DDM Global News
Dharma Drum Mountain 2020 Tonsure Ceremony: In Praise of a Monastic life for Transformation
Dharma Drum Mountain's 2020 Tonsure ceremony for 2020 took place at the Grand Buddha Hall at Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education on September 16, the Earth Treasury Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha's birthday. Some 300 people, including family, relatives, and volunteers, came to give their highest respect and blessings to the newly ordained monastics, and congratulated them for fulfilling the vow to become Buddhist renunciants.
“With the first shave of the head, vow to abandon all evil; with the second shave, vow to practice all good; with the third, vow to deliver all sentient beings.”Proclaiming the ordination verses, Abbot President Ven. Guo Huei presided over the ceremony as the Precept Master, with Former Abbot President Ven. Guo Dong as the Teaching Acharya (preceptor) and seven other monastics as the acharyas. They altogether performed the tonsure for the nine postulants, completing the transmission of the sramanera and sramanerika precepts to the novice monks.
Afterwards, the Abbot President conveyed the expectation that the novices carry the Tathagata's“family responsibilities”on their shoulders, regard all sentient beings as their own family members, and introduce them to the Buddhist Threefold Training of precepts, concentration, and wisdom.
He reminded them to always remember their compassionate vows to spread the Dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings by delivering both self and others, with a mind of patience, endurance, and perseverance. He also encouraged their families and relatives to visit the practice center of Dharma Drum Mountain, where they can see how their children will grow as monastics.
Serving as the Teaching Acharya, the former abbot president Ven. Guo Dong congratulated the novices for starting the monastic life, and urged them to keep in mind that“The life of our physical body is impermanent, so we should cherish our life by endeavoring to do meaningful things. Our spiritual life is infinite, and principally lies in the calming and settling of body and mind, as well as the perfecting of our human character. The life of our wisdom is inexhaustible, which requires us to practice the six perfections and myriad good deeds, cultivating both merit and wisdom with ease.”
Ven. Yan Shi from Russia shared how he had benefited from Buddhism and the reason why he wanted to become a monk. As a lay practitioner in Russia, he already found the Buddhist practice of the five precepts to be helpful in improving his health and giving him a focus in life. At that point, the ups and downs of life started to mean nothing to him, and the Buddhist practice lightened his life. During a visit to Dharma Drum Mountain, he observed how the organization was practicing what it preached by benefiting others according to its ideals. He was also touched by the devotees’kindness and enthusiasm in practicing the Dharma, which strengthened his resolution to become a monk there. After two years of serious consideration, he decided to start his journey in the monastic life, for the benefit of self and others.
“I expect that Ven. Yan Wen, along with the other novices, can continue to cultivate compassion and develop in wisdom by practicing diligently,”said Bai Yu-Man, Ven. Yan Wen's mother, smiling. Witnessing her daughter's transformation and growth over the past few years, Mrs. Bai, originally reluctant to agree, had eventually started to support her decision to become a Buddhist nun. Both she and Ven. Yan Wen aspired to jointly dedicate their efforts to the Buddhist teachings and the Three Jewels.
Abbot President Ven. Guo Huei then gave the Dharma name and Dharma title to each of the nine novices in accordance with the Dharma lineage of the Chan tradition. In a warm and joyful atmosphere, their relatives and friends sincerely gave their blessings to the newly ordained novices, wishing them to keep practicing, protecting, and propagating the Dharma.
Text: Chang, Tian-Pei (張田沛)
Photos: Li, Dong-Yang(李東陽); Wang, Yu-Fa(王育發); Chang, Yao-Chung (張曜鐘); Chang, Tian-Pei (張田沛)
Translation: Hsiao, Chen-An
Editing: Chang, Chia-Cheng (張家誠); Keith Brown