Don’t Walk Alone: A Community of Noble Friends

Speakers: Bhikshu Jin Chuan & Bhikshu Jin Wei (Online, Joining from California, USA)

Mon 16 March | 7.00-8.30pm AEST

Location: Online (Zoom link below)

Cost: Free

The Buddha taught that spiritual friendship (kalyāṇamitta) isn’t optional; it’s the whole path.

In a world pulling us in every direction — parental expectations, runaway AI development, self-branding, constant comparison — it’s easy to feel alone, or quietly in competition with everyone around us. We retreat into fixed beliefs that make us feel safe. We gather with those who think like we do. We build subtle walls.

A community of noble friends is different. It’s not built on approval or sameness, but on the four boundless hearts: kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Here, we’re supported and stretched, encouraged and challenged. Not to achieve, but to wake up.

We may go fast alone.
But we go farther together.

About the Speakers: Bhikshu Jin Chuan was born in New Jersey and grew up in the Silicon Valley. In high school, he began exploring Christianity and Buddhism, and discovered his “calling” to be a monk–to the surprise of his family (and himself). While studying physics and religious studies at Stanford, he joined Dharma Realm Buddhist Youth and frequented Berkeley Buddhist Monastery. In 2005, he became a resident at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. He became a novice in 2011 and a bhikshu in 2013. In 2016, he received an M.A. in Buddhist Classics at DRBU where he now serves as an assistant professor and chaplain. Since 2021, Jin Chuan has served on the Buddhist Global Relief Board and recently the BGR Sangha Council.

Bhikshu Jin Wei was born in Poland and began his meditation practice in 1999. After living a fun but unfulfilling bohemian lifestyle, he encountered a Polish translation of the Sixth Patriarch Sūtra that inspired him to dedicate himself to Dharma practice and service. He volunteered in various hospitals and helped organize DRBA Delegations to Europe. In 2013, he came to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas as a Sangha and Laity Training Program student. In 2015, he took novice ordination, and in 2017, full ordination. In 2020, he graduated from the DRBU M.A. in Buddhist Classics. Jin Wei Shi serves on the Buddhist Global Relief Sangha Council.

Online event: Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive session online by clicking on this link to access the session: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83506489824?pwd=cmpNQ1ljSmFVYURLWVN1dWllYUN1dz09

Meeting ID: 835 0648 9824| Passcode: 718905

Alternatively, you can dial in from your telephone (call charges apply): +61 2 8015 6011