Have you been to a book launch? I'm sure most of us did way before the pandemic and during the pandemic by attending online right? If you asked me what is the most memorable book launch I have been to? It's definitely by Odonata Publishing 红蜻蜓出版社, when I attended their online book launch and even got a discount code when I purchased the books.
Here's another question: What if we share our dhamma journey in a book? Just ordinary people sharing their life stories, it's like Chicken Soup for the Soul but all the stories are connected between the writers and the dhamma. I'll tell you more about it as we go along.
In his opening speech, Dd. (Dhammaduta) Tan Huat Chye explained how did the book come all about. The inspiration behind the book is from "Daily Bread" - a bite-size book where Christians share their journeys in Christ. Why not a book about our personal journey and the dhamma? That's when GLAD Awakening comes in, collecting stories in the Buddhist community and how our journey in the dhamma can inspire all of us as well.
It's not your ordinary dhamma storybook, you can even pen down your thoughts and feelings in the book as well to reflect on life, isn't it amazing? Not only you can read it, but it's also a personal diary in a way - two in one! Most of the dhamma books I read are on words themselves or comics (mainly on the Life of the Buddha - our respected teacher). We have a sneak peek of "GLAD Awakening" with two of the authors sharing their stories. My favourite is "Sleeping in Class" - reflecting the days in school, where sleeping is a no-no.
It reminds me of writing several articles for the Young Buddhist Association Malaysia's Buddhist Digest. I, too, wrote stories about how the dhamma plays a role in my everyday life, it's in Mandarin. My latest article was the theme for this year's CNY - Wishes for the Tiger Year 虎年的祝福
To wrap up the event, a special and surprise performance from Buddhist Gem Fellowship's very own igemz! I have been an igemz for a number of years since I was exposed to their music in my university days in 2017. It's my favourite part of the launch. They perform three songs - Cradle, Dharma Shines in Me and Blessings (both English and Mandarin) The event ends with members of the Sangha sharing of merits and it's off for some light refreshments to recharge our energy.
I'm GLAD to witness the book launch of "GLAD Awakening" Thank you to my coursemates - Mudita and Metta for inviting me to the event and hope to join the next event. May everyone be well and happy! Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu! 阿弥陀佛！
GLAD:
igemz:
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