“I helped to start up Buddolescent about 11 years ago. We offer mindfulness-based courses and philosophy education to teenagers. The teenage phase can be challenging and turbulent; we want to provide youngsters with a space to rest, form a community and be creative. Even though we have a Buddhist connection, our activities are open to everyone. I only picked up Buddhism in high school. It resonated with me because it felt less like a religion, but more like a life philosophy. There is a lot of history and theory behind the teachings which really piqued my academic interest. I had quite a bad temper growing up, but since practising Buddhism I have learnt to appreciate the multifacetedness of any situation. I’ve become less stubborn, less judgmental and more forgiving. I’ve also learned the meaning of compassion. Compassion requires one to constantly learn, practise and experience; it’s about communicating with, understanding and learning from others. This life philosophy is something that we hope to impart to our youth groups. Our motto: ‘Do something good for yourself, do something beautiful for the world’ sums it up!”

「我係11年前幫手成立咗青一釋。我哋會搞與靜觀相關活動同埋青少年教育活動。青春期係好有挑戰同埋起伏嘅時期，我哋希望為年青人提供一個空間，俾佢哋調整身心，同時建立一個平台讓一班志同道合嘅人，一齊發揮創意。雖然我哋個團係有佛教背景，但係我哋歡迎任何人參加我哋嘅活動。我喺中學先開始接觸佛教，佢好打動到我，因為我覺得佢唔太似一個宗教，反而似係一種人生哲學。佛教有好豐富嘅歷史同埋義理，令我好想深入研究佢。我細個嗰陣脾氣都幾大，但係自從開始咗佛教嘅修行之後，我明白到任何一件事都可以有唔同面向，我變得冇咁固執，少咗批判，多咗包容。我亦都明白到同理心嘅意思。同理心需要我哋持續學習、練習同埋經歷，我哋要懂得同其他人溝通、理解其他人同埋互相學習。我哋想將呢啲人生哲學傳達俾年青團員。為自己製造美善，為世界加添繽紛——就係我哋團嘅宗旨！」

“There are many youth groups around town, but not many that are truly youth-led. Here at Buddolescent, we want to empower our teenagers to learn, collaborate and lead from their perspective. The more introverted and reserved teens will collaborate with their more extroverted and outgoing peers – both play a role in inspiring and bringing out new qualities in each other. Buddhists are often stereotyped to be quite traditional and old-school – but it doesn’t have to be that way! It can also be young, fun and engaging. During COVID times we’ve had to adapt to carrying on our activities online. Even though it’s not the same as in-person gatherings, we’ve persisted in running meditation and mindfulness classes over screens. If we can play a small part in helping people find some peace and inner calm in their own homes during these uncertain times, then it’s all worth it!”

「香港有好多青年組織，但係真正由年青人去帶領嘅團體其實唔多。喺青一釋，我哋希望鼓勵年青人主動去學習、互相合作同埋帶領其他人。比較內向同埋拘謹嘅年青人都會同比自己性格、特質不同嘅同學仔合作，大家互相啟發，會喺自己身上發掘到一啲新嘅特質。大家一般都會覺得佛教徒比較傳統同埋老套，但係其實我哋唔一定係咁㗎 ！佛教都可以係年青、有趣同埋貼地。喺疫情期間，我哋要將啲活動變做網上舉行。雖然同真人互動一定有唔同，但係我哋都堅持隔住螢幕去繼續搞靜心課程。如果我哋能夠喺呢段咁唔安穩嘅時間裏面，幫到少少人去平靜落嚟，喺屋企搵到放鬆嘅空間，咁就已經好值得喇！」

“My background is in Chinese literature, so I enjoy reading, writing, languages and words. I’m actually quite an introverted guy so I’ve definitely been pushed outside of my comfort zone with my current work, which is very people-focused. I never envisaged that my career would be something that requires me to use such a variety of skills – from PR and marketing to fundraising and running events – it’s a mixed bag but that’s what keeps it interesting. When I took the first step towards the NGO world as a fresh graduate, I knew that there was no looking back. Back then, I had a choice between going for a more conventional, stable career or to pursue something more uncertain but which resonated with my passion. I took a leap of faith and went for the latter. There are many challenges that come with running a non-profit – limited resources, limited time, finding the right people, staying true to your mission and passion – but what keeps me going is the satisfaction that comes from seeing young people grow, find joy and flourish through the work that we do!”

「我係讀中國文學嘅，所以我好鍾意睇書、寫嘢、語言同埋文字。我其實係一個幾內向嘅人，所以我做呢份成日要對人嘅工作，絕對係衝出咗自己嘅安舒區㗎。我從來冇幻想過自己嘅事業會需要用到咁多方面嘅技能，由公關、市場推廣，到籌款同埋搞活動，乜都要識做，不過就係因為咁，我嘅工作先一直咁有趣。嗰時我啱啱大學畢業，第一次踏入非牟利機構嘅行業，我就知道呢條路係適合我嘅。嗰陣時我可以揀一個比較傳統、穩定嘅職業，或者做一啲冇咁穩定、但係同我嘅志向相關嘅工作。我膽粗粗咁嘗試咗後者。經營一個非牟利機構係有好多挑戰㗎：資源有限啦、時間有限、點樣去搵啱嘅人、點樣堅持你嘅初衷同埋熱誠等等，但係當我見到年青人參與完我哋嘅活動之後有得著，搵到快樂同埋慢慢成長，嗰份滿足感就係令我持續落去嘅動力！」

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