Three-month Rain retreat 2009 begins at At Ease Mindfulness Practice Center

Three-month Rain Retreat 2009 begins at At Ease Mindfulness Practice Center in Tsim Sha Tsui

Tsim Sha Tsui June 9, 2009

In the evening of Saturday June 6, the monastics at the At Ease Mindfulness Center (formally known at Plum Village Mindfulness Practice Center in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon) performed the stick-counting ceremony as the first activity for the annual rain retreat, a long-held tradition practiced by monastics since the Buddha’s time. It is a time for monastics to practice together in a community for 90 days (about 3 months) to deepen their study and practice. Plum Village’s monastics in Europe and in North America hold the rain retreat in the winter, while those in Asia hold it in the summer - from the 16 of April to the 15 of July (lunar calendar).

Five resident monastics at the center: thầy (Bhikkhu) Pháp Khâm and Pháp Chung, sưchú (Shramanera) Pháp Chứng, Pháp Dũng and Pháp Đạo and six lay practitioners: Simon, Gabriel, Christine, Anita, Marie and Carmen participated in the stick-counting ceremony. In Plum Village’s tradition, lay practitioners are invited to practice together with the monastics in the rain retreat, as members of a four-fold Sangha. According to tradition, the Buddha and the kitchen guardian are also invited to practice with and to offer support for the Sangha.

A short verse was read while one received a counting stick:

How happy it is
To have a chance to practice with the Sangha
This counting stick verifies
Ninety days of practice.

It is quite difficult for lay practitioners to have annual 90-day off for practice. However, lay friends can still benefit from the rain retreat by committing to a regular activity, even once a week. In this rain retreat, the center offers an introductory course to Buddhist Psychology, based on the book “Buddha Mind, Buddha Body” of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. The course will be taught by thầy Pháp Khâm, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m every Friday, as part of the activities of the weekly Friday Night practice.

In the next morning Sunday June 7, Vietnamese speaking practitioners came to the center to attend the monthly day of mindfulness. They participated in the face-to-face ceremony, stating that they would like to take refuge in and ask for support from the Sangha and a mentor, to help them in the practice through out the whole retreat.

In the Request to take refuge, one makes the following request:

Request to take refuge:
Respected The Venerable Bhiksu, please listen to us. We are ____________. We would like to take refuge in the Noble Sangha of At Ease Mindfulness Practice Center during the Three Month Rain Retreat of the year 2009. We determine to take refuge in the Noble Sangha and in you in order to purify our body and our mind, to transform our afflictions and to increase our peace and our joy.
Would you please accept our request? (the question is asked three times).

The mentor then answers with something similar to this:

It is very good that we have the chance to practice in the rain retreat. I wish you good health and solidity to be a support for the Sangha and to have a succesful retreat. I am also practicing for 3 months with the Sangha here. I try to be a good support for you and for the Sangha.

After the ceremony, thầy Pháp Khâm gave a short Dharma talk. The Sangha then have formal lunch. In the afternoon, the program continued with a total relaxation session and ended after a tea-meditation session.

Enjoy some pictures from the stick-counting and the face-to-face ceremony.