PBUPM-A President's Speech on Metta Gathering of PBUPM

PBUPM’s advisor, Dr. Ser Wue Hiong, PBUPM President, Sister Tan Chia Yan, PBUPM EXCOs, Metta Program Organising Chairperson, Sister Poon Mei Yuan, Metta Gathering Organising Chairperson, Sister Sia Bee Yuan, all committees, PBUPM alumni members, brothers and sisters in the Dhamma. A very good evening to all. 

First and foremost, I like to take the opportunity to apologize to all for not being able to be with all of you tonight as I have my PhD classes in University Malaya this evening. However, it’s an honour and privilege to be given the opportunity to take the stage. Tonight’s event is the PBUPM Metta Gathering. Metta Gathering has been an event to showcase and introduce PBUPM, to Buddhist undergrads especially those who just entered UPM. Metta Gathering was started back in the early 1990s, whereby it was initially known as “Malam Ehipassiko”. Ehipassiko, for your information, is a Pali word, a language, according to archeologists and scholars, used during the Buddha’s time. Ehipassiko, means, ‘come and see (for yourself)’. A few years after “Malam Ehipassiko”, the committees of PBUPM then theme the first month of the first academic session of the varsity calendar to Metta Month. Do you all know what “metta” means? It is a pali word just like Ehipassiko. Metta means loving kindness. A virtue that Buddhists strive to cultivate.   

So, this Metta Gathering is organized mainly for Buddhist undergrads who are new to the UPM Buddhist Society, to welcome especially to those first year undergrads, into this big PBUPM family. 

But before this, allow me to touch a bit on you gaining acceptance into University Putra Malaysia. Do you know the purpose of spending a few years in a university? What is it meant to pursue a tertiary education qualification? Is it for a piece of certificate acknowledging your academic qualification? You probably have your thoughts on this. Allow me to share some of my thoughts on what it is meant to pursue a tertiary education qualification. If you reflect on it in a deeper sense, why was university, any university, started in the very first place? Some universities in the world are easily few hundred years old, the earliest few might probably a thousand years old. So why do we started universities? To disseminate knowledge? If the sole purpose of universities was to disseminate knowledge, then with the invention and penetration of the Internet, then I’m afraid universities all over the world may have become obsolete. But universities are much more than centres for disseminating knowledge. Universities are places where the most intelligent people in every generation meet. Where they exchange ideas freely, engage in constructive discussion, where old ideas are challenged; new ideas are brought up, tested through vigorous research to add more new knowledge to help make this world a better place for all. A university is supposed to be a place where the wisdom of the past meets with the curiosity of the present. In university, people are trained to think in a higher-order, more critically, analytically and creatively, to make informed decisions, to solve real and complex problems of the world. In short, a university is a place to prepare a person to, not only acquire knowledge, but wisdom, so they could be a wiser person and bring contribution to the society. 

So how to achieve all these? Study diligently for your course? Yes. But don’t confine to only focusing on your course matter. Be open and engage yourselves with the so many different people that is in this campus. Don’t just confine yourself to your course mates, go expand your social circle in this campus. How to do that? One way is by joining co-curricular activities, get involve in organization. By joining organization, you’ll get to meet more people, people with different background. And don’t just stop at merely be a participant. Get involved in organizing activities. By getting yourself committed in a group that existed for a certain purpose, you are putting yourself in the best position to develop as an individual, from learning to work with others, how to engage in constructive discussion, influencing, persuading, putting and justifying your views and ideas, how to think critically and analytically, to lead a group of people, to manage people; as well as for yourself: how to manage your own time, apply and utilize your knowledge and skills, as well as develop new one or improve on existing soft skills. Through this, you’ll be exposed on how to get things done in a real and complex situation: How to lead and get a task that’s beyond one’s capability done, such as this Metta Gathering event. To successfully organize events such as this Metta Gathering involves teamwork. All these soft skills could not be enhanced by just merely focusing on attending classes, being attentive in class and getting the highest possible academic grades.  

So you may agree with me that getting into varsity is not merely to pursue knowledge, but it is also important to enhance your soft skills such as time management, communication, organizational and leadership skills. So you look around, there’s many societies that you can join in UPM. So why the UPM Buddhist Society? And I’ll like to put forth the third aspect: moral and spiritually cultivation: the wisdom to decide what’s right and wrong for the benefit of not only oneself, but also the benefit all other beings. In terms of moral and spiritual cultivation, being in a religious society, in this case, in a Buddhist society would present you the best opportunity to explore more about what is the religion about; best opportunity to learn what does the founder preach and subsequently put into practice the teachings, in this case, the teachings of the Buddha. For some, this a starting point to know the Buddha’s teaching; for some, a just a continued journey. I would say, a Buddhist society or organization present the best environment for us to understand, practice and realize the Buddha’s teaching as a lay Buddhist. So, with the moral principles guided by the Buddha’s teachings, one would be a more complete individual that will act with loving kindness and wisdom for the well-being of oneself and people around him. 

So I hope all would use your time wisely in this few years of varsity life. Develop yourself in knowledge, soft skills, morally and spiritually. In years to come, when you walk out of this learning institution, enter the society as a better person. 

And I’ll end with: Welcome to the big family of UPM Buddhist Society. 

May all rejoice in the Dhamma, May all beings be well and happy 

Sadhu!

Brother Ng Kong Joo,

President of Persatuan Buddhis Upasama Paricaya Maha-Sabha Selangor (PBUPM-A).

Metta Gathering of PBUPM on 2015-09-17.

Sister Sin Yee was giving speech on stage.

Stage performance by students.

Metta Gathering.