration yourself; run your own reading group yourself, and you may have a partner.

1.5 The Five Steps

Step one: find the mind of the present moment. Name, occupation, and---right here, right now---why I am willing to take part in this reading.

Step two: gather body and mind and settle in the present. Let us not dwell on the past or think of the future, but read aloud and share with focus and settled attention.

Step three: briefly state the Three Don'ts. Share without leaving the content being read; do not direct, guide, or judge others; do not explain terms.

Step four: read aloud and share. A handy tip for staying on topic: cite the exact page and line, and do not take up anyone else's topic.

Step five: talk about your biggest takeaway of the day. Plant the seeds of wisdom in the field of the heart.

1.6 The Six-Word Mantra: The Simpler, the Smarter

3. Promote Dharma Gift Points, Build an Ecosystem of Mindful Peace Culture

A Dharma gift point can be a small book corner, an activity booth, or an experience zone, offering Dharma treasures to the public free of charge to form affinities and bring more people back to the home of the heart. By promoting Dharma gift points, we support the Buddhist community and support society, helping more people move toward life awakening and fostering a wholesome atmosphere of mindful-peace culture.

3.1 Build awareness; promote vigorously. Recognize the significance and value of sharing Dharma treasures to form affinities, and build awareness of promoting Dharma gift points; take the initiative to cooperate with communities, businesses, institutions, and organizations to set up Dharma gift points. The venue for a Dharma gift point should be safe and reliable, with pure relationships and a good atmosphere, and should be usable on a long-term, stable basis---for example, tea houses, bookstores, vegetarian restaurants, yoga studios, traditional Chinese medicine clinics, community centers, psychological counseling clinics, children's hospitals, pharmacies and chambers of commerce, universities, traditional-culture classes, government departments, cultural departments, companies, temples, and so on.

3.2 Report partnerships; gain support. Take the initiative to report the establishment of Dharma gift points to the Mindful Peace Yard or the Mindful Peace Academy; the Yard or the Academy should actively support and assist.

3.3 Maintain steadily; circulate effectively. Do a proper job, in accord with the Dharma, of requesting, transporting, displaying, and sharing the Dharma treasures; it is recommended that the materials at each Dharma gift point be tidied at least once a month. A dedicated officer of the Dharma gift point program may maintain it, or the Academy's lamp-transmission team may do so; manage the sharing data well, and promptly welcome and draw in people with the right conditions to take part in relevant activities at the Yard or the Academy.

3.4 Online sharing: convenient and quick. Place posters and Dharma-sharing flyers at the Dharma gift point to display and introduce the books in detail; the public can apply online for the books via the Academy's QR code or application link, and the online sharing can be managed centrally by the Mindful Peace Academy.

## IV. Aspire and Commit, Practice Actively

The Mindful Peace Academy will also create conditions to encourage and support more people in spreading Eastern wisdom overseas. Our curriculum and model have been proven effective in practice; the key is still to carry them out in every class and in every person.

We must recognize how significant lamp transmission is for our own lives and for society as a whole. Perhaps our abilities are still weak---we have little power to persuade and little power to move others---but what matters is whether we have this aspiration, and whether we can recognize the value that lighting lamps and passing on the lamp holds for every life.

All things are hard at the start. In the beginning nothing is easy: our confidence in the Dharma is not yet strong, there is little support around us, and the environment of the Age of Dharma Decline is especially unfavorable to practice. But we should know that without study and practice there is no way out---we would only sink deeper into ignorance and delusion. Only by shaking off delusion through study and practice and walking toward awakening is there any way forward for life, and there is no retreat. What others can do is only create the conditions; real practice still depends on our own effort. When more and more lamps are lit, we will have ever greater strength.