Memoir

Shifu Miao Jing

Dr. Marjorie Evasco is a bodhisattva, an uninvited friend who joined the Taking Refuge to the Triple Gem and Upholding Five Precepts Ceremony at Fo Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple upon her first visit in 2012. She has since cared for the Dharma propagation of Humanistic Buddhism and volunteers to enrich our educational mindfulness programs.

She is the best, together with Ms. Susan Lara and the late beloved Sir Bimboy, to organize our first writing workshop at Guang Ming College to inspire young Filipino to learn to embrace their experiences and share their stories in simple but heartful words. Through remembering and writing, she laughs and cries with them. She inspires young people to seek love in literature and life.

She inspires young people to seek love in literature and life. Being a creative, jolly, wise, and calm practitioner, Dr. Evasco has the energy to grow in her garden and the temple. We read, talked, and ate vegetarian food in the Waterdrop Teahouse. When I saw the sparks fly in the eyes behind her glasses, I knew her thoughts crossed where Dharma, literature, and hearts met. We have since fused Ch’an thoughts for Three Acts of Goodness school teachers and friends at Gathering Minds. She helps people to root in righteousness.

Her passion for heritage and cultures has brought people closer together, crossing boundaries and generations. Dr. Evasco warms the heart of strangers and foreigners in her books to preserve Filipino family values, hometown traditions, and community spirits. Similarly, she opens the Dharma door to introduce Venerable Master Hsing Yun and his teaching of Humanistic Buddhism to Filipino. Moreover, she tells what we have here to our international audience with Fo Guang Shan. She is a model of modern Upāsikā.

Pandemic lockdowns and quarantines might have eroded many parts of our life, yet Dr. Evasco continues to lead her missions calmly. She transcends her classroom from ground to cloud, writes to raise awareness of climate change, and supports temple activities from physical to spiritual presence. Her compassion glows brightly like a Bodhisattva.

Happy Birthday. May Buddha’s Light always shine on and from your tender heart.

-- Ven. Miao Jing (Abbess, Fo Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple)