Dr. Dharmadhara began his talk by relating a true incident which revolves around the parents’ love for their child. Though the talk was in English, Bro. Soo Cheng Guan was on hand to translate the talk word for word into Mandarin for the benefit of those who could not understand English. Dr. Dharmadhara also stressed on the important factors which could help to contribute towards overcoming our self-centered emotions, which prevent us from developing a true Bodhi Heart. He said that by practicing the precepts, meditations, studying the sutras, chanting and volunteering our services in temples are some of the good meritorious deeds which we should cultivate in our daily lives.

According to the doctor, our lives may seem like an impossible journey, like a flight of stairs which never ends. We have to overcome big obstacles through little steps, one at a time; to overcome our greed, hatred and delusion by using loving-kindness, stillness in mind, insight and wisdom.

Dr. Dharmadhara also imposes on the fact that the Buddha only taught one dharma, which is used to help people attain freedom from pain and suffering caused by their belief in a separate self. He stressed that for one to be kind and compassionate, one has to vibrate, to tremble with other beings, to feel their pain and to feel their happiness as well. He also brought to attention a book titled ‘Emotional Intelligence’ by David Bowman, a writer for the New York Times and a Buddhist practitioner, who dedicated a chapter on the subject of compassion and empathy. A research was conducted on why some people make better listeners and why some are more open to share other people’s difficulties. The author stresses on the importance of listening, especially when empathizing with another person’s dilemma.

The doctor closed his talk by explaining that for one to develop Bodhicitta, to attain a Bodhi heart, it is not something which is easily obtained from a shop. Rather it is a special jewel which one can find deep within one’s heart.

Dharmadhara was born in the United Kingdom in 1951, and emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1967. He received a B.Sc in zoology in 1973. He then went to East Timor and was trapped by the civil war just prior to the Indonesian invasion in 1975. He witnessed two weeks of heavy fighting as a result of which he became a Buddhist. He also had a short stay in a monastery in Thailand, and later returned to New Zealand to study medicine. He became fully involved with the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) in 1976, and was ordained in 1979 as Dharmadhara by Sangharakshita, the head of the WBO. When he completed his medical degree in 1980, he spent one-and-a-half years in India as a doctor between 1983-4, working with the Tibetans in exile in Dharamsala, northern India. During this period he also made contacts with HH The Dalai Lama and his family.