Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation (Singapore Branch)

After the official opening of Tzu Chi (Singapore)’s Jing Si Hall on 30 October 2005, Tzu Chi University Continuing Education Centre (Singapore) was inaugurated on 18 December 2005. The opening ceremony was graced by Professor Chang Fu-Mei, Vice Principal of Tzu Chi University, Sister Li Ah-Li, an experience lecturer of Tzu Chi University Continuing Education Centre in Chang Hua, Taiwan, Mr. Zeng Han-Rong, Director of Tzu Chi University Continuing Education Centre (Taiwan), and Sister Ling Jia-Yin, administrative officer of the Education Centre in Taiwan, as well as brothers and sisters from the Tzu Chi University’s International Affairs Division. The Centre in Singapore is Taiwan Tzu Chi University’s fourth overseas Continuing Education Centre after Malacca, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

The opening ceremony of the Continuing Education Centre was witnessed by the Director of Tzu Chi University Continuing Education Centre (Taiwan), Mr. Zeng Han-Rong and several brothers and sisters from the Tzu Chi University’s International Affairs Division.

Tzu Chi University Continuing Education Centre (Singapore) operates within the premises of Jing Si Hall, which is located in Pasir Ris. There is a Flower Arrangement Classroom, a Tea Appreciation Classroom and a Multi Purpose Classroom designed to suit the needs of the various courses offered by the Centre. The antique furniture and elegant decoration create a warm and welcoming environment for learning.

The Continuing Education Centre currently offers Calligraphy, Flower Arrangement, and Yoga classes. Each course is composed of ten weekly lessons. Each lesson lasts one and a half hours.

Adhering to Master Cheng Yen’s vow of “purifying minds, harmonizing society and freeing the world of disasters”, Tzu Chi University Continuing Education Centre (Taiwan) offers courses that are geared to the interests of the community. Upholding the principle of “helping the poor and educating the rich”, Tzu Chi gradually influences more people with its humanitarian care and community service while providing the community with an opportunity for life-long learning and cultivation of a humanitarian spirit.

It is hoped that the offering of professional courses will allow students to enhance their spiritual well being in addition to gaining knowledge and skills

As Master Cheng Yen taught us, “Dharma should be practiced by Man and not the other way round”. Tzu Chi Continuing Education Centre was set up with the aim of promoting Tzu Chi humanitarian spirit, complementing its volunteers in every corner of the society.

Tzu Chi’s humanitarian culture is reflected in its courses, emphasizing not only the imparting of knowledge and skills, but also cordial human relationships. Ultimately, it aims to cultivate good thoughts and guide students to learn with pleasure and inculcate wisdom.

In the Continuing Education Centre, kind and friendly volunteers play the role of Tzu Chi’s humanitarian teachers, their conduct and manner exerting an imperceptible influence on the students. They assist in classroom management so as to allow the teachers to impart knowledge without interruption. At the same time, the students feel more at ease while learning. Master Cheng Yen sincerely hopes that volunteers will go the extra mile, to be a teacher, an adviser, a care-giver and more importantly, an advocate of Tzu Chi humanitarian spirit.

At the end of the course, students are awarded a certificate from the Taiwan Tzu Chi University Continuing Education Centre as a motivation to continue with life-long learning.

The centre plans to offer a greater variety of courses in humanities, arts and living skills, to cater to the interests of the community. These will include Vegetarian Cooking, Sign Language, Flower Arrangement and Tea Appreciation Courses.

To maintain the standards of the center and enhance the quality of the courses offered, a number of local volunteers are currently undergoing training as teachers at the Taiwan HQ.

From 27 Feb to 5 Mar 2005, senior teachers from Taiwan were invited to give talks during the Overseas Tzu Chi Humanities Teachers Training Camp. The participants included brothers and sisters from Malacca, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The symposium opened a fresh channel for the overseas Continuing Education Centre in its determination to proliferate Tzu Chi’s humanities by integrating Tzu Chi’s humanitarian spirit in courses.

To date, teachers from Taiwan have travelled to the Continuing Education Centre in Penang, Malacca and Singapore and held a Sign Language Teaching Camp and two Flower Arrangement Teaching Camps. These camp provided an opportunity for this pioneer batch of overseas teachers to exchange and learn together.

It is hoped that in each and every course offered by the center in the near future, the volunteers and students will be able to appreciate the true meaning of life through their participation.

Tzu Chi Continuing Education Centre is still in its infancy stage. The courses available at present include Flower Arrangement, Calligraphy and Yoga. There are ten weekly lessons in a course. Each lesson lasts one and a half hours.

Flowers present a feeling of joy and goodness. The art of flower arrangement is not only an art but also an education. It helps to relax the body and mind, thus achieving an inner peace.

Flower Arrangement teacher, Mr Chen De-Fu, has many years of experience in this field. Presenting the beauty of flowers in their natural state and at the same time learning to interact with the flowers leads to the purifying of minds and an understanding of Truth, Goodness and Beauty.

Mr Chen has 26 years of experience in the research and teaching of flower arrangement and satin ribbon flower making. He attended the Sogetsu School of Ikebana in Japan and was awarded the Certificate of Flower Art Design in France.

Yoga, a combination of practical science and health care, conforms to a natural way of living. By understanding the ancient practice of Yoga and blending it with our modern lifestyle, we grasp the way to maintaining health through training the body, mind and soul using Yoga movements which incorporates breathing and meditation.

Holding a teaching qualification of Harta Yoga from India, Yoga instructor Liao Xiu-Tian is a conscientious and responsible teacher. She teaches her students to understand their bodies, thereby boosting their inner strength and self-confidence. This helps them to face any difficulties in life with a positive outlook, thus attaining health and everlasting peace.

A graduate from China’s Xiamen Overseas Education Academy, Mdm Liao acquired training qualification in Harta Yoga and has three years of experience in teaching Harta Yoga. She started learning Yoga in 1998 and has since practiced Yoga’s breathing method, meditation and body movements every day without fail.

Students learn and appreciate the art of Calligraphy in a pleasant environment filled with humanities culture.

The instructor, Mr Ji Min-Zhen has myriad years of teaching experience and is a highly accomplished calligrapher. In combining humanistic value with calligraphy, the instructor helps the students experience the beauty of calligraphy while holding the brushes, thereby purifying their mind while enjoying the art.

A graduate from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in London City College, Mr Ji has many years of experience in teaching calligraphy. He has held the post of Calligraphy Instructor in many schools and clan associations. He is also a lecturer of Calligraphy at the School for Foreign Languages in NUS.