With Blessings from the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha - 666 People Fulfilled Their Wish to Take Refuge in the Three Jewels at Dharma Drum Mountain

On the afternoon of September 3rd, 666 people congregated at the Grand Hall of Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education, following the lead of DDM Abbot President Ven. Guo Huei. Together, they vowed to take refuge in the Three Jewels and observe the Five Precepts. Among them were some devotees from USA and Japan who flew to Taiwan specifically to participate in this refuge-taking ceremony.

Prior to the official Ceremony of Transmitting the Three Refuges and Five Precepts, Abbot President Ven. Guo Huei held a Dharma Talk. During the talk, he expounded that, if we are unclear about "where we come from before birth and where we go to after death", we will resemble a boat that sails without a compass in the vast open sea, navigating a lost course. After taking refuge and learning Buddhadharma, our life is given a beacon. From then on, we are able to learn Buddhist concepts and practice methods following the pure and harmonious Sangha, thereby growing in our compassion and cultivating our wisdom. The Abbot President urged everyone, after taking refuge, to "reduce considerations in our self-interests and always put ourselves in others' shoes". He also encouraged all to take Buddhist courses, participate in Chan practice activities, and maintain the habit of reciting the Buddha's name. Doing so will help to elevate the quality of our bodily, verbal and mental actions, thereby moving people around us to work together to purify our minds and society as a whole.

松永宣易, from Okinawa, Japan, flew to Taiwan with his two sisters specifically to take refuge in the Three Jewels. They took refuge together on the encouragement of their mother to cherish this opportunity to become disciples of the Buddha. He mentioned that their mother also took refuge at DDM. All his siblings would like to follow in their mother's footsteps after she took refuge in the Three Jewels, dealing with people and matters with a peaceful mind. 崔笑天, who lives in Tokyo, accompanied his mother and colleague in taking the three refuges together. He indicated that, during the pandemic, DDM's online Chan practice videos had been greatly beneficial both to his body and mind. He was filled with unspeakable gratitude towards the monastics and volunteers for having this opportunity to fulfill his wish of taking refuge in the Three Jewels personally at DDM. Therefore, he generated the aspiration to practice diligently, in order to repay the kindness of the Three Jewels and the people who made his refuge taking possible. Meanwhile, his colleague, 大西徹則, shared that, since he was very young, he often visited Buddhist monasteries with the elder members of his family. As such, he has been very interested in Buddhism, and has maintained the habit of reading the Dharma books of DDM Founder Master Sheng Yen. He stated that, currently, he manages a vegetarian restaurant in Tokyo. Furthermore, after this refuge-taking ceremony, he plans to enroll in Buddhism courses at the university.

宋愛江, from Oklahoma, USA, who practices sitting meditation every morning, said that although he has continued to learn Buddhadharma and practice Chan for some period of time, the opportunity to take refuge in the Three Jewels at DDM was put on hold due to the pandemic. This time, being able to fulfill his wish in officially becoming a disciple of the Buddha, he was very grateful to the monastics and volunteers.



Text: 張曜鐘
Photos: 王育發、張曜鐘、傅莉嫻  
Translation: Cheng-yu Chang (張振郁)
Editing: Keith Brown, YKL