This is why Venerable Ru Quan enjoys making good food in the monastery
Jiang Yuling shares a conversation with Venerable Ru Quan that warmed her heart.
One day, as I walked along the level 2 corridor in BWM, I smelled something delicious wafting out from the kitchen. Not wanting to miss good food, I ran over and popped my head in, hoping to find out what the kitchen staff was preparing for lunch. But the scene before me caught me by surprise.
It was Venerable Ru Quan at the stoves.
Thinking back, I realised that Venerable Ru Quan had been keeping busy in the kitchen over the last few days, and so I decided to ask him why:
“Venerable Ru Quan, why have you been cooking so much in the last few days?”
Venerable Ru Quan turned to look at me and laughed:
“Well, I want to offer food to the Sangha!”
It was such a simple answer, but it warmed the depths of my heart — Venerable Ru Quan is a senior member of the Sangha whom many of us deeply respect, but he continues to remain humble and work hard to accumulate merits, even with actions that may seem so little!
This little encounter served as a good reminder to me:
No matter how “long” I’ve been in the monastery learning the Dharma, I must always remain humble when it comes to accumulating merits and learning.
