My name is Ngọc Hà, and I live in Michigan. I would like to express my gratitude to you and share with you the fortunate events that have unfolded since I had the opportunity to meet you and participate in the Mandala ceremony in Houston in October 2023.
I have a nearly 4-year-old son who was diagnosed with autism (non-verbal) by a doctor. He is also a picky eater and only drinks milk. I have been in pain and wondered why this had to happen to me. I haven’t done anything wrong, so why do I have to endure this suffering?
Through good karma, dharma sister Hoàng Vân introduced me to you and the Mandala. Sister Vân and other sisters in the CSS taught me the practice and the Four Lotus. My father, my son, and I traveled to Houston to attend the Mandala. There, I was guided, and I received certification as a Lotus Bodhisattva.
The next Monday, during lunch at Kim Sơn restaurant, my son was fortunate enough to have his head touched by you and Thầy Hằng Đức. The following day, we returned to Michigan. During the trip, my son was joyful, no longer afraid of crowds. Previously, every time we went to the airport, I had to carry him because he was afraid of crowds and strangers. This time, he spoke incessantly and even sang, although it was without meaning, just following the rhythm. It was the first time I felt he was talking too much.
My father, who follows the Christian faith, was surprised by the change in my son and said he must have been blessed by you. We fully believe that the change in my son was due to the head touches from both of you.
Within a week, he spoke his first meaningful and clear sentence: “It’s a cat, it’s a dog, it’s a duck…” He can now eat French fries and hash browns. Since returning from the spiritual gathering in Houston, I feel my son has improved significantly. I am deeply grateful to you and Thầy Hằng Đức for blessing him.
While learning and practicing, I also feel my mind lighter and much more serene. In every session with the sisters in CSS, I always sense their compassionate intention and support for everyone. I am delighted and grateful to have known you, to learn from you, to participate in the Mandala, and to receive your blessings.
I hope that the Mandala will continue to grow and reach more places to spread love, healing, and salvation to many people and suffering souls.
Among many times joining XGVT/Dharma Protector, the XGVT in 2015 left us with the most touching memories.
We had a dear friend. He was always enthusiastic and helpful. People love working with him because he knew how to create a harmonious and comfortable environment, making everyone happy to collaborate.
That summer, we met him and his family in a nearby gathering. The next day, he had an accident and suddenly passed away. Despite knowing that life in this world is impermanent, everyone who encountered that situation was shocked and deeply moved.
At the end of that year, my husband and I, along with some friends and relatives of his family, a total of 14 people, decided to participate in XGVT to dedicate merits to him. Many of us had never been ordained before.
The day before, we stayed at a hotel near the monastery. That night, we helped each other shave our heads, leaving a small tuft for Thầy to shave the next day. Although it was just us shaving each other’s heads, it was a deeply emotional experience. Some couldn’t hold back tears.
Throughout the retreat, the group supported each other with harmony and determination towards a common purpose: channeling loving-kindness for a person we all cherished. That year, in particular, Thầy taught us the practice of the Blue Lotus, a compassionate method of Guan Yin Bodhisattva that guides departed souls to a peaceful afterlife. Additionally, the moments of meditation and listening to the teachings on love without regret helped heal our hearts.
We would like to express our gratitude to Thầy for instilling more determination in us and providing the opportunity for us to request the Buddha assembly’s assistance for our beloved ones.
What has preoccupied me for many years is how to balance the time caring for my mother and the time devoted to inner peace and tranquility for myself.
Fortunately, through studying Buddhist teachings and practicing meditation, I have followed the Buddha’s guidance to lead a compassionate, wise, and forgiving life. I have worked on cultivating empathy and forgiveness to improve my relationships with those around me, especially with my mother. To show more care for her, I began actively listening and spending more time conversing to understand her better, while also expressing gratitude for her presence in my life.
With these practices, I have created a more balanced, enjoyable, and loving life for myself and those around me. At this point, I also want to sincerely thank Master Hằng Trường for teaching and guiding me on my spiritual journey. Thanks to my life partner and fellow practitioners for helping me maintain faith and continually nurture my spiritual growth.
My aspiration is to engage in volunteer work to help those less fortunate than me, such as social work at a Food Bank, nursing home, assisting the homeless, and more. However, currently, caring for my mother takes precedence. I only hope that I will have more time in the future to further enrich these endeavors.
I have gone through long years of illness. I distanced myself from society, living in darkness, avoiding contact with anyone, and even limiting interaction with my own family.
Then one day, having learned about the World Peace Gathering (WPG) in Southern California in a few weeks, I was suddenly awakened. Memories of attending the Altruistic Home-Leaving retreats came back to me vividly. It felt like a movie playing in my mind. It was a wonderful week spent living together with the monastic community, familiar faces, and fellow practitioners from near and far, gathering in the peaceful Big Bear mountains to experience the true life of renunciation, far away from the noise of the mundane world… I was momentarily speechless, savoring that moment of happiness and indescribable joy.
Then, that weekend, I went with my wife to the CSS Center nearby, to participate in activities with fellow practitioners that I hadn’t seen for a long time. As I approached the entrance, from a distance, my dharma brothers and sisters immediately recognized me. They warmly welcomed me as if I were a long-lost sibling returning home. Overwhelmed with emotions, I felt grateful for the warmth and love radiating from everyone, especially their encouragement, advising me to attend the gatherings more regularly. In my heart, I promised to return and consider them my second family.
The day of the two-day Dharma Assembly arrived. Once again, I met old dharma friends from various states across the United States, some from Canada and Germany. They embraced me with both joy and sorrow at our long separation. Perhaps, they felt a tinge of sadness seeing me now, no longer as strong as before, relying on a walker for mobility. For two consecutive days, with a sincere heart, I listened attentively to Thầy’s Dharma teachings. In the evening, I watched the procession of people lighting candles and circumambulating the Anaheim Convention Center grounds, a unique and solemn sight.
The most exceptional moment was when I had the chance to meet four Masters. Thầy Hằng Trường recognized me right away. He held my hand as if transmitting energy to me and gently tapped my head while giving me words of encouragement to continue my spiritual practice. Thầy Hằng Đức and two other Masters also greeted me and bestowed blessings upon me.
Returning to my hometown with a renewed spirit and happiness, I began regularly participating in group activities with fellow practitioners, such as practicing Tai Chi every morning, repentance ceremonies, reciting the Flower Adornment Sutra compiled by Thầy, and memorizing the Great Compassion Mantra (which I thought I had forgotten). I diligently recited sutras daily, reviewed Thầy’s teachings, and practiced writing the Hand-Eye seeds of light, immersing myself in serious practice.
Thank you, all my CSS brothers and sisters, for spreading love and encouragement and providing opportunities for me to continue my cultivation practice. I’m grateful to my family for always being by my side, caring, and loving me. I’ve rediscovered my network of connections, my web of affinities. Dear Thầy, dear dharma brothers and sisters: “I have returned home!”
When I was young, I often went to the temple to participate in Buddhist family activities and had many opportunities to interact with nuns. Those nuns had very gentle and peaceful steps, living in harmony and cherishing the miracles of heaven and earth is always in my mind.
Those beautiful and touching images embedded a deep desire in my heart to become an altruistic nun when I grow up. But as the years passed quietly and being busy with daily bread and butter, I also forgot my childhood wish until the day I heard Master Heng Chang’s lecture on “Cultivating for others”.
Following in Buddha’s footsteps, I decided to make a vow to become a surrogate nun for my mother with the wish to dedicate all blessings to her. I made an effort to develop full devotion in understanding, nurturing, respect and obedience towards my beloved mother.
During the 10-day retreat in Big Bear Lake, Master Heng Chang taught the method of practicing the Avatamsaka Hand-Eye Dhama through familiar objects in daily life to experience the miraculous truth: The unchanging nature of the True Mind and the constant opening of Bodhicitta, the Bodhi mind.
Wishing to follow Master Heng Chang’s shining example, I vow to maintain diligent efforts to cultivate an open mind with wholesome nature to transform myself and others in every moment of life. With a heartfelt respect and deep gratitude, I bow down before Thay and the Sangha.
Thân Lạc
My mother’s black hair turns gray Her heart carries deep and heavy sorrows Raising her young and innocent children Human life is fragile like a branch full of fruits The ripe fruits have been fallen due to shaking wind.
Every year when I rejoin the XGVT program, I feel like returning to my sweet childhood home full of warmth and happiness because I’ve come back to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, back to Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Leaving my worldly home,
I return to the ever-present home of the true mind. Downing my hair is like letting go of a heavy bag full of suffering as well as job and daily life responsibilities. Like a child coming home from a trip rushing to her parents’ arms, I happily take refuge in the Buddha and receive warmth, care, comfort, and healing from Kuan Yin, Bodhisattva, Grand Master Hsun Hua, and Shr Fu Heng Chang.
Like what parents do, Shr Fu takes care of his disciples in every way, from our sleep accommodations to room temperature, food quality, and making sure that our veggie meals are nutritious, cleansing, and healing. I don’t have to worry about what to cook three times a day. Instead, I practice repentance bowing daily to the Buddha, to Shr Fu, to my parents, and to all living beings, asking their forgiveness for all mistakes I have made due to dark thoughts created by my ego.
The posture of prostrating on the ground takes me back to a child’s position in the fetus when the true mind is still clear. Becoming gentle and relaxed, I can feel my true nature that has long been buried. By taking refuge in the Buddha and Shr Fu, I can absorb more dharma and the teachings of the highest truth to equip myself on my journey along the Bodhisattva Path.
When participating in the XGVT program, in addition to receiving ten precepts for a novice, I also receive transmissions for the Precious Bowl Dharma and the Six Hands Dharma. The Precious Bowl Dharma helps me practice the serenity of the great earth to open my heart and mind, embrace all things, accept all life experiences, and to transform all my karmic forces. The Six Hands Dharma helps me recognize the ability to use my hands as expedient means and my eyes as wisdom in outlook and viewpoint when engaging with the world to save life and living beings. I feel better equipped on my mission to do good deeds.
This year, I’ve been told that all XGVT participants will receive the special dharma of the Four Lotuses. We’ll practice visualizing the process of the lotuses from the mud rising above the water surface, similar to the process of our consciousness moving from the subconscious to conscious, then to super conscious level, helping us develop the intuition to recognize the ever-present principle of cause and effect, of seeds growing to become lotus flowers.
Every year when I return to the XGVT sangha, I have the familiar feelings from the first time I joined. As soon as we get off the bus or car, dharma brothers and sisters from all over the world rush over to hug us warmly like family members and dear friends. Perhaps because we all belong to the same web of affinity from many lifetimes and our subconscious has been awakened that very moment.
Like a worry-free child in a big family, I just follow the schedule, bell, or group leader to wake up, go to dharma class with a notebook, eat, sleep, practice CK10, and exercise for a healthy body and peaceful mind. There are times when we do walking meditation in the forest, sitting meditation on a rock by a hilltop, feeling close to nature and far away from the mundane world. We are mindful when meditating, listening to dharma lectures, cultivating, and eating. But there are times when we’re quite playful, climbing up and down the bunk beds like young kids, sharing joy and laughter, taking care of each other, and developing genuine love for those we meet and live with during the short-term home-leaving session. This is the special characteristic of the sangha in the 21st century, a very loving, open, friendly, and congenial sangha.
That’s why XGVT participants keep coming back to the program as if they are “addicted”! Like a dish of food, you have to taste it yourself to feel all the true flavors. The same with XGVT, a path that many people have described to us, but only when we go on this path ourselves can we feel all the wonderful things about it. It is a sangha that unties all knots and weaves a web of lights from hundreds of precious jewels of the True Mind.
My little sister and I work in the same company so we are very close and easily share our joy and sorrow with each other. One early spring day in 2006, while I was at work, my sister rushed over with tears flooding from her eyes to tell me that her 6-year-old daughter’s
blood test result showed that she had acute leukemia, an incurable disease making life very fragile with very little hope for a cure. My heart sank with shock; everything seemed to fall dark before my eyes.
I have been studying the Dharma with Thay since 2005, but the intention of joining the Altruistic Home-Leaving Program (XGVT) to become a temporary nun on behalf of others had never occurred to me. I loved my niece so much but I didn’t know what to do at that time.
My little sister agonized over her little girl’s condition. She took leave from work to stay home and take care of her baby. If she had to go somewhere, she would want to hurry home to hug her little one who was her life force. One day, she cried to me on the phone, telling me that she had to take her daughter to chemotherapy the next day. She didn’t have enough courage to watch that kind of treatment her little girl had to go through. So heartbreaking for me! At that very moment, the thought of joining XGVT on my niece’s behalf suddenly came to me, like a flash of lightning, unstoppable. From that explosive moment in my deep consciousness until now, I still feel that I’m more blessed than others who have been suffering. Even now, I still pray for my niece.
Nowadays, my niece is a beautiful and smart young lady. Only 22, yet she already received a Master degree in Bio-Chemistry, and has a good job. Because of her, I have changed into a new person, become more responsible, and have enough courage to let go of my old attachments. As the saying goes, “When love is big enough, all limitations are erased!” So poignant!
Before ending, I would like to express my gratitude to Thay and all dharma brothers and sisters who helped create the XGVT program and build a sangha foundation for our annual Mandala to give everyone opportunities to practice the dharma, to self reflect, and to live and sacrifice for their loved ones.
Like all women, I love to look beautiful, young, well-dressed with good makeup, manicured nails, and beautiful hair. I admire all the novice nuns and monks who joined the yearly Altruistic Home-Leaving program during the World Peace Gathering, organized by Master Hang
Truong and the Compassionate Service Society in Orange County, California. I never understood until now what motivated them to leave home for two weeks during the preparation of the holidays, shaved their head, and prayed for others. How did they do it and why did they do it?
In 2014, I decided to do it, not because of anyone’s challenge or dare, but because I believed there must have been a spiritual transformation or something magical happening during those weeks of being a novice nun or monk. I did not participate the first time when they were organizing World Peace Gathering (WPG) in 2009, for fear this event was for other people: shaving my head and having to go back to the office bald was beyond my limit. That was a very tough challenge for me. Friends and family would think that I have cancer; makeup and dressing up sure will not look good with a bald head. I was so very vain. Giving up our hair is like giving up our best effort to look beautiful to the world around us, for acceptance, for compliments, and for identity. That is a big sacrifice for any woman. We like to look good every day. As soon as we get up, we look at the mirror to check how we look, how others might perceive us, from morning till night, from youth to adulthood, to our golden age. Most women like to shine in a crowd, stand out in a party, to be admired, to be envied.
Little did I know that, when you conquered that big challenge the first time, it becomes easier and easier the next time. This is just the beginning. I still remember vividly now, my first time waiting for my turn to get my head shaved by Master Hang Truong. For every lock of hair that he shaved off, each one was a commitment to cultivate for my parents, for my husband and children, for our family members, for our friends, and for all living beings. I still can’t believe that I did it. I felt so light. What you sacrificed to offer to your loved ones for their good health and well-being, it sure gave you back a great feeling of letting go of your mask, a faked persona that you have to wear for different activities, different situations (at home, the office, a reunion, a dance, the market, etc.).
That mask is definitely not you. Once you took off your mask, you feel free and have no worry about other people’s remarks or judgements. You are truly free, free to be the true you!
During the two weeks of training, we did a lot of repentance bowing to diminish our karma. We learned and discussed part of the Avatamsaka Sutra teachings to lift us to a higher consciousness. We meditated to see our inner self and stay aware of our big ego at all times. And we learned how to live harmoniously as a community of good brothers and sisters ready to share our knowledge, our wisdom, and our life. We didn’t just repent and pray for our own karma but also for our loved ones’ karma or our web of affinities.
There are things in life that you wish to do for others that you can’t force them to do. Joining the Short-term Altruistic Home-Leaving sangha and transferring all your efforts and merits to them is a great way to give and contribute to your family, friends, and all the people around you.
I do cherish all the times I spent with Master Hang Truong and my extended family so much that I’m committed to attend the World Peace Gathering every year when I can. For 12 years now, I’ve experienced this spiritual transformation again and again, and each time I learned more about letting go of my own identity. My ego is slowly diminishing and my true self starts to shine slowly, each year better than the last.
Now when it comes time to make that first step into the Mandala at the World Peace Gathering, you just feel like flying out of your cocoon to become a free and beautiful butterfly. It is a magical moment. When we meditate and pray inside the Mandala, I feel that the whole universe is listening and is praying with me. Their voice is my voice and my voice is the whole universe’s voice. We are one. I become one with the universe.
The feeling of love, care, and blessing just poured down on me like a beautiful summer rain. I am surrounded by love and warmth. My whole body seems so at ease and relaxed, that I feel that I am home. I am truly home.
I invite all of you to feel the same wonderful feeling with all of us at the next World Peace Gathering.
First, I want to express my deep gratitude to Thay and the XGVT organizers for your love, generosity, dedication, creativity, and wisdom in creating the XGVT program. I am grateful and happy to have had the opportunity to be a part in this wonderful and to be a
part in this wonderful and profound program. I hope that all conditions are right so I can attend my 3rd XGVT this year.
Some of you may know that the impetus for my becoming a temporary nun of the 2019 XGVT sangha in Koyasan, Japan was to pray for our grandson Wesley to be able to walk normally and for my husband Jim to recover fully from his mild strokes. Thankfully they both are doing quite well. I am so grateful to have my family support. In 2019, my daughter Lynn and her family came from New York to be with my husband for me to go to Japan which was one in a lifetime cultivation trip for me and many other members of the sangha.
At the closing ceremony to end my time as a temporary nun, I vowed to attend the XGVT program every year. I believe making this vow helped me make it a reality. I want to encourage everyone to make vows to attend the XGVT program if that is what you want to do.
With deep gratitude, peace, joy, and hope, I truly appreciated the right conditions for me to attend the XGVT in 2021. Again, this year I greatly appreciate the support of my husband, our daughter Ann and our niece Trang who will again come from Portland to keep my husband company while I will be at the XGVT. Planning to attend the annual XGVT also helps me to dedicate my time and effort to practice more diligently with Thay and CSS members during the year. The grandeur of the Mandala design as part of the XGVT in 2021 was breathtaking. I hope you can see it for yourself in 2022.
Thanks to Thay’s encouragement, these are my vows after the 2021 XGVT:
I vow to become the force of goodness, of healing, and of transformation for self and others.
I vow to become the Bodhicitta energy manifesting in all beings’ consciousness.
I vow to participate in XGVT every year. I vow to be of service in the Bodhisattva path.
I vow to bow 100 bows daily.
I vow to meditate at least 100 hours on the 4 lotuses during the year of 2022 before the next Mandala.
With deep appreciation to Thầy and to all dharma brothers and sisters in CSS.
I have attended the Temporary Altruistic Home-Leaving over 10 times and even though I am occasionally being referred to as a veteran, I always have mixed emotions whenever I receive the novice monk precepts.
After a couple of years of program hiatus in California due to the 2019 WPG in Koyasan, Japan and the cancellation of the 2020 WPG due to Covid-19, we gathered back to Pine Summit Camp in Big Bear to attend the sramanera (novice monk) and sramanerika (novice nun) ordination ceremony in 2021.
This time, when kneeling with brothers and sisters of the sangha to receive the precepts, I didn’t know why I became deeply emotional. I shed tears when I listened to the gentle voice of Shr Fu/Thầy guiding and explaining the meaning of the ceremony. Perhaps this is that was the first time that I joined the Temporary Altruistic Home-Leaving to cultivate on behalf of so many people who have perished in the past few years due to Covid-19 and unrelated illnesses. I think about those who left this world in agony, loneliness, and desperation because their loved ones were not allowed to visit them. I had flashes of images of Covid-19 victims in Vietnam who died and were buried in unmarked mass graves. I have lost 5 close relatives in my family in the past two years and CSS family has also bid goodbye to our dear beloved big brother Vũ Duy Hiển.
When Thầy guided us to dedicate this last bow as a lay person before donning the robe of liberation from the Buddha, tears streamed uncontrollably down on my face. With a deep voice, Thầy reminded us to take a moment when we bowed down in the fetal pose to think about all those whom we cultivated for and let us bow this final bow on behalf of all those who did not have the opportunity to join XGVT that year.
The time we spent in the serene mountain at Pine Summit Camp has many exciting moments and deep experiences, but the most special one happened when snowflakes began to come down then quickly turned into a snowstorm. The small path and paved road going from our dorm to the Buddha Hall became very slippery. Our dharma sisters held each other’s hands walking slowly while the dharma senior brothers followed the younger ones. Those with stronger legs and stamina helped carry their handbags, lent hands to others and assisted the elder ones marching in silence. Group by group, hand in hand, they walked in the fellowship of the sangha, full of care, warmth, and mutual support.
An unforgettable image of the retreat was the picture of our two beloved and respected teachers, Master Heng Der and Master Heng Chang, walking leisurely together despite the snow coming down heavily and the wind blowing fiercely. The junior brother held the umbrella for his senior; the senior embraced the care of his brother with joy; his eyes radiating deep love and appreciation.
Wow! What a beautiful portrait of nature that was framed by endless mountains and pine forests, decorated by pure white flakes of snow and embellished by the discreet beauty of a harmonious Sangha. I will never forget the images our novice monks and nuns and the vision of our two Masters, protecting and supporting each other in serenity in the face of adversity and challenges. This is indeed the meaning of Beauty in the Triple Jewels: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. It is the harmony of the Sangha. This portrait is an unspoken dharma lecture, describing the existence of the Sangha Jewel, solid and ever-present in a society full of struggles, envy, and division.
May everyone in my web of affinity recognizes and taste the sweet dew of the Path, at least once in their lifetime, for it is the inspiration and the force to grow and nourish our Bodhi mind until perfection.
I deeply appreciate the teachings and nurturance of our Masters. I am grateful to our big Brother Khai Nghiêm for his relentless efforts and energy to build a culture of loving care in the XGVT Sangha and the Bodhisattva family called “The Thousand”.
As a child, I often followed my mother to the temple and bowed to the Buddhas, but no one taught me much about Buddhism. At the age of 8, I witnessed the bloodshed during the 1968 Tet Offensive, then the horrible Vietnam War, and the agony of countless people
who had lost everything. Since then, I have always wondered: “Who am I, and what should I do to help humanity reduce suffering?”
In spite of countless tragic incidents crossing the ocean to escape and growing up in a foreign land, I always turned to Kwan Yin Bodhisattva and prayed for the Vietnamese people to overcome their calamity. However, the bowing ceremony at the temple was no longer as meaningful to me as before, so I began my journey to find a Buddhist master to learn the Dharma.
Years later, my sister Bach suffered from a very serious illness and wanted to learn Integral Tai Chi (ITC) with Thay in the hope of improving her condition. However, she was in San Jose, so she asked me to learn it and then teach it to her. Thus, I started my religious journey without even knowing it.
Not only did Thay teach the Dharma through Tai Chi, but he also made difficult Buddhist sutras and doctrines easy for us to understand and apply to everyday life. I remember well that I enthusiastically learned ITC with Thay in a small room of the Nhuan’s Far East Newspaper headquarters in 2004. Time went by quickly, but that year was infused in my memory.
As a member of the CSS, every year I had always hoped to join the XGVT Sangha but still missed the opportunity to do so for different reasons. Fast forward to 2021—a very high number of people all over the world died because of the Covid pandemic. In addition, our beloved CSS brother Hiển passed away and at the same time my 91-year-old father became seriously ill. I did not hesitate anymore. I asked my husband to let me shave my head and join the XGVT Sangha.
I remember vividly the morning Thay shaved my head. I was the first person to sit in the chair. I felt a sense of peace, serenity, and was very touched as this was my opportunity to step into a new chapter of my life. My heart overflowed with the love for my father, for brother Hiển, and the deep appreciation to Thay for helping me to fulfill my vow to become a nun to pray for those who died during the pandemic, for my father, and for brother Hiển. While cutting my hair, Thay explained: “Karma is much like hair. Visualize that as your hair falls, so does your karma.” The teaching was simple, but very poignant.
The next day, we started the journey to Pine Summit Camp by bus. Sister Hang, sitting next to me, comforted me with her warmth and her friendly reminders of the important activities during the XGVT program. The first day in camp, the precepts transmission ceremony was very touching. I received a robe, sash, bowl, and a precious message to begin to live the life of the Buddha. The most touching moment was when Thay reminded us: “Everything we do in XGVT from practicing the dharma, bowing to the Buddhas, to breathing the fresh air of the high mountain is for those who can no longer do it.”
I shared a room with two lovely dharma sisters. We went to the Buddha Hall every day to study the dharma to expand our wisdom. The team leaders worked very well, keeping everything clean and ready for us. There were days when I saw beautiful snowstorms. Even though it was cold outside, my heart felt warm because our beloved Masters Heng Chang and Heng Der and all our dharma friends were always around me. It was an indescribable joy to follow the footsteps of the Buddha. There were moments I completely forgot about all my normal life!
The days of cultivating with the XGVT Sangha passed quickly. On the last day of the XGVT program, all of us attended the precepts returning ceremony. When listening to Thay’s words of “returning the robe, sash, and bowl to the Buddha to go back to your normal life”, I tried to swallow my tears, but seeing sister Cuc crying, I couldn’t hold back anymore, and my tears fell like rain. It was the appreciating rain for the peaceful and gentle days living according to the Buddha’s teachings. I forgot all about the mundane world as I experienced something sacred and unforgettable. I told myself that I would bring that profound experience into my normal life.
Joining XGVT for the first time, I promised myself to open my heart and be ready to accept all new lessons so that I could absorb the profound experience. Sincerely, I would like to remind those who join XGVT for the first time: “Please open your mind to receive amazing experiences.” For those who have done it many times, each XGVT is a time to let go, to leave behind all the old experiences, so that we can freely open our heart to receive new ones.
I felt as if I had thoroughly understood Thay’s teachings about The Avatamsaka Sutra which always emphasizes “transcending worliness and engaging with the world” as well as constantly evolving. New experiences will help us become a mature person in spirituality and in many aspects of life.
Every one of us needs to give ourselves the opportunity to grow. The deeply profound experiences through XGVT will change ourselves, shake our foundation, and transform our life forever. Let us listen to the aspiration in our mind. XGVT is the journey back to our luminous self-nature, our innate light. I wholeheartedly wish you to have the diligence and success on the Dharma path.
Time flies. This year is the 7th year that I have attended the Altruistic Temporary Monks and Nuns Retreat organized by Compassionate Service Society in Orange County. You must have wondered why I shaved my head so many times? Simply, just because I see
that the program has brought a lot of benefits to myself and those around me.
The benefit for yourself is a healthy body, peace of mind, and a more altruistic mind. The benefit for others is that throughout the days of practice and 3 days of World Peace Gathering, the Sangha has wholeheartedly spread love and prayers to everyone. We pray for the world to be safe; for everybody to treat each other with love; for all the spirits to enter the light of liberation of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Sangha also contributed to the building of a community that practice Buddha’s teachings, everyone having the opportunity to sit together, cultivate the path of liberation, to eliminate evil karma, and help achieve a life of happiness and peace.
The benefits of the Temporary Monks and Nuns program are still many, but after talking with some friends, I have come to know that although a large number of them really wants to fulfill the dream of experiencing the life of a monk or a nun, they are still unable to go forth due to obstacles with family, work, or business, etc.. Therefore, my dear friends, when the opportunity allows, please try to register once, especially if you have never attended the Retreat before.
Some other friends confided that another small obstacle preventing them from achieving their dream of living in a Zen environment was the problem of shaving their hair. I sympathize with your hair as an external decoration, not only for women but also for men. Most of you are hesitant because you don’t know how your appearance will be after you shave your hair; will it get worse? how will your daily work with co-workers be affected, etc. Honestly, before 2014 I had the same thoughts as yours.
But by the end of 2014, after my Mother suddenly passed away, my thoughts changed completely; the anxiety, worry, and problem of shaving my head were also completely gone. The only thing I wanted at that time, was just to live my days in silence, in a completely serene environment, so I can pray for my Mother to follow the light of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and be soon liberated. My Mother has sacrificed her whole life, arduously raising me from the time I was a fetus in her womb until I grew up to be a human being; today even though my hair is gray, she still worries about every bite of food I eat and how I sleep. Hence the fact that I shave my head to dedicate to my mother’s liberation is nothing compared to the great love and sacrifice she has for me.
In the first year of Altruistic Leaving Home, I shaved my head mainly for my beloved Mother. Over the years that followed, I was delighted to see my altruistic consciousness begin to expand. It becomes easier for me now to sacrifice my hair, money, effort, and time for others. I am willing to dedicate all the merits of my cultivation to all those who are suffering from illness, those who have left this world without family by their side during the COVID pandemic, victims of war and so on.
After hearing my story, I hope you can join us in this year’s Temporary Monks and Nuns program, so that our mind will be more pure and altruistic every day, leading to a happier and more peaceful life; to transfer our merits of cultivation to our web of affinity so they can always be safe and healthy; to pray for all those in the world who are living in hardship and difficulty to soon find joy in life again; to lead sentient beings who have lost their lives because of sickness, pandemics, wars, terrorism, and natural disasters to soon step on the lotus flowers, rise higher and be drawn into the light of liberation.
Let’s make our mind like a garden full of love and fragrant flowers of liberation.
