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莎拉‧歐文：
我不太瞭解佛教和佛法，我只想去逛逛舊金山的中國城。姊姊、姊夫給了我佛教講堂的地址，我想去看一看。他們約我在一個地方見面，但我迷了路，找不到地方。當時我包裏只有幾個零錢，就叫了計程車，給了地址；到了那邊，我把所有的錢都給了司機，還是不夠，但他說沒關係：那天他幫了我很大的忙。
那晚姊姊、姊夫帶我去見上人，上人問我「妳真正要的是什麼？」我聽上人這樣問我，就覺得很害怕。那晚我就在佛教講堂打坐，以後我也常回來打坐；打坐可以一次一次的，有力量把我帶回這個道場修行。雖然上人令我害怕，但是我還是願意回來，因為上人當時問我的一些問題
，我都不知怎麼答。
比丘尼恒持:
「妳現在是不是比較瞭解佛教了？」
莎拉﹒歐文:
「是啊！是比較暸解了。」
我想做佛教徒，但是還想保有藝術家的身份，我從藝術學校畢業後，到女校教書，跟很奇妙的上人學習，又跟趙法郎學藝術，後來和邁可結婚了；他也是老師，我們一起工作，教陶藝、藝術。
總而言之，今天我們在藝廊看藝展，看到這裏的傳統還是持續下去。萬佛城是個很好的地方，這裏的學生也是很好的學生，跟他們在一起也是一個很美好的經驗
。萬佛城這裏對老年人是很好的地方，對青年人是很好的地方，對中年人也是很好的地方。
比丘恒實:
我們法界宗教研究院在柏克萊，是繼續上人說的要在萬佛城建立一個世界宗教中心。我想大家都還記得，要請于斌樞機主教來當校長。很可惜于樞機在凡蒂岡選舉教皇往生了，不久後，上人就在柏克萊建立了這個分支道場，這是法界佛教大學的研究所，頒碩士學位，現在在神學聯合研究所教課，下個學期有基督教跟佛教的座談會。
我們現在出了一本雜誌'叫《東西宗教》，第一期已經出了我們也是繼續做一些佛事--早晚課、上供、講經，還有其他的活動，比較新的就是「學生座談會研習班」，一月兩次，禮拜四會合，坐地上交談，用佛教真理來研究各人的一些問題，怎麼樣來解決。大家老老實實坦白講話，史丹福大學、柏克萊的加大，聖他克魯茲的加大的學生都來了。
另外我們有「佛教故事演講班」，大家練習講故事。我們已經在法界聖城、金聖寺講過了，希望將來有機會在萬佛城，和大家互相研究佛教故事，有真理的故事。
昨晚大家聽了「妙覺山計劃」，這也是大規模繼續上人的「世界宗教中心」的目標，我們希望將來可以把宗教聯合會
(United Religions Initiative)也請到那邊去。
明年我們準備請天主教和佛教對話，可能在二月，在萬佛城舉行四次。這是頭一次深入研究這兩個宗教的大問題。這是計劃好的一些活動。
待續
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MRS. SARAH OwEN:
My sister and brother-in-law were living in San Francisco
and I came to visit them. They were going to the lecture
hall to hear Shr Fu speak. I didn't know very much about
Buddhism. I was a little unsure about everything. So I
decided to just go to Chinatown and wander around and then
meet them after the lecture. They had given me the address
on Waverly Street of the Buddhist Lecture Hall, but when it
came time to meet them, I couldn't find the Lecture Hall. I
was totally lost. I had some change in my pocket, so I
hailed a taxi and said, "Take me to this address on Waverly
Street." He took me there and I gave him all of my change.
The next night I went to the Lecture Hall and met Shr Fu. He
took me by the hand and asked me, "What is it that you
really want?" It was the scariest question that anyone had
ever asked me.
I got to meditate that night and also other times when I
visited the temple. Those enjoyable meditation experiences
brought me back to Buddhism again and again, even though Shr
Fu was kind of scary because I couldn't answer his question.
He gave me that question, and I had to ask myself that over
and over again, growing up. I kind of knew what I wanted to
do. I wanted to be a Buddhist and an artist. I worked,
graduated from art school, and came here. I taught in the
Girls' School and studied art with Flory Chowe and Shr Fu, a
wonderful teacher. I married Michael and he's also a
teacher. We worked together on some projects and had some
exciting experiences teaching ceramics and art. And we had a
very interesting time here with the school.
Today we saw the Art Show at the art studio and saw that
the tradition is continuing. It's a group of wonderful
students who have done some wonderful work. I don't want to
overlook the rest of the school, which I think is doing very
well. It's a good place for young people, old people, and
middle-aged people.
BHIKSHU HENG SURE: At one point the Venerable Abbot said
that he was going to start a world religions center here at
the CTTB and invited Paul, Cardinal Yu Bin, the Catholic
Cardinal of China, to be the co-director. Cardinal Yu Bin
accepted, but unfortunately he passed away later during the
elections for Pope at the Vatican. If that had not happened,
who knows what would have happened with two of the world's
major religions coming together and cooperating on a project
like that. So the plans for the World Religions Center were
put on hold. Meanwhile, we did invite a Catholic priest to
hold Mass several times here in the Buddha Hall.
Recently we published the first issue of a new journal
called Religjon East and West, with articles written by the
staff, also featuring Dr. Huston Smith and Henry Rosemont.
We are looking forward to a longterm relationship so that
religious studies students, whether Buddhist or not, can
enter the mainstream of theological conversation. We are
opening a door for people to get involved in ideas that are
moving the world intellectually, philosophically, and
theologically. The Bay Area is an extremely fertile place
for ideas from all sources to mix.
In addition to our own ceremonies and sutra lectures, the
Berkeley Monastery invites a different religion in to use
the monastery every night. These include a Jewish group,
Ajahn Amaro's Theravada group, a Vipassanna group, Hindu
groups, and scientists from UC Berkeley. The most exciting
is our Student Round Table, with students from UC Berkeley,
Stanford and Santa Cruz, Berkeley high school kids come on
Thursday night to sit on the floor and talk about what's
going on in their lives. People have found that it's a safe
place to come and talk with their peers. That is one of the
cradles of DRBU and many of us here have been to those Round
Tables.
We also have created the Buddhist Storytelling Circle,
which includes men and women, young and old, both Asian and
Western, who tell the Jatakas and other stories of
principle, some written especially for the circle. We have
been to Sacramento- City of Dharma Realm, Gold Sage, and
Berkeley Monastery, and one of these days we hope to come up
to CTTB.
Once the project we heard about last night is built, the
International Institute for Philosophy and Ethics (IIP&E),
we'll be able to invite the United Religions Initiative to
hold a large gathering here. Next year we are inviting
Catholic monks, nuns and even a Bishop to come to the CTTB
in February for the first of four Buddhist-Catholic
Dialogues that focus on the roots of each religion.
~ To be continued
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