On October 14, 2018, Buddhist Master Jun Hong Lu, Ambassador for World Peace and also a spiritual teacher of 10 million followers, gave an inspirational public talk at Madison Square Garden, in Manhattan, New York. The event is spiritually inspired and riveting, making an unforgettable, life-changing impact on participants and the broader community. It attracted nearly 10,000 visitors and lasted for 4 hours from 1pm to 5pm.
The attendees include some of the leading politicians, business elites, members of the media industry and Buddhist clergy from the US and abroad, as well as Buddhist friends and volunteers from North America, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania and Asia. The domestic participants in US were from different places across West Coast to East Coast, including New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix, Colorado, Michigan, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Boston, Florida, etc.
The event began with the astonishing solo singing performance of Buddhist songs, presented by the world famous singer Chyi Yu. In recognition of Master Lu’s many years of outstanding contribution to the spread of Buddhism, philanthropy and world peace, Ms. Mengxian Zhang presented the World Culture of Peace contribution to Master Lu on behalf of Felix W. Ortiz, the Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly, and commended Master Lu’s dedications and service. New York Mayor Representative Mr. Tommy Lin praised Master Lu’s dedicated efforts and presented him with the New York Peace Contribution Award. Mr. He Xin, Chairman of the Mid – America Asian Culture Association, presented Master Lu with the World Culture of Peace Award.
Over the past 20 years, Master Lu has been dedicating to promoting the culture of peace and interfaith harmony through the peaceful philosophy of Buddhism— non-violence and compassion. His efforts have been widely recognized by the international community and have helped people around the world develop an understanding and appreciation of the traditional Chinese culture. By using plain words, Master Lu’s Dharma Talks accord perfectly with the spirit of the Dharma and meet the needs of the listeners. He explained the profound Buddhist teachings as easy to understand as possible for the public, and made Buddhism truly applicable in people’s daily lives. Across the world today, Master Lu’s Buddhist practice has helped 10 million people find spiritual refuge and liberation, thus changing their lives for the better.
Master Lu’s 10-day Dharma Propagation Tour 2018 in the US started on October 5th and then went on to New York. His public talk at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles successfully held on October 7th and attracted 10,000 people. In New York, he brought another three public talks to worldwide Buddhist friends and local people since October11th. The major event took place at the Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on October14th, providing a fitting end to the grand tour. The year of 2018 marks the sixth Dharma Propagation Tour by Master Jun Hong Lu in the US, aiming to spread Buddhism and traditional Chinese culture.
The events attracted a lot of Buddhist practitioners and followers, including some of the Westerners, from New York and other areas in the US. Many of the practitioners traveled long distances for the event, hoping to receive guidance and advice from Master Lu. Buddhist learning and practicing materials were very popular among participants at the event and all distributed for free. Over 1,000 volunteers from all over the world offered their support and help wholeheartedly throughout the event. Vegetarian food was also offered free of charge during the events.
Master Lu’s Dharma Talks are the crystallized wisdom of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. They cover a broad range of topics from history to modern life. His talk taught people how to apply the Buddhist teachings to cope with everyday issue. Sparkling with a good sense of humour and witticism, his speech is full of inspiration and provokes introspection. It was a spiritual cleansing experience for the audience to get rid of negative energy generated from afflictions and concentrate on the positive.
Master Lu’s talk shines a light on the rich and profound nature of traditional Chinese culture and humanistic Buddhism; it helps to overcome vexations in our minds. His tour worldwide indeed serves as a bridge that not only connects overseas Chinese community members across the world, but also showcases the treasure of the Chinese culture in Western societies.
Master Lu currently serves as Chairman of both the Australia Oriental Media Group and the Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association. He is also President of the Australian Chinese Buddhist Research Centre, Honorary Visiting Professor at University of Siena in Italy, and lecturer in the areas of Buddhism and Philosophy at University of the West of Scotland in the UK.
Master Lu is a Justice of Peace (JP) in Australia. He has been awarded the royal title of Dato’ in Malaysia and holds an advanced diploma in Counseling & Psychology (Australia). He has been promoting traditional Chinese culture, Buddhism, world peace and philanthropy for over 20 years by holding over 200 large-scale public talks in over 30 countries and regions.
Ever since 2010, Master Lu has been invited to give talks in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco. He was also invited to speak at Harvard University and attend international peace conferences in places such as the United Nations, US Congress, and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Being awarded the title of Ambassador for World Peace on several occasions, Master Lu was invited by the President of the United Nations General Assembly to attend and speak at the “High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace” at UN headquarters. The forum was joined by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UN President of General Assembly and other leaders from around the world. In both 2017 and 2018, Master Lu was invited to deliver keynote speeches at the Celebration of Vesak Day at UNESCO headquarters.
