弥陀小学教师节 Mee Toh School Teachers' Day

我是以三合一志工的身份参加这项活动，并不太了解“大爱妈妈”的性质，只从义胜师兄那知道“大爱母亲”的主要任务是教导学生“静思语”。

I attended this events as a 3-in-1 volunteer, having not much clue what a "Great Love Mothers" do. But I do know Yi Sheng SX and heard from him that that main task of "Great Love Mothers" is to teach students "Jing Si Aphorisms".

今天是个特别的日子。“大爱妈妈”安排了场由同学进行的奉茶仪式来庆祝教师节。奉茶仪式在慈济学校极为普遍，但是在新加坡则是闻所未闻。由于家长的反对，同学在奉茶给老师时不下跪，改以深深的一鞠躬取而代之。

Today is a special event. "Great Love Mothers" have arranged a tea-offering ceremony by the students in celebration of Teachers' Day. The tea-offering ceremony is very common is Tzu Chi schools but hardly performed in Singapore. Due to parents' objection, students are not asked to kneel in front of their teachers when offering tea, but instead replaced by a deep bow.

当天的奉茶仪式我就不多写，可以从以下的链接和新闻报导得知。报导中的一张照片是我这三合一志工拍下的。我也已经把报导译成英语，应该就快上网。

What happened during the actual events can be view from the link and new report below. One of my pictures was used for the article and I did an English translation of that article which should be out soon.

http://www.tzuchi.org.sg/news/education/2008/20080829.html

因此我谈谈别的。慈济人是出了名的喜欢整洁。这也就不难理解为什么义胜师兄会在一排排奉茶时老师座的椅子背后，边走边把椅子排成完美的直线。上人希望我们从小处着手，安好自己的心。

Hence, I will talk about something else. Tzu Chi volunteers have a particular liking for orderliness. Therefore, it is no surprise to see Yi Sheng SX walking behind the rows of chairs when the teachers will be sitting later for the tea-offering ceremony, ensuring that all the chairs are in a perfect straight line. Master hope that we can use these little details to cultivate a thoughtful heart.

奉茶仪式上，年青教师无法体会奉茶背后的意义，对劳师动众的奉茶仪式感到惊讶和困惑。不过我注意到两位过了半百的教师，被整个奉茶仪式深深的感动，想必已经很久没有受到尊师重道的感觉。

During the tea-offering ceremony, the young teachers did not fully appreciate the meaning behind the ceremony. They seem to be surprised and confused about all the formality. However, I noticed that there are 2 teachers over their fifties who are very touched during the ceremony. I am guessing that it has been a long time since students gave them such high appreciation.


仪式后，“大爱妈妈”整齐地排在礼堂后，陪大家观赏接下来的教师节庆祝活动。从慈济人的背影中，想起了上人常分享的一句话。当别人问慈济人叫什么名字时，慈济人都回答说“慈济”。人人都叫“慈济”，不分你、我、他。用意是要会众认识“慈济”这个团体而不是个人。更重要的是我们的修行，不说出自己的名字是在缩小自己、培养纳米良能、去除“我相”。

After the tea-offering ceremony, our "Great Love Mothers" lined up behind the hall while the Teachers' Day celebration continued. From all these shadows reminded me of what Master said, when people ask what our name is, we replied "Tzu Chi". Everybody is called "Tzu Chi". There is no name that differentiates you from me. The idea is for the public to recognize the organization rather than individual. At the same time, it is for us to cultivate the sense of tiny, such that we can get rid of the concept of "me".

教师节，我向大导师学了一堂充满智慧的课。

I have learned an important lesson from the best teacher.