One-day Cultivation Retreat in December 2014

With the enthusiastic heart in practice and study, thousands of Buddhists from Ho Chi Minh City and nearby provinces gathered at Hoang Phap Pagoda to participate in One-day cultivation retreat on Sunday, Dec. 18th,2014 (Lunar Nov. 7 in Horse year).

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In order to let Buddhists learn more about Dharma knowledge as well as the way\r\nto apply what people learn to practical life, Senior Venerable Thich Chan Tinh-\r\nhead of the organization- had  a talk before the course starts.

\r\n\r\n

According to him, everyone in life needs happiness. A life\r\nwithout happiness is a borning and tasteless life. Yet, humans should find\r\nhappiness wisely; otherwise, they will be suffer more and enjoy less.\r\nFurthermore, the enjoyment will even lead human face to diseases, crime, being\r\nkilled. Three kinds of happiness were said.

\r\n\r\n

The first kind is the low level happiness. It is a\r\nsatisfaction of sex, gambling, beer or wine drinking, narcotics, vehicle races,\r\netc. This satisfaction just lasts for a short time but it does harm our health,\r\ndamages our property and honor. Besides, it either brings human to the guilty\r\nand suffering path.
\r\n

The second is the middle level happiness. It is a satisfaction of some more\r\nsuperior things such as watching football games, movies, concerts or travelling.\r\nOn the forming side, this kind of happiness has noble quality. It offers\r\nexcited, interesred and comfortable spirits. However, in some circumstances, it\r\nalso makes human into trouble as well as wasting money and time and\r\nself-damage.
\r\n

The third one is the high level happiness, for instance: listening to Buddhist\r\nknowledge, meditation, reciting sutras and repeating Buddha's name, cultivating\r\nBuddha, etc. Enjoying this kind of happiness helps human to get rid of their\r\nbad habbits, open their mind and enjoy the endless happiness. There have\r\nalready been many people find out the actual peace and happiness by listening\r\nto Buddhist knowledge, meditation, etc. Enjoy the high level happiness will\r\nincrease good dharma, self and other benefit, lead to beautiful things in\r\nlife. 

\r\n\r\n

The high or low level happiness doesn't mean the way to\r\nenjoy the high or low materials, less or more quantity, high or low price, but\r\nit means that whether that happiness brings back the good or bad result,\r\nhelpful or harmful, happy or suffering. There are many kinds of happiness in\r\nour life. If people don't have wisdom and don't care about the consequences,\r\nthey will fall into the low level happiness, which just affects short period of\r\nhappiness butlasts long suffering. In contrast, if human decide wisely, the\r\nhappiness will upgrade to high level and last from current to future time.
\r\nAfter the speech of Thich Chan Tinh, all Buddhists started the cultivated\r\npractice as usual.
\r\n

Hereinafter are some recorded photographs

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n