Woodenfish aims to offer an accessible pathway for Chinese young and old living in fast-paced modern society to learn from the wisdom of the Buddha's teachings and act with compassion in their everyday lives. 

 

The World CitiZen Youth Summer Camp was inaugurated in the Summer of 2015 by Ven. Yifa as a way to encourage Chinese children and teenagers to connect with global culture through the lens of Humanistic Buddhism and traditional Chinese thought. Global culture can be defined as a sense of belonging to not just one nation, but to a greater worldwide community that transcends boundaries and embraces the common values of peace, human welfare and education. This global culture is introduced through a curriculum that blends different traditions, Eastern and Western, with the assumption that they emanate from the same core intention, namely the betterment of life on Earth.

 

On another level, the World CitiZen Youth Summer Camp seeks to cultivate four qualities in its students that are seen as characteristic of "world citizens": awareness (自觉), inclusivity (包容), diligence (进取) and tranquility (自在). A world citizen is aware of themselves, who they are, what they can be and their place in the bigger picture; in their awareness, they find what it is about themselves they share in common with people all around the world: hopes and dreams, worries and fears, and everything that makes us human, leading to an inclusive mindset; diligence arises in those who realize that the goal of creating a constructive global culture requires constant attention and energy; world citizens feel calm and tranquil upon realizing that they belong to a planet full of vast possibilities and people with similar goals.