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試想，一群青年人身上少少圍著些的獸皮，在你周圍兇猛狂熱地又踢又蹦，隨著鼓聲復仇的節奏，他們把戈矛括入地上。這是不是「蒼蠅之王」書裏的一幅畫面？或許更確切地說，這是一場戰舞，也是恆實法師與朱建和居士在南非共和國開普敦第二個晚上的經歷。
1999年12月1日，恆實法師和朱建和居士代表大乘佛教參加了第三次世界宗教聯合會，此次會議約有7000名世界各宗教代表參加。他們兩人組成的弘法團，頗能引起人們的興趣。恆實法師介紹了大乘佛教五宗教義、素食、禪坐、並講了故事。這是一次歷史性的轉法輪，恆實法帥在這七天十場的演講當中，肩負著說法的重任。
恆實法師做法布施是毫不吝惜的，因為他知道這是歷史性的時刻。1898年第一次世界宗教聯合會，在歷史上也是一個里程碑。當時有－些東方的宗教導師將東方宗教介紹到西方。一百年之後，第二次聯合會在芝加哥舉行，宣公上人本擬前往參加但是因緣不具足而未成行。恆實法師知道上人如果在世，必會鼎力支持法界佛教總會在這第三次重要的國際聚會中，宣揚佛教正法。
喔！等一等！這就是孩子們野蠻地跳著戰舞的地方？就是在種族隔離政策下飽受創傷的國家嗎？
抱著學習的心理，帶著最有效的溝通工具——聆聽，此團參訪了不同的宗教團體，包括寶血會的修女和他們所辦的學校。在那個星期中，他們遇到了天主教的修女，如安格那絲修女等。亞格那絲修女聲音宏亮，操著奧地利腔的英語，以愛心和紀律教導一群非洲的年輕人。唱詩班男女青年穿著筆挺的制服，天使般的聲音清純而令人喜悅，愈唱愈把人往高處提昇，讓聽眾感動落淚。
「你知道嗎？」法師和居士互望而言：「他們就是跳侏魯戰舞的那些青年人！」畢竟我們已經邁入第
21世紀，世界日益變小，任何地方都是興隆佛法的潛在地，沒有一個地方可以被忽略，包括美麗而飽受苦難的南非。
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Imagine. Teenagers wearing scanty hide kick
and jump about you ... Ferocious and
feverish, they thrust their spears into the ground
while the drums beat on with a vengeance. A scene
from Lord of the Flies?
Possibly. More accurate, it was a dance of war—as
Dharma Master Heng Sure and Upasaka John Chu had
experienced it the second night that
they were in Capetown, South Africa.
On December 1, 1999, Dharma Master Heng
Sure and Upasaka John Chu represented
Mahayana Buddhism at the third Parliament
of World Religions. With 7,000 attendees and
representatives from all religions of
the world, this delegation of two gathered great interest by
sharing the teachings of the five schools of Mahayana
Buddhism, vegetarianism, meditation and storytelling.
It was a record Dharma-speaking stint
for Dharma Master Heng Sure as he shouldered the
responsibility of speaking at ten seminars in seven days.
Dharma Master Heng Sure was able to give
Dharma so generously because he knew this was a historical
moment. The first Parliament of World
Religion in 1898 was a watershed in history,
where religious teachers personally introduced
Eastern religions to the West. One
hundred years later, Venerable Master Hua would
have graced the second parliament in Chicago if
conditions had permitted it. Dharma
Master Heng Sure knew that the Venerable
Master would have supported DRBA's propagation of
proper Buddhadharma at this third
international and momentous gathering.
Wait a moment! This is the same place
where kids so savagely dance for war? Where a nation had
been marred by Apartheid?
With an attitude of learning and the most
effective communication tool—listening, this delegation
visited different religious groups,
one of which being the Sisters of the Precious Blood and
their schools. There, a few more days
into the week, they met Catholic nuns
such as Sister Agnes. With a booming voice and an Austrian
accent, Sister Agnes taught a group of young Africans
with love and discipline. A choir of
sharply-uniformed young men and women
sang with immense purity and joy; their angelic voices
lifting you higher and higher as the
audience wept and wept.
You know what?" The Dharma Master and
the Upasaka looked at each other,
These are the Zulu dancers. After all, as we move into the 21 st century and an increasingly small
world, no part of the earth should be
dismissed as potential ground for thriving Buddhadharma—including the beautiful and suffering
South Africa.
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