Talk on self-compassion

Seated from left: Loh, Venerable Abbess Manko, Venerable Dr Juewei Shi and Venerable You Deng with the participants

Venerable Dr Juewei Shi, Director of the Humanistic Buddhism Centre at the Nan Tien Institute, Australia gave a talk titled, Self-Compassion: The Need of the Hour, at Sungai Long Campus on 26 June 2023. The talk, organised by the Centre for Healthy Minds and Wellbeing under the Department of Student Affairs (DSA) of Sungai Long Campus, saw more than 50 participants including attendees who attended via Zoom.

The talk aimed to assist participants to apply skills in real-time to help bring self-compassion into daily life and motivate their kindness rather than criticism, through participation in a guided meditation session. It also aimed to deepen the understanding of self-compassion to handle difficult emotions with greater ease, and stop one from being too hard on themselves.

Also present at the event were Malaysian Chapter of Buddha’s Light International Association – Young Adult Division Vice-President Venerable You Deng, Fo Guang Shan Melbourne Head and the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temples across Australia and New Zealand Head Abbess Venerable Abbess Manko, Sungai Long Campus DSA Head Loh Nyuk Leung, staff, students and members of the public.

In the session, Venerable Dr Juewei shared her wisdom and teachings on self-compassion and explained BEST which stood for B-Breathe, E-Exercise, S-Sutras and T-Trees. She also explained the effects of the internet on our minds.

“The ease of access to limitless content, coupled with the allure of social media platforms and instant gratification, creates a breeding ground for addictive behaviours,” she said. She highlighted that excessive internet usage can lead to a fragmented and scattered mind, hindering our ability to concentrate and be fully present at the moment.

She also shared the framework for analysing digital attachment, “Perceptual faculties come into contact with perceptual objects which generates conscious awareness. The anxiety generated by internal states drives us to flee into the world of instant gratification. Attention is then directed outward towards others because we crave something to assuage our neediness. Built-in instability leads to more greed and desire for things and therefore we spend more money, and thus regress from the spiritual path as we become more habituated to digital devices.”

Speaking of compassion, she said, “We can come to recognise the light of true compassion and wisdom deep within our minds; that is more powerful than any internet or social media-based enticements.” She added, “We can practice self-compassion by stopping judging and evaluating ourselves, treating ourselves with the same kindness and compassion we would show a good friend. Pause, reflect and listen.”

The talk was coupled with interactive sessions where participants engaged in relaxing activities such as breathing exercises, meditation, and sharing sessions.

Sharing sessions by the participants

Participants engaging in the breathing and meditation exercise

Loh (left) presenting a token of appreciation to Venerable Juewei Shi