Thân Khai Nghinh Đổ (Lani)
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.