Tour of Bodhi Mind 中台心旅
The Tour of Bodhi Mind is the most awaited trip for Philippine practitioners and their extended families and friends. Come August of each year, around 50 disciples would troop to Chung Tai to better appreciate the Monastery up close, and to participate in various ceremonies and activities. The biggest number was in 2011, when 80 people joined the 10th anniversary celebration of Chung Tai.
Every year, tens of thousands of participants from meditation branches around the world converge in Chung Tai to participate in two full days of ceremonies, covering the yearly Certification of the Dharma Support Association, the Completion of the Medicine Buddha Gratitude Ceremony, and the Ullambana Ceremony. The highlight on the second day is the Da Meng Shan Food Bestowal Ceremony, where food is compassionately offered to all sentient beings of the 10 dharma realms. At anytime during the tour, lay people have the opportunity to make offerings to the compassionate Dharma Masters of Chung Tai, numbering more than a thousand. What an auspicious way to form good affinity with the pure Sangha!
In addition to the ceremonies, activities during the pilgrimage also include the grand tour of the magnificent 36-story high building of Chung Tai itself, the Blessing Bell Prostrations (拜鐘) in the evening, and Mountain Prostrations (朝山) at dawn. Amid the majestic and serene surroundings of Chung Tai, each one of us from Ocean Sky leaves the Monastery feeling at peace with the world and an uplifting of the spirit.
The pilgrimage is not complete without visits to different meditation branches around Taiwan, and some sightseeing on the side. We also have the chance to take the Three Refuges and receive the Five Precepts. Indeed, from the whole experience of the Tour of Bodhi Mind, we realize that Chung Tai Chan Monastery and all its affiliates are, in reality, one big family.
Transmission of Three Refuges 三皈依
When we travel to Chung Tai to join the important events, we have the chance to take the different kinds of precepts, which are important for one who wishes to adopt a Buddhist way of life, or to advance in his Buddhist practice.
To formally become a Buddhist, one has to take refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, which represent
Enlightenment, Truth, and Purity, respectively. It is the first step for one who seeks to become enlightened.
All Ocean Sky participants are happy to take the Three Refuges and formally become Buddhist under the auspices of Grand Master Wei Chueh.
Taking refuge means to return, to rely. By Taking the Three Refuges, we recognize that we have been deluded and erroneous in our ways, and have indulged in greed, anger and secular pleasures. We acknowledge that we need to return to the purity of our Buddha Nature, and to rely on the wisdom and guidance of the Three Jewels, which can provide us with the right direction and wisdom in eradicating the obstacles to Enlightenment. (TOP)
Transmission of the Five Precepts 五戒
After taking the Three Refuges, many Ocean Sky
participants are also eager to receive the Five Precepts in Chung Tai. It is quite an experience to take the precepts in a big hall together with thousands of people from other meditation branches around the world.
The Five Precepts are: no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, and no intoxication. They are the most basic and minimal observance of moral conduct. They are practical guidelines for a righteous way of living. Taking the Five Precepts is the next step when one is more serious about one’s
practice. By observing the Five Precepts, one can become a truly responsible person, avoid future suffering, attain happiness and peace of mind, and ensure future rebirth as a human. (TOP)
Transmission of the Eight Prohibitive and Fasting Precepts 八關齋戒
The Eight Prohibitive and Fasting Precepts are: no killing, no stealing, no sexual activity, no lying, no intoxicants, no dancing, singing, music, wearing of perfume or cosmetics, no sleeping on a high bed, and no food after noontime.
The Eight Prohibitive and Fasting Precepts are designed for practitioners to experience the monastic life for one day and one night. Observing the precepts cleanses one’s body and mind, and trains the practitioner on how to control his instincts. By abstaining from the eight actions for one day and one night, one is able to eradicate vexations arising out of the eight misdeeds, and avoid committing various transgressions. By regularly observing the Eight Prohibitive and Fasting Precepts, a lay practitioner can transform knowledge and experience into wisdom, and learn how to be the true master of his mind. (TOP)
Transmission of the Lay Bodhisattva Precepts 在家菩薩戒
The Lay Bodhisattva Precepts are the highest form of cultivation for lay people. They are a set of moral regulations for a practitioner to advance along the path to becoming a bodhisattva. These consist of 6 major precepts and 28 minor ones, all of them a reflection of the practice of Six Paramitas (Six Perfections: charity, moral precepts, tolerance, diligence, meditation, and wisdom).
In Chung Tai, the transmission of the Lay Bodhisattva Precepts is held once every few years in conjunction with the transmission of full ordination for monastics. The Ocean Sky family is very happy to have 10 diligent lay people who took the precepts, and have since set good examples for practitioners to emulate. Alphabetically, these bodhisattvas are: Alice Ong (傳範), Debby Ang (傳恩), Ellen Gamboa (傳學), Grace So (傳殿), Jenny Huang (傳切), Lena Ong (傳助), Mari-Len Inoncillo (傳祐), Marita Yu (傳見), Mary Tan (傳言), and Rosita Cheng (傳清). Twice a month, they come to the Chan Hall to diligently fulfill their duty of reciting the Precepts.
To take on the Lay Bodhisattva Precepts is a blessing, an honor, and a big responsibility. One undergoes purification and transformation, whether in speech or bodily actions, and becomes a model for all lay practitioners. By constantly making
vows, arrogance and attachment to self are slowly forgotten. Instead, the well- being and happiness of all sentient beings become priority. In serving others and leading them towards the realization of their Buddha Nature, a preceptee also gets to reap tremendous blessings and merits, as he cultivates in attaining his own liberation. (TOP)
