「廷驊法雨」講座系列: 不羈之後的海闊天空 was successfully held on October 23, 2018 at Wang Gungwu Lecture Hall of The University of Hong Kong (“HKU”). Facilitated by Dr. Venus Wong, in this second session of the talk series, renowned composer and singer, Mr. Lowell Lo (盧冠廷) and Ven. Chang Lin (常霖法師) shared their unique life stories of how they went from their wild and carefree days to finding peace and wisdom.

With the support of our co-organizer – HKU Centre of Buddhist Studies, a full house of university students, academics, NGO representatives, friends from the community gathered to hear how the two speakers handled challenges in life. Despite having learning difficulties, both speakers found their passion in their creative sides and became a professional musician and photographer respectively. To the two of them, discovering and pursing their passion was what guided them through stormy conditions when they were younger so they encouraged students to follow their hearts and do what they truly enjoy.

From his personal experience, Lowell urged parents not to be too harsh on their children. Given the space to explore, although not necessarily the most academically-able, young people would find their gifts in other areas and thrive.

While for Ven. Chang Lin, he shared that most people relate happiness to financial success but satisfaction derived from material possessions was not sustainable. When still a layperson, he had the habit of doing breathing practice every morning and evening. On one birthday years ago, he woke up and made up his mind to become a Buddhist monk to find lasting peace and joy. He then guided the audience to do a short breathing exercise. He invited everyone to cultivate the habit of practicing breathing exercises for 10 to 15 minutes each morning and night for three months and he promised that positive change would happen. Awareness practice resembles the different challenges we face in life. There will always be distractions and obstacles yet every time we overcome a hurdle and avoid temptations, we are strengthening our physical and mental muscles to cope with difficulties ahead and are one step closer to a better self.

Both speakers found great motivation and solace in their passions, one in music and the other in photography. Apart from their creative energies, what is equally important is their positive mindset which enabled them to persevere and flourish even in testing times. Their optimism was inspiring and the audience left the auditorium with a sense of hope and tranquillity that evening.