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From July 17 to 21, 2024, Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple held the Youth Short-Term Monastic Retreat. Although the retreat lasted only five days, the program included monastic etiquette, Buddhist stories, selected readings from the works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, meditation, pilgrimage, basketball, team-building activities, and community chores. On the final day, preceptees joined the Sangha Day Celebration at Hsi Lai Temple, alms-round alongside the monastics of North America’s Fo Guang Shan.
Twenty-four youths aged 8 to 14 shaved their heads to join the retreat, with an average age of 11. Among them, 15 were children of Hsi Lai Temple devotees, while the rest came from other Fo Guang Shan branches across the Americas, including the Fo Guang Shan Fremont Culture and Education Center, Fo Guang Shan Xiang Yun Temple in Austin, Fo Guang Shan Chicago Buddhist Temple, and Guang Ming Temple in Florida.
Venerable Hui Dong, the abbot of Hsi Lai Temple, taught the Ten Precepts for Novices in an engaging and lively manner, guiding the young novices in learning the monastic rules and understanding that these precepts are the foundation of practice. He emphasized the importance of constant purification of body, speech, and mind, fostering a self-disciplined lifestyle.
Venerable Miao Zang, the superintendent of Hsi Fang Temple, used a treasure hunt to tell "The Story of Venerable Master Hsing Yun," including the tale of "The Little Chicken with a Broken Beak," encouraging the novices to learn from Master Hsing Yun's compassionate spirit and treat all beings equally. Venerable Man Kuang, the abbot of Fo Guang Shan IBPS Dallas discussed the story of the Buddha's enlightenment during the "Buddhist Q&A" session, deepening the novices' understanding of the Buddha.
Teachers and students from Fo Guang Shan Tsung Lin University designed four courses for the novices. Venerable Zhi Rou and Venerable Neng Zang's Selected Readings from the Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun course involved performing stories from the Lamp of Bodhi Mind series, helping the novices understand Master Hsing Yun's spirit and the ideals of Humanistic Buddhism. Venerable Zhi Nian's Buddhist Stories guided the novices in performing the story of Angulimala, teaching them to learn from mistakes and understand that everyone has the chance to start anew in life.
The Buddhist Stories, taught by Venerable Ming Yi, Lin Shimin, and Yin Ming through animations, highlighted the importance of compassion, wisdom, and altruism through the stories of Bodhisattvas Nagarjuna and Manjushri. Venerable Ming Ren and student Yan Mei Zhen led the novices in watching the movie Inside Out 2, using interactive Q&A games to help them explore their emotions, reflect on their behavior during the retreat, and learn gratitude, shame, courage to admit mistakes, and the drive to improve themselves. The course design was game-based, allowing the novices to learn Buddhism in a fun and engaging way.
Gary Tang from Buddha's Light International Association Los Angeles Young Adult Division II led the Understanding the Precepts and the Permanent Abode course, using a rapid-fire Q&A game to test the novices' knowledge of monastic etiquette, the precepts, and Humanistic Buddhism. During the evening basketball sessions, the novices honed their skills. They learned team spirit from Venerable Hui Lun, the deputy abbot of Fo Guang Shan, and Venerable Hui Dong, the abbot of Hsi Lai Temple. Team-building activities led by Buddha’s Light Youth and Hsi Lai Scouts emphasized that individuals cannot exist in isolation and must learn to cooperate with others, fostering a flexible and communal character.
In the closing discussion, the novices shared their insights from the five-day retreat. Thirteen-year-old Ben Heng decided to become a vegetarian to practice compassion in action. Twelve-year-old Ben Jia shared his determination to learn respect for others, and eleven-year-old Ben Bo vowed to be helpful and integrate the "Three Acts of Goodness" into daily life.
At the conclusion of the precept ceremony, Venerable Zhi Nian, the homeroom teacher of the English Buddhist College at Fo Guang Shan Tsung Lin University, encouraged the youths that this five-day monastic journey was not an end but a new beginning. She urged them to integrate the Dharma learned during the retreat into their daily lives, as it would become an endless treasure that enriches their lives, making them more beautiful and exciting.
(Photos Provided by FGS Hsi Lai Temple)
