Tuomas Rounakari

Tuomas Rounakari is the chairman of Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association registered under United Nations Global Compact as NGO-Non Government Organisation since July 2015. Participant ID:61321. The Charity Asso. has been registed under Australian Charities and Non for profit Commission-ACNC since May 2014. Charity ABN: 96169422664 Registered Charities and Non for profit under Australian Charity Commission required by law to maintain a transparent, correct, and complete financial records. He is also the President of the Australian Chinese Buddhist Research Centre.

Early life

Lu is born in 4 August 1959, at Shanghai, Mainland China. He later migrated to Commonwealth of Australia in the late 80s and becomes an Australian citizen. In year 2010, he launch the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door organization and created the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door religious belief.

Awards

In recognition of Lu's efforts to promote Traditional Chinese Culture, Buddhism, and World Peace, the UK-based Unity of Faiths Foundation (Charity No.1153619) honored Lu with the 'World Peace Award (Buddhism)' and the title of the Ambassador for World Peace Ambassador for World Peace' in July 2012. The Unity of Faiths Festival was one of the events in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. In September 2012, Lu was invited to give a public talk at Harvard University. In October 2012, he received the 'British Community Honors Award' at the House of Lords, United Kingdom. This award is recognized and honored by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II for members of the British Community for their contribution to British Society.

On 31 March 2014, Lu was awarded Honorary visiting professor by the University of Siena, Italy. The visiting professorship is under the Master Program in Global Governance and Cultural Diplomacy of the University of Siena.

“Yearbook of Who's Who of China 2014" lists people in various fields who have made outstanding contributions to China. It is approved for publication by China's General Administration of Press and Publication. The yearbook is published annually. It is the only official publication in China that lists prominent Chinese individuals in the form of a yearbook. The 2014 edition contains detailed biographical information about people in various fields who have made an impact on Chinese life in 2014. In addition to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Jun Hong Lu is also featured in the 2014 edition. Other featured subjects include leading people from the Chinese Communist Party and other political parties, government bodies, and the Army.

The United Nations invited Lu Jun Hong to attend a global summit at United Nations Headquarters in New York as a keynote speaker. The objective of the summit is to formulate a road map for a culture of peace as conflict prevention and mediation. In appreciation for Lu's dedication and service to the promotion of education to nurture a culture of peace, the summit awarded Lu Jun Hong with the title "Ambassador of Peace Education". The award is presented by Emil Constantinescu, the former president of Romania, and Joana, the executive director of International Strategic Alliance Committee.

Religious activities

The Grand Dharma Talk by Jun Hong Lu in National Stadium Singapore 2017

Jun Hong Lu giving a conference at AccorHotels Arena at Paris in 2019

Lu create an organization in 2010 and publicizes his own religious belief called Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door(Chinese: 觀世音菩薩心靈法門). Since 2010, in response to the invitations from Buddhist followers around the globe, Lu and his Propagating Team have organised public talks in many countries and regions including major cities in Australia; New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston in the United States; and Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, Brussels in Belgium and Madrid in Spain and Rome in Italy. Lu also gave talks in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Thailand, New Zealand, and Taiwan.Every Dharma Convention held by Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door is of free entrance to all. And also, the discipleship initiation ceremony is conducted completely free of charge. In December 2013 Lu was invited to give a speech at Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) in recognition of Jun Hong Lu's contribution to the international community.

Publications

Lu has written over 30 books about Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door and publish all his books for free. Some of his books were being translated into English, French, Spanish and German.

Views

Mahayana Buddhism

According to Jun Hong Lu, Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door belongs to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, and it encourages people to recite Buddhist scriptures (sutras and mantras) on a daily basis, practice life liberation (that is, saving the lives of beings destined for slaughter), and make great vows to help more people. It also claim that the three "golden practices" lay a solid foundation for improved physical and mental well-being.

Three Golden Buddhist Practices of Guan Yin Citta

1. Reciting Buddhist sutras/mantras: Guan Yin Citta believes that reciting Buddhist sutras and mantras on a daily basis helps one benefit from the blessings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Recitation will not only help eliminate one’s negative karma; it will also bring strength, wisdom and inner peace, so that one can overcome all kinds of obstacles. The three major sutras and mantras recited by Guan Yin Citta followers are: the Great Compassion Mantra, the Heart Sutra, and the Eighty-eight Buddhas Repentance.
2. Practicing life liberation: that is, Release of animals, especially those in grave danger of being killed, is a popular practice performed by all schools of Buddhism. Guan Yin Citta believes that setting animals free helps one cultivate compassion towards all beings, and deepens the understanding that all living beings are all interdependent.
3. Making great vows: When one makes a vow, he or she will be motivated to fulfill the vow. The vow then becomes very strong energy; it can overcome countless obstacles. This is especially true when one makes a vow out of compassion. Seeing the suffering and hearing the cries of sentient beings, Bodhisattvas bring forth immense compassion and vow to benefit all sentient beings.

Organization

On Jun Hong Lu's official Chinese-language blog, he emphasises the importance of Guan Yin Citta followers' abiding by the rules and regulations in their respective countries and regions when practicing Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door.

Religions

In an interview with Radio France internationale, Lu stated that "The reason of having 84,000 Dharma is to accommodate all beings and creatures to understand One's self in order to create a soulful world. It will be good enough as long as you have the heart and soul to create a better place for all beings. That is why I respect the Dharma. It doesn't matter which Dharma you choose; it will still be the path that you have to proceed. This is a very important point. Therefore, Chinese in Sydney will practice vegetarian during the first and the fifteenth of the Chinese calendar. There are also a lot of Chinese worshipping the Buddha during festive seasons. Some even know how to practice loving kindness. A few organizations in Sydney such as the Tzu Chi Foundation, Pure Land Buddhism by Master Chin Kung and also Master Hsing Yun's Nan Tien temple are all well established with the same priority, and that is to carry forward the Buddhism Teaching in order to unite everyone physically, mentally and soulfully. Hence, I believe that every Buddhist Chinese from all over the world should continue to practice Buddhism as it will benefit in the cultivation of One's mindset, and also to create a peaceful and harmonious world."

World peace

On 26 March 2014 in Washington, DC, Lu attended a global summit on world peace as a keynote speaker in the US Congress. He was awarded the title of " World Peace Ambassador " at the summit. Lu pointed out that, the dream of a peaceful world could only be realized if we treat each other with compassion, and show kindness to our communities.

In August 2016, Lu stated that, "We want the world to be filled with compassion; we want love to spread to all over the globe; we want countries to be well; we want the people to be well; we want every family to be well - this is Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door. Let every one of us be well; let every family be well; let our society be well; let our country be well - this is Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door."

Philanthropy

Flood relief

Yantze River, China – 1998

Brisbane flood, Australia – 2011

Kelantan, Malaysia – 2015

Earthquake

Sichuan earthquake, China – 2008

Sichuan earthquake, China – 2013

Disaster relief program

Tzu Chi Foundation – 2013

Other philanthropic work

In 2013, Jun Hong Lu, with his team from the Australian Chinese Buddhist Research Centre, had organised a charity event to raise funds for Tibetan students with financial difficulties. In 2014, Jun Hong Lu established the Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association (AOMB). AOMB reaches out to people suffering from mental illnesses, raises money for adults and children with disabilities and organises charitable events to support disaster relief efforts around the world.

Suspected of cheating

Lu Jun Hong claim that he is able to see through a person's previous lives without any proof to support his claim. He was caught lying by a friend who attended one of his events. A man asks Lu why he has cancer. Lu thinks for a while, pretending to see his past, and he says because he did fishing. The man retorted that he had fished only once in this life. And Lu immediately replies that once is enough! It shows that Lu was blindly guessing as many people have fished before. And when rebutted, he will find other ways or excuses to get away from the problem.

Criticism

The Guan Yin Citta made by Lu Jun Hong had claim itself that it is part of Buddhism. However, it is criticized by the public and other religious organization that Lu's teaching are unrelated to Buddhism. One of the example pointed out by the religious specialist which is the Guan Yin Citta teaches the believer to burn the yellow paper, known as "Little house". It was pointed out that there is no such teaching in Buddhism and therefore it is unrelated.

Lu Jun Hong are also criticized for making use the religious belief for making himself famous and encourage believers to worship him. By printing his photo and name, as well as phrases to praise Lu Jun Hong on the flyer to conduct mass advertising campaign.

Malaysia Buddhism organization's reaction

On 28 December 2018, 9 Buddhism organizations from Malaysia declared that Lu Jun Hong's Guan Yin Citta belief does not matches the Buddhism's teaching, and urged the public to avoid attending Lu's Guan Yin Citta religious event. The 9 organizations are Malaysian Buddhist Association, Young Buddhist Association Of Malaysia / YBAM ATC, Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia, Buddhist Maha Vihara Malaysia,Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia, Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia, BLIA, and Malaysian Buddhist Kulapati Association. Lu Jun Hong claim that he is able to conduct Totem reading to see a person's previous life and the doings, and as well as communicate with the Buddhist god, the GuanYin. The Buddhism organizations pointed out that Totem reading and burning the "Little house"does not exist in Buddhism.

See also

• Guan Yin
• Buddhism
• Chinese Buddhism
• Mahayana
• Heart Sutra
• Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī
• World peace

External links

• Guan Yin Citta: Biography of Master Lu
• Official Website

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• Yuqi Wang
• Hong Chen (writer)
• Peter Khan
• Master Yu Tian Jian

---