Two Hundred People Take Refuge at Xinxing Monastery, Taitung
On the morning of 16 October, 2011, two hundred people from the areas of Hualien and Taitung gathered at the Grand Buddha Hall of Xinxing Monastery in Taitung to take refuge in the Three Jewels and to make their vows to observe the Five Precepts becoming a faithful Buddhist.
Abbot President of Dharma Drum Mountain, Venerable Guo Dong himself, specially arrived from Taipei to host the Refuge-Taking Ceremony and to offer his warmest blessings to the newly committed believers.
He encouraged them to faithfully observe the Five Precepts in order to attain wisdom, happiness and inner peace at all times, and also to care for others in ‘uplifting the character of humanity’.
The ceremony ended with each new believer receiving a Buddhist necklace from Xinxing monastery's monastics as a blessing.
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The Five Precepts: no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no verbal misconduct, and no usage of intoxicants.
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(translated by Jin Yang/edited by DDM Australia Editing Team)