Courses News

Course: The Heart of ‘The Heart Sutra’ (Run 6)

Feedback From Past Heart Sutra Courses:

‘Hi Shi’an, our deep gratitude for another round of solid edu-tainment on the Heart Sutra class! We’re really amazed at the immense effort you took to prepare your classes…’ – Bro. Han & Linda

‘I really enjoy your Heart Sutra lessons, and been trying to listen to the audio music of the Heart Sutra every day. I hope to realise the contents of the Heart Sutra one day through practising the Dharma in daily life. May your teaching be passsed on to benefit more sentient beings, and may this be the cause to help more people to remove Dukkha from their present life.’ – Chengding

‘Hi Bro Shi’an, my heartfelt gratitude to you for propagating great Buddhist classes to benefit us all. It’s indeed our blessings to have you as a Dharma teacher in Singapore. I’ve indeed learnt & truly benefited from the Heart Sutra class (5th run). I do appreciate your strenuous effort and time devoted to put across the key meaning of ‘Emptiness not being just empty or nothing’… Upon attending your lessons (also attended ‘Understanding Amituofo Via The Amitabha Sutra’), recitation of Heart Sutra and Nianfo (Mindfulness of Amituofo) has becoming more meaningful to me, strengthening my faith & aspiration to be reborn In Pure Land. Once again, thanks for the great sharing, and may this be just the beginning of the many, many sentient beings coming forward to learn from your classes.’ – With Metta, Tuck Khuen 

‘Yes! The [first] session is interesting. Going for Buddhist classes is something new to me… Your explanation is very clear and elaborate. You really make it easy for beginners to appreciate [the Heart Sutra].’ – Joyce

‘Thanks for the effort in making the lessons interesting with the many examples. I personally benefited much from these classes and have no regret attending. Have better understanding of “emptiness” as mentioned in this Sutra and also the Three Universal Characteristics which I had learnt many years ago. Hope more practitioners from the different schools of thought can attend this class.
Thanks…功德無量.’ – Andrew

‘First of all, I like to say a big thank you for your tremendous amount of work and effort in holding this class. In the past, I did not understand what is the real meaning behind the Heart Sutra, until I attended your lessons. Very informative, knowledgeable and clear… Once again, a big thank you. I believe all of us have truly benefited.’ – Vincent

‘Thank you for the detailed, comprehensive and informative materials presented in the class. Indeed, much effort and thoughtful preparation had been put forth to ensure that every single point was conveyed in a clear and easy to understood manner. While the examples given and experiences shared liven up the classes with laughter, they also taught us how to practically practise what we’ve learnt. I think you are a good student of the Buddha!’ – Ee

‘Thank you for conducting this class! I really enjoyed it and it seriously cleared many doubts of what I had when reading up on the concept of emptiness. In fact, after attending this class, I’m inspired to read up more and attend more lessons/talks on the Heart Sutra. I also like how you bring in stories and examples to illustrate the concepts, making it easier to understand… Once again, thank you for teaching this course and the notes sent every week. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from a knowledgeable teacher like you.’ – Stephanie

Many thanks for another interesting & well taught course! You have given a lucid explanation of the Heart Sutra which is a profound teachings of emptiness taught by the Buddha.  I like the slides and various examples you shared with us to help us understand the meaning of the Sutra better. I particularly like the story you shared during the last lesson… It serves as a reminder to me not to be emotionally affected and to remain calm… when face with ups and downs in life. I hope I can have the opportunity to attend your class again as I always enjoy and come out from the class with better understanding of the Buddha’s teachings. Thanks for sharing unselfishly your vast knowledge in Buddhism with us.  Amituofo! – With Metta, Ivy

‘Thank you for the wonderful lesson [1] last week. Unfortunately I’m travelling this week and next, so won’t be able to attend, but hope to return in two weeks’ time.’ – Steve

‘Thank you… Your method of instruction is a refreshing change.  What I particularly like is the way you presented the Buddha Dharma from a new angle.’ – Lihua

More Feedback From Past Courses:
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/07/understanding-amituofo-via-the-amitabha-sutra-8th-run
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/05/course-project-rebirth-rediscover-reflect-recharge-round-3

About Shen Shi’an 沈时安: 
An independent Buddhist teacher and writer, he was one of the founding members of the Dharma Propagation Division of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (Bright Hill Temple in Singapore) in 1997. Holding an MA in Buddhist Studies, which covered the major Buddhist traditions, he recently served as a Dharma Trainer and Project Coordinator in its Community Development & Training Department till 2011, focusing on Buddhist research, writing, teaching and answering of media queries. He was the founder of the temple’s Youth Mission (now ‘KMS Youth’), a book purchaser for its Awareness Place project, and the Chief Editor of the Web (and Library) Department, which co-supported Buddhanet.net, one of the world’s most popular Buddhist websites.

He is the founder and editor of TheDailyEnlightenment.com since 1997, one of the world’s largest independent Buddhist inspirational e-newsletter with over 29,000 members, the editor of ‘Be a Lamp Upon Yourself’, ‘Awaken: Gateway to Buddhism’ and the writer of ‘The Daily Enlightenment (Book 1,2,3,4)’. He also contributes occasionally to magazines such as ‘Nanyang Buddhist’, ‘Awaken’ (for which he was a Contributing Editor) and ‘For You (Information)’, and writes movie reviews for BuddhistChannel.tv, the world’s leading Buddhist news network. To date, he had reviewed over 300 movies. He popularised Dharma@Cinema, which is an innovative way of sharing the Dharma through detailed review discussions of both popular and offbeat films, and was part of the film selection team of T.H.I.S Buddhist Film Festival 2009.

Specialising in the Pure Land teachings, he has taught the subject at Singapore Buddhist Federation, Pu Ji Si Buddhist Research Centre and Poh Ming Tse, while leading the ongoing weekly Pureland Practice Fellowship at Kong Meng San, where he continues to teach various Dharma courses. He is also frequently invited to conduct Dharma discussions for youths for tertiary institutions’ Buddhist societies (SPBS, NPBS, NYPBS, NUSBS, NTUBS) on various subjects, along with the sharing Buddhist perspectives at Secondary Schools (SPS, Manjusri School), Junior Colleges (CJC) and International Schools (UWCSEA, SJII).

He was also a guest speaker for Dharma activities hosted by Dharma Drum Mountain (Singapore), Fo Guang Shan (Singapore), Tai Pei Buddhist Centre, Singapore Buddhist Mission Youth, Singapore Buddhist Youth Mission, Wat Ananda Youth, Buddha of Medicine Welfare Society and Kampung Senang. He has represented Buddhist views at governmental events conducted by NACLI, NHB, NHG, SAF, SPF, MHA, ACM, STB and OnePeople.sg, and was a committee member of the Inter-Religious Organisation, co-representing the Buddhist faith, through which he served in interfaith harmony projects such as giving of public talks to introduce Buddhism. He also co-runs Moonpointer.com, which is a community blog that promotes sharing of Buddhism via creative writing through thousands of articles. (He can be reached at moonpointer@gmail.com for invitations to share the Dharma via talks and classes.)

A Buddhist magazine’s interview: http://moonpointer.com/new/2011/07/interview-with-shen-shian

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