Repentance Ceremony

In the evening of April 13, 2014 (Lunar March 14th, Horse Year), thousands of Buddhists came to Hoang Phap pagoda to attend Repentance Ceremony.

Before the ceremony, Ven. Thich Tam Trong one of Hoang Phap\r\npagoda’s monks had a Dharma talk on the topic: “Pause!”

\r\n\r\n

Through the Dharma talk, Ven. said that human life is very\r\nshort. To meet the livelihood needs, some people sometimes tend to lead fast paced\r\nlife for money, fame, glory…and they might think that  they will be happy\r\nwhen they got those. However, the Ven. said that happiness is not  far\r\naway; It is found within you. What is that? We have a normal human body, in\r\nwhich eyes are used to look at life, ears to hear good words…. In contrast to\r\nus, there are many people who do not achieve happiness of possessing that of\r\nours. They are wealthy and they have everything in their lives. However, they\r\nare blind, lame or disabled. So, are they happy? The answer is certainly no.\r\nThey are still suffering. Therefore, on the journey of life, we should\r\nsometimes pause to feel the happiness that we have.

\r\n\r\n

In addition, the Ven.  advised that, people should take\r\nrefuge in Three Treasures including Buddha, Dharma and Monks. Three Treasures\r\nwill help people to obtain happiness at present and forever later.

\r\n\r\n

After the Dharma talk ended, Buddhists started the ceremony\r\nof “Repentance before Great Buddhas”.

\r\n\r\n

At the end of ceremony, Buddhists listened to Five Precepts\r\nof a Buddhist.

\r\n\r\n

Here are some recorded images: