York Region Police: MEDIA RELEASE [Excerpt]
(May 7, 2008) On May 12, 2008, the Deputy Abbot of the Buddhist Association of Canada, Reverend Shengguang Shi, will make a pilgrimage for World Peace from Cham Shan Temple just north of Toronto to Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden, in Peterborough.
Reverend Shi will start his peaceful pilgrimage, which consists of taking three steps forward then pausing to bow, on Buddha’s birthday. He will wear a robe similar to the one Buddha wore 2,500 years ago and morning and evening prayers will be held as well.
Buddha stressed that the way to pay homage to him was not merely by offering flowers, incense and light, but by truly and sincerely striving to follow his teachings.
“York Regional Police is pleased to support Reverend Shi in his pilgrimage for peace,” said Chief La Barge. “We value the long-standing partnerships we have with the Buddhist community in York Region and our members continue to benefit from the annual Places of Worship Tour and the Recruit Community Insight Program in which members of the Buddhist Association of Canada remain as active participants.”
PILGRIMAGE PASSES THROUGH DURHAM
(The Pickering News Advertiser)
http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/Entertainment-Theatre/article/107268
By Moya Dillon
(August 28, 2008) Although he's taken a vow of silence, one Thornhill-area monk has found another way to make his opinions heard.
Reverend Shengguang Shi set out from Thornhill's Cham Shan Buddhist Temple in May and has been walking toward the future site of the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden in Peterborough in a pilgrimage for peace.
"The main objective is to pray for world peace," said Tom Cheung, one of the pilgrimage co-ordinators. "But also to pray for early completion of the new temple sites in Peterborough and for everybody to achieve enlightenment."
Along the route Rev. Shi walks three steps and then pauses to bow and perform a prayer. Mr. Cheung said the pilgrimage is already halfway completed, but could take anywhere from six months to one year, depending on weather and health issues. While common in China, Mr. Cheung believes this is the first pilgrimage of its kind in Canada.
"The pilgrimage is a way to clear your mind and concentrate on what you're doing," Mr. Cheung said. "This is the first one in Canada, so we hope that it will encourage others to embark on their own pilgrimage."
Part of the route takes Rev. Shi down Durham Hwy. 57 through Clarington and Blackstock. Jason King, who lives along Hwy. 57, was intrigued when he found a letter in his mailbox detailing the pilgrimage that would pass by his home.
"It just made me think a lot about the mental fortitude it takes to do what he's doing," Mr. King said of Rev. Shi, who Mr. King met after offering his driveway as a parking spot for the pilgrimage support team, which follows Rev. Shi every day in a van. "I liked how it made me change my view on life that much more. You could really feel the positive energy coming from him."
Although he's not a Buddhist, Mr. King wanted to help because he found Rev. Shi and his pilgrimage inspiring.
"It's always inspiring to see someone with that kind of discipline, who knows what he wants out of life," Mr. King said. "He's just trying to make people consider world peace and that's always a positive thing, to make people stop and consider what's going on around them."
BUDDHIST PILGRIMAGE PASSES ONTARIO
(The Scugog Standard)
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=66,7008,0,0,1,0
By Blake Wolfe
(August 25, 2008) Scugog residents may have noticed a visitor to North Durham this past month, travelling along the roads and highways of the township.
Venerable Shengguang Shi, a Buddhist monk of the Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple, began a pilgrimage from the Thornhill temple on May 12 (coinciding with the Buddha’s birthday), bowing every three steps along the way. His journey, lasting a total of 135 km, will take him to the future site of the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden south of Omemee. According to Venerable Shengguang’s on-line journal (found at shengguangshi.blogspot.com), the pilgrimage could last until November, depending on his health and the weather.
His pilgrimage took him through Scugog beginning in late July and much of this month, and took him along Simcoe St. to Shirley Rd., which he then took to Regional Rd. 57, then to Hwy. 7A towards Hwy. 35.
The Wutai Shan Garden is just one of four ‘bodhimandalas,’ or Buddhist temples, that are to be built in the City of Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough County that he will visit along the pilgrimage.
As of Aug. 19, Venerable Shengguang’s blog page stated that he had just passed 13851 Shirley Rd.
A group of Venerable Shengguang’s followers are accompanying him on the pilgrimage in a van, providing him with a place for meditation and rest.
Helen Ballak, a spokesperson for Venerable Shengguang (who is observing a ‘noble silence’ during his pilgrimage, in addition to a refusal to handle money or ‘luxury items’) explained the purpose of his journey, which she described as a rare event in Canada.
“This pilgrimage is for three reasons,” she said. “He is praying for world peace, the enlightenment of mankind, and the early completion of the four sacred temples.”
Born in Hong Kong, Venerable Shengguang came to Canada in 1988. An employee of the information sector for more than 20 years, he then took the ‘Three Grand Precepts’ required for becoming a Buddhist monk at Zhanshan Temple in China, and was elected as Deputy Abbot of Cham Shan Temple in 2005.
** The below images are available in a larger format. Simply click the image to see a larger picture.
Ming Pao News - May 13, 2008
Today Daily News - May 13, 2008
World Journal - May 13, 2008
North America Weekly Times - May 30, 2008
聖光法師即將到達朝拜的第一站加國普陀山﹐緊隨其後膜拜的是位近90歲的老人家。
聖光法師朝拜首站抵普陀山4個月零10日三步一拜
2008年9月30日
【明報專訊】經過4個月零10日的長途跋涉，發宏願由湛山精舍出發、三步一拜往彼得堡加國四大名山朝拜的聖光法師，近日終抵達首站加國普陀山。
在加拿大佛教會會長、湛山精舍住持達義法師率領僧俗200餘人的迎接下﹐聖光法師終於日前拜至普陀山山頂的佛堂，在觀世音菩薩聖像獻上一炷心香後，隨即舉辦大型法會和佛前大供，懇請觀世音菩薩、地藏王菩薩等諸佛護佑世界和平，眾生安樂。
聖光法師是於今年5月12日由多倫多湛山精舍出發，全程採取一邊跪拜、一邊誦經，而又完全靜心止語的方式，直往彼得堡市的加國四大名山目的地，全程約135公里，預計11月中旬可完成四大名山朝拜的路線。
止語潛心朝拜的聖光法師，以書寫方式表示，他自5月12日佛誕日於湛山精舍啟程前往加國四大名山，一路上風餐露宿，「路上的艱苦比想像的少」，而平時想得很少，睡得挺好，每天三步一拜，每拜必誦《華嚴經》，還堅持早晚課誦、午供、誦戒，並持念佛菩薩名號。
聖光法師一路上得到許多人幫助，令他甚為感動，他此次朝山活動還一直得到警方的協助；他表示，途中有西人請他到家裏用洗手間，還有幾位西人分別給他準備早飯或午餐，知道他用素，就想辦法將多種蔬菜和水果做成新鮮沙律等。
聖光法師表示，到達第一站加國普陀山之後，還有九華山、峨嵋山，預計將於11月中旬最終抵達五台山，以此完成加國佛教四大名山的朝拜；他更祈願：一、世界和平，人民安樂；二、加拿大佛教四大名山早日落成；三、人人明心見性，早日開悟成佛。
聖光法師於2005年佛誕日在達義法師座下剃度出家，俗名金志華，出生於香港，在電腦資訊界工作20餘年的他，曾在IBM任過要職。
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