Report by Chan Jia Xin.

Bro. Tan was the guest speaker at Nottingham University Malaysia Buddhist Society recently.

On Wednesday 2 November, Bro. Tan was invited to the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in Semenyih, Selangor, to give a Dhamma talk.  More than 50 students turned up for his talk on what constitutes ‘true friendship’.

Bro. Tan first spoke about good friendship as an indispensable requisite for progress on the spiritual path.  This is because good friends are those who are not just good to us, but are also good for us.  They are able to bring out the good in us if only we associate with them.

However, if we find that we do not have such friends around, we should first strive to cultivate good qualities within ourselves.  This allows us to become good friends to others, and then beget good friends in turn.  As we grow in wholesome qualities, our lives change before our eyes.  Growth in character leads to maturity in wisdom.  Consequently, growth in wisdom conduces to true happiness.

Bro. Tan spoke about the qualities of a true friend, quoting the Sigalovada Sutta.

We would like to congratulate Nottingham Buddhist Society on its 7th anniversary in November 2016.  We also wish its members the very best in learning and sharing the Buddha-Dhamma for many years to come.  Sadhu anumodana!