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More photos: DRBU & SLTP Graduation Ceremony photographs
Dharma Realm Buddhist University Awards 48 DegreesOn Saturday, May 23rd, Dharma Realm Buddhist University held its 2009 Commencement ceremonies. Degrees were awarded in Chinese Studies, Education, Translation, and Buddhist Study and Practice. The graduates included not only the Abbot, Dharma Master Heng Lyu, who received a Master of Arts in Buddhist Study and Practice, but also students from many countries and cultures. Family and friends from as far away as France and Asia joined in the event.
Helen C.M. Woo, who is from Los Angeles, was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letter for Humanitarian Contributions in the Field of Education. Ms. Woo has built schools, primary through university, in poor rural communities abroad as well as providing scholarships to students who would otherwise not have the means to obtain an education. In receiving the award she said, although I am in my seventies, having received this award, I will have to work even harder."
Dharma Master Heng Hsien, a founding faculty member of the University, (Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley) was awarded Professor Emerita status in recognition of her many years of hard work in teaching and her help in establishing Dharma Realm Buddhist University.
World-renowned scholar, Huston Smith, author of the bestselling text The World's Religions and most well-known for a five-part PBS Special with Bill Moyers entitled "The Religions of Man" spoke via distance media. Now in his nineties, he expressed his admiration for a university that is dedicated not only to scholarship but also practice and wished that he could “turn the clock back fifty years and teach there.?
The commencement hall was filled to overflowing with family and well-wishers, and all joined together in closing with a Dedication of Merit praying, "May every living being, our minds as one and radiant with light, share the fruits of peace with hearts of goodness, luminous and bright."
Note:To develop individuals who can propagate the Dharma, the Venerable Master founded the City's Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) in 1976. Its guiding principles are humaneness, justness, the Way, and virtue; its goals are kindness, compassion, and the rescue of all beings. Not only does DRBU impart knowledge in specialty areas, it emphasizes the development of one's virtue and moral character. As students purify and transform their minds and spirits, they activate their inherent wisdom and compassion, thereby realizing their greatest potential. For more information see its website: www.drbu.org or email info@drbu.org (By Terri Nicholson)
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